DraftKings College Basketball: Saturday Picks

DraftKings College Basketball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our DraftKings College Basketball series.

Included Games
Florida State at Clemson
Georgia Tech at North Carolina
West Virginia at Kansas State
Butler at Xavier
Texas at Texas Tech
Syracuse at Miami (FL)
Michigan State at Minnesota
Baylor at Kansas
Indiana at Nebraska
Tulsa at Cincinnati
Arkansas at Texas A&M
Notre Dame at Virginia
Marquette at Georgetown

Guards:

Eron Harris ($6,500): With Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine sidelined, Harris has stepped up from his bench role to be the leader of the Spartan attack. In the two games since Valentine was injured, Harris has averaged 24 points and 35.75 fantasy points per game (and that includes getting just 22 minutes due to fouling out last time out against Iowa).

Jalen Jones ($6,300): This price is an absolute joke. Jones has the highest usage rate on A&M while being the second-best rebounder and competent in both blocks and steals. Possibly best of all, A&M hosts one of the quickest tempo teams in the nation in the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Shavon Shields ($7,500): Don't make any mistake about it; it's the Shields AND White III show in Nebraska. Shields narrowly trails White in rebounding, blocks, and lags behind considerably in field-goal percentage (White's is unsustainably high), but he gets more minutes and steals and far outpaces White in assists. At $100 less, Shields narrowly gets the nod.

Troy Caupain ($6,000): Caupain has finally taken a bigger role in the offense over the past two games, topping 30 fantasy points both times after being more of an accessory. He's been extremely consistent, doesn't foul and provides a very solid fantasy floor.

Tyler Lewis ($4,900): Anyone who can put up 39 fantasy points at Purdue (the No. 1 team in defensive efficiency by a large margin) deserves recognition. New Year's Eve against Providence was a disaster, as he was simple outmanned by future lottery pick Kris Dunn, reaching five fouls in just 18 minutes while scoring just one point. However, in the three prior contests, he averaged 26.16 fantasy points per game. Lewis runs a dual point with the position-less Roosevelt Jones and between the two, they distribute nine assists per game.

Kellan Dunham ($5,700): Dunham has gone 0-21 from three over his last four games, representing the coldest streak in the senior's career. The good news is he will not stop shooting, and after shooting 41 percent from behind the arc last year, he is bound to return to form eventually. In a three0game stretch against Miami (FL), SIU Edwardsville and Cincinnati earlier in the year, Dunham hit 14 threes and scored 79 points (26.3 per outing). He can score the buckets in huge quantities at anytime and represents a great GPP option.

Other guards to consider: Andrew White III ($7,600); Danuel House ($7,100); Alex Caruso ($5,800); Tevin Mack ($4,400); Jordan Roper ($5,000); Dwayne Bacon ($7,200); Kamau Stokes ($4,800) Marcus Georges-Hunt ($6,400); Myles Davis ($5,400); Lester Medford ($6,600); Isaiah Taylor ($6,900); Joel Berry II ($6,600); J.P. Macura ($4,900); Devaugntah Williams ($6,600); Roosevelt Jones ($8,400); Anton Beard ($4,700); Keenan Evans ($4,800)

Forwards:

Wesley Iwundu ($6,000): The 6-foot-7 junior is having a breakout year leading the Wildcats in scoring while also being second in assists, fourth in rebounds and fourth in steals. Iwundu ranks second in turnovers per game too, and this will be the biggest concern coming up against West Virginia's pressure defense that leads the nation in turnovers.

Prince Ibeh ($3,700): The injury to Cameron Ridley left a big void in the Longhorn front court for Ibeh and Shaquille Cleare to fill. After seeing Cleare get only 12 minutes to Ibeh's 18 (despite foul trouble) last time out, I think we know where the majority of the minutes and production is going to go between the duo. If he were eligible, Ibeh would rank sixth in the nation in block percentage just a few points behind the injured Ridley. Ibeh had a double-double in the final game of his freshman year (yes, that was back in 2013), so the potential to be potent in those categories, along with his shot-blocking skills, gives him huge scoring potential at his price.

Michael Gbinije ($8,800): The matchup traveling to Miami isn't spectacular by any means, but with Gbinije, matchup is nearly meaningless. He will likely play the entire game, and I literally mean every single minute. Leading the Orange in points, assists and steals, Gbinije is one of the few true triple-double threats, especially if his rebounding numbers return to the mean set last season.

Thomas Bryant ($5,800): Nebraska got taken advantage for 28 points, 12 rebounds, a block and a steal by Dererk Pardon of Northwestern last time out. Pardon came off the bench and was playing in his first ever collegiate game needing to burn his redshirt just to play in the game following an injury to regular starter Alex Olah. Bryant has some normal freshman temperament issues, as showcased by fouling out in just six minutes against Rutgers, but in his three appearances before that he averaged 26.92 fantasy points per game. The freshman has a lot of upside as he develops and Nebraska appears to be very susceptible to big men, even the underdeveloped ones.

Landry Nnoko ($5,800): Nnoko is an example of an enigma you see in the college game, but not so much in the pros. The starting center sees limited minutes, averaging just below 20 minutes over the past five games. However, this limited playing time can actually be attributed to his 4.9 fouls per 40 minutes rather than any kind of minute limit or backup taking his minutes. In terms of block percentage (which KenPom considers blocked shots per opponent two-point attempt), Nnoko ranks 16th in the nation. He's a competent rebounder, carries high a field-goal percentage, and the chance he approaches 30 minutes against quick-paced Florida State leaves him with considerable upside at this price (last season he had 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block against Notre Dame in the last game of the regular season). His foul trouble (he fouled out after just seven minutes in this matchup last year), however, confines him to GPPs only.

Other forwards to consider: Jordan Murphy ($6,900); Jaron Blossomgame ($7,700); Norense Odiase ($4,700); Charles Mitchell ($8,000); Isaiah Hicks ($5,300); Kelan Martin ($6,600); Zach Smith ($6,500); Rico Gathers ($8,100); Nick Jacobs ($5,400); Brice Johnson ($8,400); Taurean Prince ($7,900); Max Bielfeldt ($5,000); Troy Williams ($7,700); Gary Clark ($6,800); Octavius Ellis ($6,300)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Alex Spalding plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: ajump08, DraftKings: ajump08.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Spalding
Alex splits his expertise between College Basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, and Saturday morning BPL. You'll find him under the username ajump08 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
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