This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
Conference tournaments are our flavor this week, so we'll likely have multiple slates to sort through daily. We're still waiting on some Monday results for the evening slate to take shape, but DraftKings appears to be featuring the earlier slate, with a $5,000 first-place prize on the line in a contest featuring three ACC games only, tipping at 2:00 p.m. EST, with the final game supposed to get going around 6:45.
All but lowly Louisville are expected to at least flirt with 70 points. The only injury of note is Boston College's Quinten Post ($8,500), whose status is uncertain due to an ankle issue. That will be well worth monitoring. A potential return would still come with risk, but also low roster percentages. A potential absence opens up some appeal elsewhere within the Eagles' rotation.
Top Tier
Javon Franklin, F, Georgia Tech ($9,100)
The Jackets have found something in Franklin down the stretch. Since inserting him into the starting lineup February 1, he's averaged 13.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.1 blocks in 10 games, playing 35.5 minutes. He's posted six double-doubles and a triple-double across Georgia Tech's last seven games. Furthermore, we know we want in against Florida State's 245th ranked defense, per KenPom. I do worry that the recent run of success could lead to him being incredibly chalky, and would not fault anyone for pivoting to either of Virginia Tech's top options in Justyn Mutts ($9,400) or Grant Basile ($8,700).
Nate Laszewski, F, Notre Dame ($7,400)
Speaking of the Hokies, I don't trust their defense even with their middling 121st efficiency rating, though it has been better over the lsat few games. They did, however, give up 87 in a prior meeting with Notre Dame, where Laszewski went off for 33 points and eight rebounds en route to a 50 DKP return. That's unlikely to be repeated, but it does speak to the matchup being favorable. He's grabbed at least eight boards in six of seven, giving him a reasonable floor despite the slightly higher tag than I'd prefer given his inconsistent scoring. Just know he's returned 4x this number just five times in the Irish's last 10. The ceiling is there for GPPs, but the floor may not be for cash game builds.
Middle Tier
Lance Terry, G, Georgia Tech ($6,400)
Never did I anticipate penning a DFS column where two Georgia Tech players would be featured, but here we are. As noted above, Florida State is woeful defensively, though they are more talented than the Jackets, so maybe the Seminoles rise up here and extend their season? Either way, Terry should be heavily involved Tuesday afternoon. He's played all but one minute across GT's last three games and has scored in double-digits in seven of nine, with one of those poor showings being a 15-minute outing in which Terry fouled out. Perhaps pairing Terry with one of the Hokie big men mentioned above is an interesting contrarian build.
Mike James, G/F, Louisville ($5,400)
James likely qualifies as a bargain option, but with some pretty clear low-priced options mentioned below, we can go a little cheaper here too and work our way towards more high-end options in our builds. James has emerged as the Cardinals second scorer, going for double figures in three straight and six of eight. Over his last 12 outings, he's shown a 10.75 DKP floor and 33.25 DKP ceiling, five times going north of 20 DKP. Not elite, but steady production. He also posted a diverse 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block against Boston College previously. There's also position flexibility.
Bargain Tier
T.J. Bickerstaff, F, Boston College ($4,200)
There's almost no way this isn't chalk city, but there's no responsible way to omit Bickerstaff from this column. His appeal rests strictly upon the availability of Post, who I'm not sure the Eagles need to get by the lowly Cardinals here. Louisville ranks 298th defensively, so we absolutely need a piece of the Eagles, who posted a reasonable 75 points against them previously. Bickerstaff had 36.25 DKP in Post's absence Saturday, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He hadn't topped 20 DKP since January 11th previously, but if BC is without Post, the opportunity is too great to pass up.
Rodney Rice, G, Virginia Tech ($3,900)
I targeted Rice in this column over the weekend, and he did just as we hoped, returning 19.0 DKP, the second time he's done that in three games. With Darrius Maddox ($4,600) out, and the Hokies hoping to play multiple games in multiple days, there's no reason Rice shouldn't play 20+ minutes and maintain his high usage rate, especially if the game is as high scoring as the previous matchup. I do worry the cat is out of the bag a bit with Rice, which will make him very popular. That said, if everyone uses him, you can't really lose. Either he booms and you go along for the ride, or he fails and all other managers do too. He's essentially a free square.
