This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
Nine games made it into the Thursday slate, with a $2,000 top prize up for grabs on DraftKings. Of the 18 teams present, only Notre Dame and Western Kentucky have yet to play a game this season, and a key injury with the former should open up some value. Let's dive into the plays...
Top Tier
Trayce Jackson-Davis, F, Indiana ($10,600 DK)
There's a bit of risk here, as TJD has a thumb injury, and with the Hoosiers 30-plus point favorites, coach Mike Woodson could elect to take it easy with his likely All-American forward. Still, Jackson-Davis has the potential to produce in 20 minutes what the other four viable $10k+ players could do in a full game. A complete player, TJD would have likely have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft following any of the past three seasons, but NIL has provided an extra incentive to stick around in hopes of a deep NCAA Tournament run. Watch out for pre-game news -- should it get announced that he's out or limited, Race Thompson ($7,200) would be an elite play, and even Malik Reneau ($8,000) would be in consideration despite coming off the bench in the opener.
Arthur Kaluma, F, Creighton ($9,900 DK)
Depending on line movement, Creighton is right up their with Kansas for the second-highest implied total on the slate. While Kaluma isn't even the highest-priced Creighton player, he led the squad in usage rate at 38.3 percent in the opener, putting up 17 points and eight boards across 27 minutes. He now draws a stellar matchup against a North Dakota team that last season ranked No. 354 -- out of a possible 358 D1 teams -- in defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Assuming continued upward trajectory from his 10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg freshman season, he should feast for as long as the game is close.
Middle Tier
Dane Goodwin, F, Notre Dame ($6,500 DK)
The highest-priced Notre Dame player is Niagra transfer Marcus Hammond at $8,800, and he's already been ruled out with a knee injury. That's one less option for touches with Goodwin on the floor -- a fifth-year senior who has increased his scoring output in each of his four seasons with the program. Goodwin led the Irish with 21 points in a Nov. 2 exhibition and also tacked on 10 boards, needing just 29 minutes to do it. That rebounding production could be sustainable given Notre Dame's lack of forward depth this season. His minutes are safe given Mike Brey's historically-thin rotation, and the trajectory he's on leaves plenty of room for value against a Radford team that may play slow but sits at No. 213 in KenPom's early defensive efficiency rankings.
Gradey Dick, G, Kansas ($5,100 DK)
Dick is a five-star freshman who found himself in the Kansas starting five in Monday's season opener against Omaha, where he put up 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Kansas has one of the top implied totals on the slate, and coach Bill Self seems inclined to give the 6-8 wing plenty of run early to get acclimated, as he saw 32 minutes in a lopsided 89-64 victory. There wasn't much ancillary-category production, but both he and Kevin McCullar ($5,800) are sufficient pivots from the top-priced Jalen Wilson ($10,000). Note that Wilson may still be in consideration given all the value on what is clearly a deep slate.
Value Plays
Trey Wertz, G, Notre Dame ($3,500 DK)
Wertz has primarily been the sixth man for Notre Dame over the past two seasons, which was again the case in the Irish's recent exhibition, as he put up 12 points, four rebounds and two assists across 25 minutes off the bench. With the aforementioned Hammond sidelined, he's a prime candidate to step into the starting five in the official opener, and at this rock-bottom price, it won't take much for him to hit value.
Luke Frampton, G, Western Kentucky ($4,600 DK)
This is a safety play if nothing else. Frampton started all 31 games for WKU last season and averaged 31.8 mpg while shooting 38.6 percent from distance. It's a good idea to get some WKU players in your lineups, as the Hilltoppers will be squaring off against an Eastern Kentucky team that projects as the 10th-fastest pace team in the nation (per KenPom) while checking in at No. 264 overall and No. 273 defensively. Frampton should get plenty of run early in a blowout, and is far cheaper than point guard Dayvion McKnight ($10,800) and center Jamarion Sharp ($7,800). Getting hot from distance could be a slate-breaker in GPPs.
