This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
It's time to hit the Saturday slate, with 12 total games to peruse. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have some games exclusive to their sites, but they share eight, and those will be our primary focus.
Slate Overview
Maryland (-7) vs. Indiana O/U: 138
Tennessee (-1) vs. LSU O/U: 138.5
Texas Tech (-5.5) vs. Oklahoma State O/U:131
Memphis (-9) vs. Georgia O/U: 153.5
Penn State (-2.5) vs. Iowa O/U:154
Marquette (-2) vs. Villanova O/U: 150
Louisville (-6.5) vs. Florida State O/U: 134
Kansas (-10) vs. West Virginia O/U:140.5
Auburn (-1.5) at Mississippi State O/U: 138 (DraftKings only)
Oregon (-5) at Utah O/U: 145 (DraftKings only)
Butler (-6.5) vs.Creighton O/U: 134.5 (FanDuel only)
Kentucky (-8) vs. Missouri O/U: 125 (FanDuel only)
Top Players
Markus Howard, Marquette (DK $8,600, FD $8,100) vs. Villanova
When Marquette is on the slate, you're a fool to not consider Howard — his lofty salary is worth every penny. Howard makes plays all over the court, but he butters his bread at the free-throw line. The 5-foot-11 point guard leads the country with 8.6 fouls drawn per 40 minutes and drains 83 percent of his free throws.
Lamar Stevens, Penn State (DK $8,300, FD $7,600) vs. Iowa
Stevens is the go-to guy for the Nittany Lions, and although the 6-8 senior has inexplicably seen a six-minute drop in minutes during his final year in State College, he still distinguishes himself as an excellent multi-category contributor. His 28.6 percent usage dwarfs the rest of the squad, and along with his 16.4 points per game, his 2.7 assists-per-game average is on the rise, dropping an average of 4.5 dimes in the last four games.
Precious Achiuwa, Memphis (DK $8,200, FD $7,500) vs. Georgia
The departure of James Wiseman turned the Tigers' offensive scheme upside down, but Achiuwa became the main beneficiary and is making the most of every opportunity. The Tigers have a lot of mouths to feed, but Achiuwa ranks third on the team with an Offensive Rating of 100.2, and he leads the AAC with 9.8 rebounds per game.
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas (DK $7,500, FD $7,200) vs. West Virginia
The 7-foot senior is a lock to sink the shot when he's in the paint, as he leads the country with an effective field goal percentage of 79 percent. He's also a double-double threat and is matched up against a West Virginia team that ranks 248th in defensive rebound efficiency. This should make Azubuike ripe for another double-double.
Dwayne Sutton, Louisville (DK, $6,300, FD $6,400) vs. Florida State
I absolutely love Sutton at these prices. The 6-5 senior ranks eighth in the country with an offensive rating of 135.8 and averages 9.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. He's coming off a 14/10 double-double and grabbed 15 boards two games ago. Couple those recent results with a matchup against a team that ranks 378th in defensive rebounding percentage and you have a plum opportunity for success at a surprisingly reasonable price.
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas (DK $6,400, FD $6,300) vs. West Virginia
The 6-5 sophomore had a great December, averaging 14.4 points, 5-8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in five games. He's led the team in scoring a couple times this season, which usually occurs when his long-range shot is on point. He attempts about five threes per game and converts 39 percent, including 50 percent in the last five games.
Value Plays
Brendan Bailey, Marquette (DK $5,400, FD $6,500) vs. Villanova
Although he's a bit overpriced on FanDuel, Bailey is an excellent value on DraftKings. As is the case with a lot of players as you move down the list, Bailey represents a lot of variance in his production. He's laid two goose eggs, but he's also popped for 27 and 18 points. In the team's recent loss to Creighton, he put up an 18/11 line for his first double-double of the season, which is encouraging. The youngster is now called upon to take the reins at the four after a reserve role in his freshman year, and although he ranks eighth on the team with a 16.8 percent usage rate, he should still do enough to be relevant at this price.
CJ Fredrick, Iowa (DK $4,900, FD $5,900) vs. Penn State
Fredrick ranks seventh in the country with a true shooting percentage of 71 percent and can nail you to the wall with a deadly long-range shot when given the opportunity. The Hawkeyes will need some of that firepower if they hope to upend the Nittany Lions, and as long as Fredrick gets a full complement of minutes, he can deliver those threes as well as a good assist total for DFS owners.
Izaiah Brockington, Penn State (DK $4,500, FD $4,900) vs. Iowa
Brockington isn't starting yet, but he's certainly logging starter-like minutes, especially in the last few games. In the last five games, the St. Bonaventure transfer averaged 11.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game. He's a decent tournament play if you want to embrace the variance a bit, and he could certainly take his numbers up a notch if he sees more time.
Nick Weatherspoon, Mississippi State (DK $3,000) vs. Auburn
Although this is a DraftKings-only play, it is the best value on the slate. I think DraftKings got caught sleeping on this one. Weatherspoon is at a spectacular price after returning from suspension. In his second game back, he logged 24 minutes for a DKFP score of 24.25. You did the math right, folks? That's 8x value.
For the site-specific games, I've crafted a list of players and marked them as ELITE or VALUE plays for the slate:
Auburn at Mississippi State (DraftKings)
ELITE Reggie Perry, Mississippi State ($8,700)
ELITE Austin Wiley, Auburn ($7,400)
VALUE Danjel Purifoy, Auburn ($5,600)
VALUE Jamal Johnson, Auburn ($3,500)
Oregon at Utah (DraftKings)
ELITE Timmy Allen, Utah ($8,400)
ELITE Payton Pritchard, Oregon ($8,400)
VALUE Chris Duarte Oregon ($6,100)
VALUE Will Richardson, Oregon ($5,500)
Butler vs. Creighton (FanDuel)
ELITE Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton ($7,400)
ELITE Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton ($7,200)
VALUE Denzel Mahoney, Creighton ($5,800)
VALUE Bryce Golden, Butler ($4,600)
Kentucky vs. Missouri, (FanDuel)
ELITE Ashton Hagans, Kentucky ($7,800)
ELITE Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky ($6,400)
VALUE Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky ($5,200)
VALUE Javon Pickett, Missouri ($5,000)
Game to Target
Penn State (-2.5) vs. Iowa O/U: 154
I already identified plenty of targets in this game, but there's value elsewhere on both of these rosters. Luka Garza (DK $8,900, FD $8,400) is available for a slate-topping price, but Iowa's Joe Wieskamp (DK $6,400, FD $6,500) and Penn State's Myreon Jones (DK $6,900, FD $6,300) are quality mid-range players who fall off the radar if people are top-loading their lineups.
Game to Fade
Texas Tech (-5.5) vs. Oklahoma State O/U: 131
Make no mistake, these two rosters have talent, but a combo of overpriced elites and a potentially low score kept me away from this contest entirely. I could make a case for TJ Holyfield (DK $5,700, FD $5,900) as a mid-range placeholder, but that's about it.
