NCAA Tournament CBB DFS Playbook & Core Plays: April 2 Final Four
Published: Apr 01, 2022
The Final Four is finally here! The 2022 NCAA Tournament and March Madness bracket are set for the final weekend of matchups. Saturday night brings us two marquee games, with Villanova and Kansas getting things started before Duke and North Carolina put a cap on the evening. Let's jump into the DFS CBB slate for the Final Four and help you build some winning lineups!
THE SLATE
KenPom Projected Team Totals
- Duke – 79
- North Carolina – 75
- Kansas – 70
- Villanova – 69
Top Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Ochai Agbaji | KU | VU | 7500 | 31.04 | 7000 | 28.44 |
| Though Agbaji hasn’t regularly performed up to his standards during the Tournament, this is still a player who’s a finalist for National POY honors. People may stay away in cash, but Agbaji has the GPP upside to be the slate’s highest-scorer – he might be lower-rostered than normal. At least he got back on track with 18 points and 38 DK in the Elite Eight. | ||||||
| Collin Gillespie | VU | KU | 6500 | 28.06 | 6300 | 25.49 |
| Gillespie will inevitably take on a much bigger offensive role with Justin Moore out. That high usage should keep his DFS floor pretty safe for cash. Though he’s coming off a dud 13 DK performance in the last game, expect a bounceback with a pace-boost and plenty of shot attempts incoming. | ||||||
| Caleb Love | UNC | DUKE | 6400 | 27.53 | 6400 | 25.06 |
| With Armando Bacot likely having trouble inside against Duke’s strong frontcourt, the UNC offense should rely more on the perimeter playmaking of Love and Davis. As for Love, he was red-hot in the Sweet 16 win over UCLA with 30 points and 42 DK. He also went for 22 points and 38 DK vs. Duke in the regular-season finale win. Consider him a high-upside GPP play on this slate, but one that can win you a tournament. | ||||||
| Remy Martin | KU | VU | 6200 | 17.49 | 6600 | 16.22 |
| Martin has emerged as a true difference-maker and scorer for Kansas after being a non-factor for much of the regular season. The preseason Big 12 POY put up 26, 37 and 37 DK in the first three Tournament games and is now an alpha offensive playmaker for the Jayhawks. He could be popular in all formats with his recent hot streak, but there’s a chance Nova gameplans defensively to stop him. The elevated price tags make him a lesser value than previously, but the upside is definitely there. | ||||||
Other Top Guards:
- Christian Braun – Kansas ($7,000 DK / $6,000 FD)
- RJ Davis – North Carolina ($6,600 DK / $5,400 FD) – way too cheap on FD
Value Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Caleb Daniels | VU | KU | 5700 | 18.6 | 5300 | 16.79 |
| We’ll see Daniels enter Villanova’s starting lineup with Justin Moore out. He’s already been logging starter-caliber minutes off the bench, but the usage and shot volume should increase now to a safer level. Daniels scored 16 points with 24 DK in a spot start earlier this year when Moore sat out a game. He’s cheap enough to consider as a value in cash, especially on FD. | ||||||
| Jeremy Roach | DUKE | UNC | 5300 | 17.74 | 4800 | 16.31 |
| Duke likely isn’t still alive if Jeremy Roach hadn’t stepped his game up. The sophomore point guard had 24, 23 and 27 DK in the first three rounds with double-digit points scored in each. Though he took a step back last game, expect him to be in the 20-25 DFS point range again in a faster-paced matchup with UNC. The value on both sites should make him a popular cash option. | ||||||
| Chris Arcidiacono | VU | KU | 3000 | 4.45 | 3700 | 4.18 |
| Arcidiacono is a prime candidate to step into bigger minutes off the bench for Villanova with Justin Moore out. Though he’s barely been playing in the Tournament, Arci did log 26 minutes with 15 DK in a game earlier this year with Moore out. At some dirt cheap price tags, the potential for 5x or 6x return is there – though it’s still a risk because we don’t exactly know how much he’ll play. | ||||||
| Bryan Antoine | VU | KU | 3000 | 4.2 | 3600 | 3.98 |
| Antoine, like Arcidiacono, is another Villanova bench player who could see a big uptick in playing time with Justin Moore out. It’s a pure dart throw, though, because we have no idea how much he’ll play after barely seeing minutes in the last few games. The GPP upside is there for a guy who was once a top high school recruit but has battled injuries and a short Nova rotation. | ||||||
Other Value Guards:
- Dajuan Harris Jr. – Kansas ($3,800 DK / $3,800 FD)
Top Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Paolo Banchero | DUKE | UNC | 8000 | 35.36 | 8300 | 32.78 |
| Not much analysis needed for Banchero as Duke’s headliner and steady DFS performer. He’s put up 43, 34, 40 and 33 DK in the four Tournament games thus far and should easily anchor cash lineups as a popular play. He had 35 and 30 DK vs. UNC during the regular season and should see heavy shot volume as Duke’s top offensive option. | ||||||
| Mark Williams | DUKE | UNC | 7400 | 28.69 | 6800 | 27.46 |
| Williams was a boom-or-bust DFS play all season, but he’s elevated his performance during the Tournament. The Duke center has 42, 38, 31 and 33 DK over the four tourney games and will need to continue the hot streak in a fascinating head-to-head matchup with Armando Bacot. If he can stay out of foul trouble, Williams will be perfectly fine for cash – though he might be better suited for GPP on this slate. | ||||||
| Brady Manek | UNC | DUKE | 7300 | 28.51 | 6900 | 26.00 |
| If UNC wants to pull the upset, it’ll need Manek to stay hot offensively. He’s put up 53, 37, 28 and 32 DK in the four Tournament games and has scored 19+ real points in three of those. Manek had 20 and 21 points (with 45 and 31 DK) vs. Duke in the regular season matchups and could easily keep it going here. He’ll likely be more popular than Bacot for the savings and similar production at their best. | ||||||
| Jermaine Samuels | VU | KU | 6100 | 24.24 | 6700 | 22.62 |
| Samuels is arguably the biggest reason why Villanova is in the Final Four. The senior has put up at least 15 points, eight rebounds and 29 DK in all four Tournament games thus far and was named the West region’s MOP. He’s now critical to Nova’s success with Justin Moore out and his DFS floor should be plenty safe for cash – especially with how well he’s playing in a pace-up spot vs. KU. The price tag on DK is still too cheap. | ||||||
Other Top Forwards:
- Armando Bacot – North Carolina ($8,900 DK / $8,800 FD) – always in play, but more a GPP option on this slate
- Wendell Moore Jr. – Duke ($6,800 DK / $5,200 FD) – too cheap on FD
- Jalen Wilson – Kansas ($6,700 DK / $6,500 FD)
Value Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| AJ Griffin | DUKE | UNC | 5400 | 19.57 | 5000 | 18.11 |
| After injuring his ankle in the second round, Griffin has bounced back like nothing ever happened. The standout freshman put up 24 and 25 DK in the last two games and just scored 18 real points in the Elite Eight win. He went off for 27 points and 35 DK vs. UNC in the regular season and could replicate that effort here in a higher-scoring environment. The affordable price tags on both sites should make him popular in cash. | ||||||
| Leaky Black | UNC | DUKE | 5000 | 17.12 | 5100 | 16.41 |
| Though he’s not heavily involved in UNC’s offense, Black usually does just enough in ancillary stats to return cash value. He does a bit of everything in the box score and will benefit from this faster-paced, higher-scoring matchup vs. Duke. He had 18 DK in both regular-season meetings with Duke and has put up 22, 27 and 27 DK in three of the last four Tournament games. The real potential at 4x or 5x return is there. | ||||||
| Eric Dixon | VU | KU | 4900 | 20.76 | 4400 | 19.75 |
| Dixon is yet another Nova player who needs to step up in this Final Four matchup with Justin Moore out. Even still, Dixon has been playing a key role in the frontcourt during the Tournament with at least 17 DK in all four games thus far. Assuming he stays out of foul trouble, Dixon should be perfectly fine for cash in a tight rotation with a pace-boost matchup. | ||||||
Other Value Forwards:
- David McCormack – Kansas ($5,600 DK / $4,600 FD) – GPP boom/bust option but at some very affordable prices
- Brandon Slater – Villanova ($4,000 DK / $4,100 FD) – should see bigger offensive role with Moore out
DraftKings Core Plays
- Paolo Banchero – Duke ($8,000)
- Jermaine Samuels – Villanova ($6,100)
- AJ Griffin – Duke ($5,400)
FanDuel Core Plays
- Paolo Banchero – Duke ($8,300)
- Collin Gillespie – Villanova ($6,300)
- Jeremy Roach – Duke ($4,800)
Looking for more College Basketball content? Check out the CBB PrizePicks Top Plays for Saturday's Final Four March Madness action!