DFS College Basketball: Saturday Preview

DFS College Basketball: Saturday Preview

This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.

Draft Kings has a six-game main slate Saturday that features No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor squaring off with a robust total of 161.5 points. All eyes will be on this battle, and lineups will certainly center around it given the projected points, as no other game is within 17 points. FanDuel has a reasonably similar main slate, while its current late offering cherry picks some of DK's later contests. 

FanDuel's pricing seems incredibly generous, with no player above 8k. It seems to suggest stacking Gonzaga-Baylor, while the clear GPP option is to target other games' high-priced options for upside, and adding secondary pieces of this marquee matchup for stability.

These early season smaller slates have my mind going with value plays as targets, and fading higher-priced/seemingly chalking plays. That will balance as the schedule does. Colorado's McKinley Wright ($8,800 DK, $7,900 FD) is an absolute anchor if the game goes off following the Buffalo's mid-week postponement. 

Targets

Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor ($6,800 DK, $7,100 FD)

Mitchell is clearly more appealing at his discounted Draft Kings price, but I'm leaning toward him as my preferred Bear regardless. He's second on the team in minutes, and contributes across the board, averaging 13.0 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Minutes and the ability to scratch anywhere seem to give the safest floor and the potential to boom.

Jordan Brown, F, Arizona ($6,800 DK)

Arizona's offense makes for a nice GPP stack, checking in as 12.5-point favorites in a game with the second-highest total at 146.5. Truthfully, it appears to be a rebound spot for James Akinjo ($8,100), otherwise his price will plummet. But Brown's length should afford him boards and blocks, and the scoring will come against an overmatched Eastern Washington.

Andrew Nembhard, G, Gonzaga ($5,400 DK, $4,800 FD)

Nembhard isn't the piece you want in this contest, but he's such a cheap buy in on both sites that he's hard to ignore. He's playing a tick over 30 minutes nightly despite not starting, the fourth-highest amongst Zags' regulars. A game of this magnitude will only shorten the rotation, and minutes inevitably lead to production.

Tyrese Martin, G, Connecticut, ($5,600 DK, $5,100 FD)

Martin is still coming into his own, as he was a primary piece at Rhode Island before transferring to UConn, where he's learning to not be a lead piece. But his 6-foot-6 frame and long arms make him a sound rebounder and a slashing scorer. This contest features the third-highest total at 144.5, and with a  1.5 point spread, we're going to see smaller rotations, where Martin should feature prominently. On the other side of this matchup, North Carolina State's Cam Hayes ($6,000 DK, $5,500 FD) is interesting, as I expect the Wolfpack to play their best over the final 10, and Hayes should be part of that.

Fades

Connor Vanover, F, Arkansas ($8,700 DK)

I just can't do this meteoric price increase. Vanover has earned 40+ DKP in his two appearances, but he debuted at a $5,400 price. A huge pet peeve of mine is that DK only lists his game logs when in contests, and omits his last showing, where he played only 12 minutes as a starter against UT Arlington. Yes, he was again incredibly efficient (12 points (5-6 FG), two rebounds, two blocks), but it's his second game with less than 20 minutes in three outings. At 7-3, he's going to dominate undersized Limscomb. I just can't justify this price given the uncertain run, which makes 4x return incredibly difficult to envision.

Ahsan Asadullah, F, Lipscomb ($5,500)

Casual players are going to see this price and the 33.5 DKP average and think, what do they have to lose. And maybe the price is so low I'm wrong and this is irrelevant. And even further, maybe you only fade Asadullah or Vanover, as seemingly the latter can swarm the former if given equal chances. But Asadullah's DKP average comes from averaging seven assists in two games against Lamar and Tulane. In his most recent showing, he had eight points, six boards, eight turnovers and three steals against Cincinnati. I expect him to again be overwhelmed by a larger, more athletic front line, and if so, the 18 DKP he posted last outing won't return 3x.

Noah Williams, G, Washington State ($6,200 DK, $4,800 FD)

This game has the lowest total on both slates at 136.5, and the Cougars are 11.5 point underdogs. I wanted to give Williams' his own place in this column, as he looks like an option on FanDuel, but he's gone for less 16.2 FDP or less in two of three, which is just over 3x value. Is there GPP upside ... presumably given the lack of other options. But Williams has proven to have a low floor, and could completely bust. He's not even on DK radars for me, assuming the even play (see intro).

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Bennett plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: k30kittles, DraftKings: k30kittles.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Bennett
Bennett covers baseball, college football and college basketball for RotoWire. Before turning to fantasy writing, he worked in scouting/player development for the Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos. He's also a fan of the ACC.
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