DFS College Basketball: Wednesday Preview

Top Players:

Markus Howard, Marquette ($8,700 FD, $9,800 DK): Howard is dealing with a minor groin issue that hasn't stopped him from playing, but limited his effectiveness Saturday. He had just 22.3 DraftKings points against the Friars after reaching 40-plus in six of the previous eight games. Other than the ever-so-slight injury risk, he's in a great spot tonight after scoring 38 points in 38 minutes in his first meeting with Villanova this year. The matchup numbers don't look particularly great, especially given the fact that Villanova's tempo checks in at No. 338 in the nation, according to KenPom. Their defense is very average (No. 81), however, and I believe Marquette can force them to play at their pace, at least for stretches. Even if it's not Howard, I'd heavily advise getting some type of piece of this game, whether it be Phil Booth, the Hauser brothers or Sacar Anim ($5,000 FD, $4,500 DK) -- the latter being a potential value play after scoring 18 in their first meeting.

Grant Williams, Tennessee ($8,600 FD, $9,700 DK): Williams has come back down to earth of late. While he's scored 30 or more DK points in four straight, he hasn't hit 4x on DraftKings since February 2 against Texas A&M. He and the Volunteers hit the road Wednesday for a matchup against Mississippi, a team that plays at an above-average pace (No. 122) with respectable defense (No. 55). Wednesday will represent the first and only meeting of the year between these two teams, barring a showdown in the SEC tournament. We've seen several examples of the ceiling of Williams this season, but given he and Tennessee's struggles of late, I'm probably limiting this to GPPs tonight.

Carsen Edwards, Purdue ($8,500 FD, $9,400 DK): Edwards is in the midst of a brutal shooting stretch, going 7-for-40 from the field and an abysmal 1-for-20 from three-point range over his last two games. But shooters shoot, and I can still live with him as a GPP play. Illinois has shut down quality forwards like Ethan Happ and Jordan Murphy (well, once at least), but they play at a high tempo (No. 33), so multi-category producers like Edwards will get a boost. The Illini create a lot of turnovers, but aren't necessarily exceptional in any other major defensive categories. There's no guarantee Edwards gets his shot back, but if he does, there's a decent chance for a ceiling game in this one.

Ky Bowman, Boston College ($9,500 - DK only): Bowman is only on the DraftKings slate tonight, where he's at a price I'm not willing to pay given the matchup. Even with Wynston Tabbs (knee) still out, Bowman has been hard-pressed to find 4x, and has three games of 30 DK points or less in his last six. He's a fade for me against the No. 19 defense in the country.

De'Andre Hunter, Virginia ($8,300 FD, $7,100 DK): Hunter is priced appropriately on FanDuel, but the $1200 discrepancy between sites is the largest on the entire slate, so he gets a mention here. Georgia Tech is pretty good defensively, landing in the top-10 in perimeter defense and No. 26 overall, according to KenPom. That strength will apply more to Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome, however, leaving the future first-round pick to do his thing. He'll look to build momentum after scoring 26 in a tough matchup Saturday at Louisville.

Value Plays:

Jase Febres, Texas ($4,700 FD, $4,300 DK): This could very well be the lock of the slate. Kerwin Roach is suspended indefinitely and probably won't be back against Baylor. Saturday against Oklahoma, Febres started and scored 15 points (5-15 FG) with a stat line good enough for 29.75 on DraftKings. Courtney Ramey ($5,700 FD, $5,300 DK) and Elijah Mitrou-Long ($4,100 FD, $4,500 DK) get slight boosts as well if you're looking for a long shot, but Febres seems to be the play here. Buy low while you can.

Sacar Anim, Marquette ($5,000 FD, $4,500 DK): He scored 29.75 on DraftKings on Saturday, and was an x-factor with 18 points in the first meeting Feb. 9. Yet, there still hasn't been much movement in pricing.

Anfernee McLemore, Auburn ($5,000 FD, $4,500 DK): He's managed to string together a couple games with 20-plus fantasy points, and the Tigers will likely be without Austin Wiley (lower leg), so 5-10 more frontcourt minutes will open up.

Devonte Bandoo, Baylor ($4,800 DK): I know, I know. A lot of usual suspects here. But as long as Bandoo continues to hit 4x for under $5,000 on DraftKings, I'm in. He had 33.5 against West Virginia this weekend and is averaging 24.6 over his last five. Texas is a bad matchup, but I'll ride this train as long as King McClure (knee) is confirmed out.

Game to Target:

Georgetown (-5) vs. DePaul, o/u 160.5, 7:00 p.m. EST

Like yesterday, there's one game that stands out above the rest with an over/under at or near 10 points higher than the rest of the slate. There's not much at stake in terms of postseason play for these two teams, though Georgetown has an outside chance if they can find a way to win out in the regular season. What works well for DFS here is the face that both teams land outside the top-100 in defensive efficiency an inside the top-100 in tempo, per KenPom. Georgetown actually has the 20th-fastest pace in the country.

We'll start with the Hoyas, who have the highest implied point total of the day. That conversation typically starts with Jessie Govan ($7,800 FD, $9,200 DK), who is wildly overpriced on DraftKings. The ceiling can reach the 50s or 60s, so he's at least worth a look in FanDuel GPPs. The player I'm most intrigued by of late is freshman guard Mac McClung ($6,500 FD, $6,000 DK), who is averaging 7.0 more PPG at home than on the road during Big East play. He was oddly limited to under 20 minutes in two of the last three, but when he gets 30 minutes or more, he's launching double-digit shot attempts and contributing across multiple categories. I have to mention James Akinjo ($6,400 DK) in this conversation as well -- he can get you 45 but just as easily end up with 15. Speaking of GPPs, Jamorko Pickett ($4,700 DK) had averaged 22.2 DK points/game over his last four before producing a dud (3.0 points) Saturday. That's at least a cheap way to get a piece. The DePaul defense is pretty horrendous against three-point shooting, checking in at No. 274 in opponent three-point percentage on KenPom. Based on that, Akinjo might be your best bet as the team leader in makes, but Govan has sneakily converted 41.8 percent of his treys this year as well. McClung has tallied the most attempts despite missing four games, so I'll take a serious look at him as well.

Every DePaul player gets a pretty big tempo boost in this one, and I don't have a great case against anyone in the starting five. Max Strus ($7,900 FD, $8,000 DK) typically gets most of the love and is a pretty safe cash game play, but it's surprisingly been Femi Olujobi ($6,200 FD, $5,600 DK) with the highest usage over the last 10. I'll absolutely be going back to him on DraftKings tonight. Paul Reed has plenty of DK efforts of 40-plus points on the year, though I'm slightly hesitant after he's had games of 13.0 and 12.25 DraftKings points. His DK price peaked earlier in the month at $7,500, and while he's coming back down to earth, I'm still not crazy about it. Eli Cain ($6,000 FD, $5,800 DK) and Devin Gage ($5,400 FD, $5,000 DK) have been splitting time at point guard, but Cain has been more effective of late and his DK price is at a season-low. His scoring has oddly been higher on the road during Big East play, and he dropped 27 in a trip to Georgetown last year.

Game to Fade:

Vanderbilt vs. Florida (-4), o/u 129, 9:00 p.m. EST

Florida is currently looking at a 8 or 9-seed in the tournament, but absolutely must win games like these to hold its position. They get a road matchup Wednesday night against a Vanderbilt team that is No. 151 in tempo and No. 80 in defensive efficiency. The teams met once this year already, scoring only a combined 123 points. That alone doesn't make this a bad matchup, however. It's more the fact that the Gators have been completely unpredictable of late. Just when Keyontae Johnson ($6,000 FD, $6,000 DK) looked like he was getting hot, he ends up with 16.0 and 21.75 in his last two. Johnson was the only starter in double figures in their first matchup, unless you count a mysteriously volatile Jalen Hudson ($4,500 FD, $4,500 DK), who chipped in 10 as a reserve. Kevaughn Allen ($6,200 FD, $6,100 DK) might be a play I feel OK about, but he produced just 14.0 DraftKings points over 34 minutes in Florida's last matchup against Vanderbilt. The only meaningful producer on the Vanderbilt side was Aaron Nesmith ($6,500 FD, $6,800 DK), who is now priced appropriately. Florida did a great job luring the Vandy frontcourt into foul trouble, with three starters logging four personals. This is just one of those games where I can't trust anyone, so I'm putting my hands up and tuning in elsewhere tonight.