This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
With Feast Week coming to an end, we've got a smaller five-game main slate Saturday afternoon with Alabama-Oregon getting us underway at 4:00 p.m. EST and Northern Illinois-DePaul wrapping things up. Those bookends carry the highest totals on the slate, making for the obvious targets. While many eyes will be on rivalry weekend on the college gridiron, DraftKings still has a $1,000 first-place prize available to one of 352 entries, so winning is potentially more attainable than on the mega-sized slates.
The question that needs to be answered Saturday is whether or not to use Jaedon LeDee, who is in absolutely dominant form and $1,300 more than anyone else. We won't highlight him here, but rather try to offer a balanced approach to fade him while also hoping to identify enough value where he can be used.
Top Players
Grant Nelson, F, Alabama ($8,000)
Nelson hasn't been consistent as he's only 4x bettered this salary three times in five games. But there's a lot to like in this matchup as the Tide rank first in offensive efficiency with at least 81 points in every contest and 98-plus from four of five. They've got an implied total of 85ish here based on the sportsbook numbers, and Oregon's frontcourt is incredibly depleted with freshman Kwame Evans the only healthy option above 6-foot-5 who'll see steady minutes. Nelson should be able to feast on the interior.
Roddy Gayle, G, Ohio State ($7,100)
It's largely a two-man game for the Buckeyes right now with Gayle and Bruce Thornton leading the charge. Gayle is slightly cheaper, scores almost as much and is the far better rebounder. He's taken nine or more shots in every outing with five-plus boards in four of five. I'm willing to spend for consistency over upside here, with Gayle going between 25.75 and 32.75 DKP thus far. He's got a solid 24.6 percent usage rate, and the Buckeyes are expected to flirt with 80 points Saturday.
Middle Tier
David Coit, G, Northern Illinois ($6,800)
The Huskies don't play much defense ranking 202nd in efficiency and play nice and quick sitting at 22nd in tempo, creating great fantasy opportunity for their players and opponents alike. Coit leads the club with a 26.6 percent usage rate and is contributing across the board by averaging 18.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists. The scoring is in line with his numbers from last year while the peripherals are up. At a sub-7k salary, we don't need a blow up for at least a 4x return. The only two times he's failed to do so however were against a tough Marquette team and in a blowout win over Illinois Tech where his minutes weren't needed.
Christoph Tilly, F, Santa Clara ($5,700)
The matchup isn't ideal as Ohio State ranks 55th in defensive efficiency and 256th in tempo, resulting in Santa Clara facing an uphill battle to reach 70 points. And the Buckeyes boast enough size and bulk to combat Tilly's 6-foot-10 frame. But he's playing with a good deal of confidence at the moment having scored in double-digits in three straight with a 24.1 percent usage rate. Tilly's produced some big efforts over the last three And while we don't anticipate that here, there's at least that potential. More likely, we get 25ish minutes and counting stats across the board at a fair value.
Bargain Options
Jarin Stevenson, F, Alabama ($4,700)
I'm going to double-dip on Crimson Tide bigs Saturday with the assumption they can simply badger the Ducks on the interior with a massive size advantage and implied point total. Stevenson is playing 20 minutes off the Tide's bench while often spelling Nelson, so using him can potentially insulate us if things go awry for Nelson. But Stevenson has a decent enough 20.7 percent usage rate and has returned 3.5x this number from four of five with the lone blemish Friday against Ohio State. Things should be much easier on the interior in this matchup.
KT Raimey, G/F, DePaul ($4,000)
Let's be honest: DePaul is a mess from a fantasy perspective, so I don't want to be heavily involved in their higher-end options. But we noted NIU's lack of defense and tempo above, so we should have some interest in this rotation as the Demons have an implied total of 78 points. Raimey lands here by default as the cheapest rotational option. He's got position flexibility and a solid 27.8 percent usage rate, though he doesn't get a lot of minutes. Caleb Murphy ($4,500) isn't valued much higher and is arguably a safer play, but doesn't doesn't do anything impressive while logging much more time. Jalen Terry ($4,100) would be an interesting option if he's cleared to play, though a minute cap would be the expectation.
