DraftKings College Basketball: Saturday Picks

DraftKings College Basketball: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our DraftKings College Basketball series.

Included Games
Georgetown at Connecticut
Northwestern at Indiana
Oklahoma at Baylor
West Virginia at Texas Tech
Duke at N.C. State
LSU at Alabama
Seton Hall at Xavier
Texas at Kansas
Iowa State at TCU
UCLA at Oregon
Louisville at Georgetown

Guards:

Luke Kennard ($6,100): Kennard went 0-9 from the field against Syracuse coming off a career game last weekend against Notre Dame where he went 10-15 from the field on his way to 30 points (43.5 fantasy points). Don't hold the abysmal performance against Kennard, he's quickly rising to a position as Duke's second or third offensive option – on an offensive ranked fourth in the nation in offensive efficiency. Duke's weak frontcourt has also forced Kennard to crash the boards more than normal, beefing up his value.

Edmond Sumner ($6,400): Despite being more well known for his horrific fall on New Years Eve against Villanova, Sumner's skills on the court need to be fully appreciated. He should see over 30 minutes per game (foul trouble permitting) for the rest of the season, and his production will only go up. He shoots accurately and often (attributing his 2-12 performance against Georgetown to rust), assists at the highest rate on the team, uses his 6-foot-6 frame to grab a nice number of rebounds and adds in some solid steal numbers that should come in handy against a turnover prone Seton Hall.

Other guards to consider: Jaysean Paige ($6,100); Riley Norris ($4,700), Tre Demps ($6,600); Matt Thomas ($5,400); Javan Felix ($5,100); Retin Obasohan ($7,000); Monte Morris ($8,900); Brandon Ingram ($9,200); Bryant McIntosh ($8,100)

Forwards:

Derek Willis ($4,400): Willis has jumped in the starting role for the Wildcats with rousing success, playing over 30 minutes and scoring over 30 fantasy points in both of his last two outings. Now, those two matchups were against arguably the best two fantasy matchups in the SEC (Arkansas and Auburn) and Vanderbilt's defense is stouter, but even 75 percent of the numbers Willis has put up over the last two puts him well above value at this price.

Justin Gray ($4,700): Gray has played over 30 minutes in two of his last three (the other falling significantly short due to an injury) and in those two averaged 32.9 fantasy points per game. The home matchup against West Virginia is simultaneously good and terrible.. West Virginia plays an extremely up-tempo game with lots of possessions, but does so through extensive pressing that results in lots of turnovers and a spectacular defensive efficiency. Gray, while simply being a good value, presents a player profile that may be able to exploit the Mountaineers. Gray does most of his damage from inside the arc (though he can get hot from the outside), draws lots of fouls (and makes the ensuing free throws) and, maybe most importantly, doesn't turn the ball over (averaging less than a turnover a game on the season).

Abdul-Malik Abu ($7,000): It's becoming evident that you can just take the opposing big man of whoever plays against Duke. Tyler Roberson had 20 rebounds earlier this week, Zach Auguste had 14 last weekend, Landry Nnoko had 13 the game before that, etc. It's an every game trend going all the way back to the last game before Amile Jefferson got injured. Abu has been extremely effective himself of late, coming in with three consecutive double-doubles and seven in his last ten.

Other forwards to consider: Shannon Hale ($4,800); Chris Washburn ($5,000); Dillon Brooks ($8,000); Chris Boucher ($7,700); Thomas Welsh ($6,700); Chinanu Onuaku ($7,600); Marshall Plumlee ($7,000); Johnathan Motley ($5,500); Alex Olah ($5,800)

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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