This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
While college hoops takes a backseat to football on Saturday, there's still decent money to be won on the hardwood with DraftKings again offering a $1,000 first-place prize for a $10 entry, while only needing to take down 351 other managers.
It's an eight-game main slate which tips at noon and runs all day, with the last one at 8:30 p.m. EST. The final three matchups double over into DK's late slate, which doesn't boast the same attractive winnings.
Three games come with totals of 143 or greater, so we've got some clear scoring opportunities while we await odds on Harvard/Boston College. Harvard's in an interesting spot as they're not playing in a tournament but still on back-to-back nights.
Top Players
Dawson Garcia, F, Minnesota ($9,100)
Are we finally seeing a long-hyped breakout for Garcia? Through three games, the answer appears to be yes as he's averaging 20.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists, a solid 25.8 percent usage rate and 42.6 DKP. The Gophers come with a solid 79.0 point implied total, and South Carolina Upstate sits at 312th in defensive efficiency with only one regular north of 6-foot-7 to battle the 6-foot-11 Garcia. On a slate where everyone (rightfully) will target Creighton's premium options, Garcia makes for an interesting pivot. This tips off far earlier, and could put some heat on those targeting the later matchups.
Isaac Jones, F, Washington State ($8,000)
This is a big step up in class for the Cougars and they enter with a low implied total of 64.25 points, so this is more risk than we'd like from our top targets. But it could also present a low-used buying opportunity at a fair salary. Jones is averaging a double-double and comes with a massive 30.8 percent usage rate. The Idaho transfer hasn't previously appeared against a Power 5 school, so Jones could struggle and/or get into foul trouble. But this game profiles as a slugfest, and the 245-pound forward should be a steady source of rebounds and short range buckets while not requiring to be a go-to option to hit a 4x return.
Middle Tier
Keisei Tominaga, G, Nebraska ($6,300)
If we pair Tominaga's current usage (27.9 percent through two games) with last year's shooting percentages, he's got a lot of room for growth. An ankle issue cost him an appearance to open the season and then labored through his debut, yet showed progress last time out. It's an incredibly small sample, but Tominaga is shooting 8.6 percent worse from the floor and 10.6 lower from 3-point range. His attempts are up 2.4 per game and his 3s have increased to 3.3. The Cornhuskers need Tominaga's scoring and even moderate improvement gets us a chance at a big return. And the 26.75 DKP he produced in his last outing still represents a 4x return.
Zek Montgomery, G, Rhode Island ($5,400)
We'll start with the bad: the matchup is terrible. Northwestern enters 72nd in defensive efficiency and 353rd in tempo after ranking 22/315 last season. That's why I'm off of Jaden House and his 28.4 percent usage rate and targeting the value play with Montgomery. He's far less dependent on scoring as he's averaging 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The Rams aren't super targetable with an implied total around 65 points, though it should be a tight game where Montgomery gets 30-ish minutes to give him ample opportunity to produce. He's also another option who doesn't require a huge output to reach a 4x return.
Bargain Options
Fredrick King, F, Creighton ($4,900)
We can't ignore the Blue Jays on this slate, and I'd encourage you to fit in one of their top three options if for no other reason than everyone else will have shares - let alone their form and plus matchup. And this salary point is difficult to stomach for someone averaging 14.7 minutes, but it gives us a secondary share of this potent offense. King comes with a nice 26.5 usage rate that could play up in this matchup. Creighton is expected to win nearly 85-58. They will use their studs, though there should be 10 minutes for King in the first 30, and at least eight in the final 10. 20 DKP is well within reach.
Christian Wright, G, Oregon State ($3,800)
Oregon State is a tough team to pinpoint Saturday. On one hand, they carry a lot of attractive middle and low-tier options based on early season results. On the other hand, they list a lower implied total than Howard. I'm aiming to minimize risk here, but believe both Dexter Akanno ($5,200) or Tyler Bilodeau ($5,500) merit consideration. We just can't stack Beavers here. Wright's usage is minimal at 14.8 percent, yet he's averaging 33.3 minutes and that shouldn't deviate in an expected tight game. At this salary, he should be able to stumble into a 4x return and open things up elsewhere.
