DFS College Basketball: PrizePicks Selections for Thursday, March 21

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Published on March 19, 2024

The Field of 64 has been set, and the NCAA Tournament gets underway on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. ET in Charlotte, NC with the Michigan State Spartans and Mississippi State Bulldogs doing battle in the first game of the early window. There are some outstanding players to target at PrizePicks on Thursday. Let's make some money together!

If you're not familiar how to play, you must simply choose at least two players from any sport and pick more or less on their projected statistics to win. We'll obviously be exclusively selecting college hoops players, but you can mix and match from various other sports. You can also go with a flex play, meaning you still can have a winning night even if you have one losing selection. Or you can go big and choose the power play, which pays out higher. However, you must hit all ends to win. Let's get started!

Fousseyni Traore, F, BYU

The Cougars of BYU will square off with the Dukes of Duquesne, who are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Norm Nixon was running things back in 1977. Yeah, it's been a while for the Dukes.

Traore has been on a scoring binge lately. The 6-foot-6 junior, who hails from Bamako, Mali, has averaged 15.3 ppg across the past three outings, while averaging 6.0 rpg. He has five or more boards in seven of the past eight contests, too. He is a good bet to gather plenty of boards against the Dukes, who struggled with their shot all season, hitting just 43.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line. Defensively, Duquesne allowed just 66.8 ppg, so he could struggle to get to double digits. However, he should be able to get his fair share of points, while likely going for 10+ boards.

CBB PrizePicks Selection: Fousseyni Traore, Over 18.0 Pts+Rebs+Asts

Terrence Shannon, G, Illinois

Shannon absolutely went off in the Big Ten Tournament, and lately he has been on fire offensively. The senior from Chicago went for 34 points in the tourney final Sunday in a 93-87 win over Wisconsin, hitting 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.

Shannon averaged a ridiculous 34.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 2.0 apg in the Big Ten Tournament, including 10 3-pointers and 38 successful free-throws. He can hit from outside, get himself to the line for opportunities and can create all day long. Morehead State was outstanding defensively this season, but at the same time, it hasn't faced the Big Ten champs nor a team with tremendous size like the Illini. In other words, Illinois isn't Lindenwood or Tennessee-Martin. Morehead State played Alabama and Purdue this season, and the Eagles lost by an average of 31 points. So, the defensive numbers for Morehead State are a little deceiving.

CBB PrizePicks Selection: Terrence Shannon, Over 30.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts

Dalton Knecht, G, Tennessee

Knecht has been one of my favorite players this season. When he is on, he can roll up huge offensive totals in a hurry. Just ask Kentucky, as he rolled up 40 points with six 3-pointers in the regular-season finale. He actually averaged 29.5 PPG with 4.3 3-pointers per game in the final four regular-season games, all against ranked opponents, so he won't be fazed facing the Peacocks.

St. Peter's will be the opposition in the first round, and the Peacocks allowed just 64.1 ppg to rank 14th in the country. However, the Peacocks allowed the opposition to hit 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line, which was good for just 161st in the nation. That's the Achilles' heel for the Peacocks, and Knecht is a sharpshooter who is going to give SPU nightmares all evening long. The only concern is a game which gets out of hand, and Tennessee elects to call off the dogs to allow younger players some NCAA Tournament experience.

CBB PrizePicks Selection: Dalton Knecht, Over 21.5 Points

Tuesday's College Basketball PrizePicks Selections:

Here's a recap of my best college basketball bets for Tuesday:

Fousseyni Traore, BYU, Over 18.0 Pts+Rebs+Asts
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois, Over 30.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee, Over 21.5 Points

For additional recommendations for PrizePicks and other similar sites, check out our College Basketball Picks page.

For more fantasy college hoops content, be sure to check out features like our college basketball injury report, college basketball depth charts and latest college basketball news.

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.