DFS College Basketball: Tuesday FanDuel Main Slate

Auburn @ Duke (-10.5), o/u 162, 8:00 p.m. EST

Duke checks in with the highest implied point total of the slate so it would be wise to get a piece of this game, but it's always a struggle to pick which freshman to use. Zion Williamson ($9,300) had a poor game by his standards Tuesday due to early foul trouble, but still finished with 31.7 fantasy points (a season-low). R.J. Barrett ($8,300) is never a bad call in cash games, as he has yet to score under 30.2 fantasy points this year. He has a similar floor to Zion, but at a cheaper price and less foul-trouble risk. Remember, he's still the projected top NBA Draft pick. Cam Reddish ($7.400) has slowed down too since scoring 22 and 25 in the first two nights, but he's a fine pivot if you can't fit in higher-priced options. Tre Jones will always be in play for me when under $6K, as I don't believe he's reached his ceiling quite yet. But I'm not trying to get too cute. Barrett and Zion will be the core for my "A" lineups tonight.

The high-priced Auburn players are likely a fade for me, given that this will be easily their toughest matchup all season. Bryce Brown finally hit his stride with 40.3 FanDuel points Monday night, and his price is up to $6,500 because of it. I still believe he finishes with a better statistical season than Jared Harper ($8,500), so look for that to continue to even out. If you're looking for a cheap flyer, perhaps consider Austin Wiley at $4,400. The 6-11 center missed the first game of the year, but has seen his minutes increase in every game since then. As a freshman in 2016-17, Wiley started 22 of 23 games, so we know Bruce Pearl thinks highly of him. He's now reached double figures in back-to-back games (the game against Mississippi College doesn't appear on the FD game logs), and could see more minutes as a way to help curb Duke's menacing post presence. Samir Doughty ($4,700), who has started every game so far, is a plenty fine salary relief play as well if you're not with me on Wiley.

Nebraska (-1) @ Texas Tech, o/u 136, 9:30 p.m. EST

If you're going to fade a game on this slate, the over/under screams fade this one. Both teams are in the top-23 of KenPom's defensive efficiency, with Texas Tech checking in at No. 6 overall. The Red Raiders also land at No. 305 nationwide in adjusted tempo, so even someone like Isaac Copeland Jr. ($7,300), who is averaging 40 FanDuel points over his last two, is tough to rationalize with the boost in opponent. If you must get a piece of Texas Tech, I think Matt Mooney ($6,200) has a similar ceiling as Jarrett Culver ($7,500), but at a much cheaper price. While Culver undoubtedly scores more, the peripheral stats are closer than one might think. Need a possible value play? Tariq Owens ($4,700) has bounced around from Tennessee to St. John's before finally landing at Texas Tech. He's started every game, and had his best showing Monday against USC with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Colorado @ San Diego (-4.5), o/u 144, 10:00 p.m. EST

This was the toughest one for me to break down because I don't particularly care for the top-priced options, but still wanted some exposure. Isaiah Pineiro ($8,300) had two monster performances to start the year, but was held to 22.9 FanDuel points when he finally got a Power-5 matchup against Washington on Nov. 12. He's the same price as R.J. Barrett, and I'm taking Barrett nine times out of 10 in that matchup. For Colorado, the RotoWire Lineup Optimizer projects McKinley Wright ($7,500) as the highest-scoring player, but 26.5 projected points doesn't necessarily make it worth the price tag. For what it's worth, we project Namon Wright ($7,000) for 23.7 points and Tyler Bey ($7,200) for 23.6. Moral of the story? Not much difference between the trio. Colorado has been tough to dissect overall with just a two-game sample size, but one value that seemingly stands out is Lucas Siewert ($4,800). He was limited to just 49 combined minutes in his first two games (both blowout wins), but produced 27 points and eight rebounds. Tuesday won't be as much of a blowout with the Buffaloes actually underdogs for the contest, so as long as he stays out of foul trouble, I think he has a double-double in him. He's their best remaining post option after Dallas Walton went down with a torn ACL.

Arizona @ Gonzaga (-9.5), o/u 155, 10:30 p.m. EST

Sometimes I'm guilty of falling in love with NBA prospects, but Rui Hachimura seems to be way underpriced at $6,800. His floor so far this year is about 25 FanDuel points, and like Monday night, he should be out there the entire game with the Zags likely to be tested a bit. The rebounding upside isn't quite what the higher-priced Brandon Clarke ($8,300) possesses, but Hachimura is the better scorer with safter minutes. Gonzaga is a top-20 team defensively, and the deep Arizona rotation has been a difficult one to judge at times. The one constant is leading scorer Brandon Randolph ($6,100), who is cheaper than his backcourt counterpart Brandon Williams ($6,700).Justin Coleman ($4,400) is the cheapest of the bunch coming off his best outing of the year at 24.7 FanDuel points. He's attempted 28 field goals over his last three games.

Texas A&M @ Washington (-3), o/u 148.5, 11:30 p.m. EST

This is another game I've found myself with heavy exposure to, even though the over/under isn't quite what we have with Zona/Zaga. With Admon Gilder (hamstring) out again for the Aggies, I'm looking again to Savion Flagg ($5,700), who had 49.7 FanDuel points in the opener and hasn't scored under 22 since. I think there's value in Christian Mekowulu ($6,200) as well. He dropped 30.4 FanDuel points in arguably the toughest frontcourt matchup he's seen all year against Minnesota on Sunday. While typically not advisable in DFS, if you need a punt play on the slate, look no further than Wendell Mitchell ($3,000). The Baylor transfer has been dealing with a knee injury and finally made his debut Monday. While he didn't score, he played 22 minutes off the bench and attempted eight field goals -- not awful for minimum price, especially when you need room for the Duke studs.

For Washington, both Noah Dickerson ($6,500) and Matisse Thybulle ($5,600) are serviceable alternatives to the higher-price Jaylen Nowell ($7,800). While Nowell's prospects are fine, he's tough to work in if you're trying to get heavy Duke exposure. Thybulle is coming off a dud of a performance with 10.8 FanDuel points, and has yet to score in double figures this season. Nonetheless, he contributes in every single category and limits his turnovers. One of these games he will put it all together.