This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
The college basketball season now has a week in the books, and we're finally starting to get a good read on rotations, pace and efficiency. The following is a breakdown for the Tuesday evening slate on both FanDuel and DraftKings, aided by the information we compiled over that first week. If you're viewing this in the early afternoon, be sure to check prior to tip-off for any added value plays that I uncover during the day. Often, injury developments open up value on a given slate.
I had the list below in my preview for opening night, but I wanted to remind subscribers once more of the various features we offer here at RotoWire — whether there's a write-up like this for a given slate or not.
- CBB Injuries, which can be viewed via our news updates or in grid form (tip: sort by date to see anyone injured for that specific day).
- Subscriber Discord: Included with your subscription, you can join our Discord server to share ideas with other subscribers and root for your collective plays.
- CBB Team Pages: From our Team Stats page, click on any team for an in-depth breakdown of various factors related to the team. Here you can see depth charts, starting lineups over the last five games, a full schedule with results/box scores and various other metrics calculated by RotoWire.
And here are a few more that are DFS specific:
- Lineup Optimizer: Your general lineup-building starting point. Here, you can edit our mathematically based projections to your liking and use customizable features such as lock/exclude to build lineups that have your own personal touch. "Like" a player to boost his projection by 20 percent. And NEW this season, generate up to 150 lineups for a given slate.
- Daily Matchup Info: This tool organizes the entire slate with sortable columns for things like implied point total and pace. It's a great starting point for figuring out games/matchups to target.
- Advanced Daily Lineups: This feature displays a team's recent starters alongside their usage rates. It shows bench players as well. A high usage rate, reasonable minutes total and below-average price tag typically signals a good DFS play.
Without further delay, let's dive into the Tuesday slate.
Top Players
James Wiseman, F, Memphis ($9,500 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel)
Wiseman is in a spot to post a huge line, as a projected close game should keep him on the court for as much as he can handle against an Oregon team whose frontcourt isn't its strength. The only downside to Wiseman is the eligibility concerns that were brought up Friday night, so it will be worth checking to make sure his status is the same leading up to lineup lock. While the NCAA has ruled he's "likely ineligible," coach Penny Hardaway seems intent on standing up for his player and letting Wiseman take the basketball court while the issue plays itself out in the court of law.
Payton Pritchard, G, Oregon ($9,200 DK, $8,600 FD)
This game has the highest over/under on DraftKings and second highest on FanDuel, and Pritchard has the highest usage rate among any Oregon player. It's a classic veteran vs. freshman battle, and I fully expect Pritchard to fill the stat sheet in what projects to be Oregon's closest game of the season. He's the safest play on the slate, and with plenty of value options below, go ahead and lock him in cash-game lineups.
Tres Tinkle, F, Oregon State ($9,900 DK only)
Tinkle has hit or eclipsed 53.0 DraftKings points in each of the first two games this year, so it's no surprise to see him priced this high. He's been with the Beavers since 2015-16 and is already well on his way to another year averaging 20.0 ppg or more. Oklahoma is No. 13 in KenPom's adjusted defense metric early in the season, but it also plays at a tempo fast enough (No. 54) to make using Tinkle worthwhile. It's a big chunk of your budget on a site that has more responsive pricing than last year, but I certainly couldn't fault anyone who wants to anchor a lineup with Tinkle.
Tre Jones, G, Duke ($8,000 FD only)
Central Arkansas checks in at No. 21 nationwide in KenPom's adjusted tempo metric, and given Duke likes to run the floor as well, this projects to be a high-scoring affair as long as Duke leaves its starters in. Anchoring a lineup with Jones is a perfectly fine idea, as he has the team's second-highest usage rate through two games and will get plenty of opportunities to fill the box score (even if he spends the last five-plus minutes on the bench).
Value Plays
Jordan Tucker, F, Butler ($5,200 DK, $5,100 FD)
Kamar Baldwin ($6,300 DK, $6,000 FD) remains limited by an oblique injury and hasn't started in either of Butler's first two games, and several other depth pieces enter the Tuesday night contest with injury tags. Tucker is listed as a forward on both sites, but the 6-foot-7 Duke transfer drains threes like a guard — he shot 37.0 percent last year and went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc on opening night. Mix in rebounding upside and Tucker gives you one of the better cash plays across both sites.
Precious Achiuwa, F, Memphis ($6,700 DK, $5,500 FD)
Often overlooked in a stacked recruiting class, Achiuwa actually leads the Tigers with a 31.9 percent usage rate over the first two games (both starts). He's probably only a value on FanDuel, but if anything happens regarding Wiseman's availability, Achiuwa would be an immediate lock on both sites.
Vernon Carey Jr., F, Duke ($5,700 FD only)
Carey opened the year as one of the highest-priced players in the DFS pool, but his salary fell off a cliff after a couple mediocre performances. He's still starting, healthy and a consensus top-5 recruit, plus he gets a Central Arkansas team outside the top 300 in KenPom's offensive and defensive rebounding metrics. The only risk is foul trouble, which is likely why he should be limited to GPPs. Carey needs reps more than anything, so we could still see him out on the court when the game is well in hand, provided he avoids quick whistles.
Isaac Okoro, F, Auburn ($4,500 DK only)
Okoro and the Tigers have the highest implied point total on the DraftKings slate, and while the usage hasn't been crazy high for the four-star freshman, he's started and played 30-plus minutes in both games this season. Anyone who has watched the Tigers knows the raw skills are there, and at a minimal price, he has a decent floor with a chance to go off against an overmatched opponent.
Also Considered:
Here are a few players who meet the following criteria: they start, play at least 25.0 mpg, are top 2 on their team in usage rate and are priced less than $5,500, per our Advanced Daily Lineups Page.
Dru Smith, G, Missouri ($4,900 DK, $4,700 FD)
Kameron McGusty, G, Miami ($4,300 DK only)
Andre Fox, G, South Alabama ($4,900 DK only)
De'Vion Harmon, Oklahoma ($5,400 DK only)
Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky ($5,200 FD only)
Anthony Smith, G, Murray State ($5,100 FD only)
Jordan Bowden, G, Tennessee ($4,600 FD only)
Games to Target
Duke (-31.5) vs. Central Arkansas, o/u 153.5, 7 p.m. EST (FanDuel Only)
We touched on Duke above but I'm not quite done yet. I think the pricing on Matthew Hurt ($4,500) is still a little soft, as he's still starting, has the third-highest usage rate among starters and is still one of Duke's best perimeter shooters. Wendell Moore ($3,800) hasn't seen the minutes I thought he might to start the year, but he gets enough usage if you need a punt play. For Central Arkansas, Hayden Koval $(5,900) is the highest-priced player, but Eddy Kayouloud ($4,900) plays more minutes and has an identical scoring average (13.0 ppg), plus superior marks in rebounds and assists.
South Alabama vs. Auburn (-7.5), o/u 145, 8 p.m. EST (DraftKings Only)
With no Duke on the DraftKings slate, Auburn is edging out Oregon for the highest implied point total of the day. I'm not messing around with Josh Ajayi ($8,000) or Trhae Mitchell ($7,900) given the massive step up in competition, but I could certainly get on board with senior guard Andre Fox ($4,900), who leads the team with a 28.8 percent usage rate over three games. For the Tigers, Austin Wiley ($5,300) will forever be the death of me in DFS, especially now that he's starting and second on the team in usage rate. Danjel Purifoy ($5,500) is finally get the minutes I thought he'd see last year, playing exactly 32 in each of the team's first two games. I'm not crazy about paying up to $6,700 for Samir Doughty -- who I think is just an average player -- but I wouldn't fight someone on it too much based on his multi-category production and top usage rate. A reasonable pivot is J'Von McCormick ($5,400), a similar type of player but for a smaller price.
Game to Fade
Butler (9.5) vs. Minnesota, o/u 135.5, 8:30 p.m. EST
Outside of Jordan Tucker (mentioned above), not a whole lot stands out here. Kamar Baldwin (oblique) is an automatic fade until I see him healthy, and the current set of starters is priced up appropriately. For Minnesota, the two key producers — Marcus Carr and Daniel Oturu — have price tags too steep for the major step up in competition. Plus, the team gets back Isaiah Ihnen (wrist) tonight, which leaves questions about the rotation.
Have questions about our DFS content? Want to learn more about games that aren't mentioned here? Leave a comment, or jump in on our subscriber Discord to chat with other CBB DFS players.
