DFS College Basketball: Wednesday Preview

Another night without NBA means college hoops will again reign supreme. DraftKings has a new $20 Heat Check tournament that's giving out $25,000 in total prizes, while FanDuel GPPs continue to approach season-high marks for a weekday. Let's dive in.

Top Players:

Zion Williamson, Duke ($9,900 FD, $11,200 DK) / RJ Barrett, Duke ($9,100 FD, $10,200 DK): The over/under here is the highest on the slate by a full 15 points, and it's easy to see why, with UNC playing at the nation's fifth-fastest adjusted tempo, per KenPom. While they sport a top-20 defense as well, that shouldn't make much of a difference against one of the nation's best offenses on the road. Both Zion and Barrett are in play here, and it's not a bad idea to get exposure to both if you can. UNC doesn't do a particularly great job defending the perimeter, but like most teams, they don't have the personnel to truly challenge Zion either. The best they can do is hope to contain him using the likes of 6-8 Luke Maye and 6-9 Garrison Brooks.

Shamorie Ponds, St. John's ($8,600 FD, $9,800 DK): Ponds racked up 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting in his first matchup against Providence, adding six rebounds and three assists. Those numbers are fine and the matchup is alright on paper, but using Ponds likely comes at the cost of one of the Duke studs, so I expect ownership to be low. I'd limit it to GPPs where you're looking for a unique angle.

Markus Howard, Marquette ($8,900 FD, $9,700 DK): It's a very similar situation to Ponds above. Butler plays at a very slow pace (No. 285, per KenPom) with a defense that sits at No. 100 in adjusted efficiency. Howard put up 32 points, five rebounds and two steals in a trip to Butler earlier this year, and it's reasonable to expect he could do it again at home. But can you really use Howard when a similarly-priced RJ Barrett is sitting there?

Note: Ky Bowman ($9,600 DK) is only on the DraftKings slate tonight, and he gets a massive pace boost against NC State. This is the one and only stud I'd consider pivoting away from a Dukie to get to. He's a lock for 30 due to his peripheral stats, will play at or near all 40 minutes, and has upside in the range of 60 fantasy points if he has a good scoring night.

Value Plays:

Sidy N'Dir, Pittsburgh ($4,400 DK): GT vs. Pitt is only on the DraftKings slate, but N'Dir is an elite play that will have crazy high ownership, especially given the need to pay up for studs tonight. The UNM transfer has started three in a row for Pitt, and has averaged 26.2 DK points over his last four. Lock him in.

Abdoulaye Gueye, Georgia Tech ($5,400 DK): Sticking to the game above, primary post player James Banks has fallen ill, so there's a shot Gueye returns to prominence in a manageable matchup. I'm lukewarm for now, but Gueye becomes elite if Banks can't go for any reason.

Jalen Hudson, Florida ($4,400 FD, $4,200 DK): No, it's not the greatest of spots for Hudson, but the need for elite talent on this slate forces us to consider plays like this. I'm still mystified by whatever is wrong with him this season, but he did produce 18 points and 9 rebounds in a home game against LSU last year. There's a ceiling hidden deep, deep in there. GPPs only, though.

Jordan Tucker, Butler ($5,500 FD, $4,900 DK): A couple poor efforts in a row have brought Tucker's price back to "value play" range, but I'm not convinced the magic is gone completely. He's still a starter, after all, and gets a slight tempo boost against Marquette.

Marek Dolezaj, Syracuse ($5,700 FD, $4,300 DK): I won't touch him on FanDuel, but the DraftKings price opens up quite a bit. He still comes off the bench, but is coming off performances of 28.75 and 23.25 DK points.

Game to Target:

Duke (-8.5) vs. North Carolina, o/u 165.5, 9:00 p.m. EST

I started out this article with the Duke studs, but we absolutely need to come back to this game given the disparity between this over/under and the next up. There's no doubt fantasy owners must build around Barrett, Williamson or both to begin, but let's not forget about Cam Reddish ($7,500 FD, $7,000 DK). I wouldn't call him a cornerstone play, but if you want to pivot from Barrett to Reddish in a few GPPs, I can buy that angle. I probably wouldn't use them both in conjunction -- there are only so many three-pointers to go around. The projected pace of this play also gives the Duke role players some consideration. We know the minutes of Tre Jones ($6,400 DK) are safe, and he'll get plenty of extra possessions the way UNC likes to run. Marques Bolden ($5,800 FD, $4,500 DK) provides a much more affordable option with 30-point potential. There will be foul trouble risk to some degree, but that DraftKings price is attractive enough to lock him in regardless of what other Duke players you plan to use.

North Carolina is a little bit trickier. Coby White ($8,000 FD, $7,700 DK) has been their breakout star, but the way Tre Jones has shut down opposing point guards this year, I'm probably going to stay away. Besides, his price has caught up plenty to his recent production. I'll buy lower after an off game here. Luke Maye ($8,200 FD, $8,300 DK) is another player I'm lukewarm on given Duke's imposing bodies to defend the paint. Granted, Maye isn't limited to that aspect of the game and might be able to stretch them out with outside shooting, but it's a high price to pay for somebody unlikely to surpass 40 DK points. That's only happened once in conference play, and that came against another run-and-gun team in NC State. This year's Duke team is obviously much different from a season ago, but in Maye's lone trip to Cameron last year, he had just 13 points on 15 shots. Coach K may just have his number.

The Tar Heel I think is most likely to provide Duke with challenges is Cam Johnson ($8,100 FD, $7,800 DK). He attempted 10 three-pointers Saturday en route to 44.3 DK points. His usage rate may only be the third-best on the team over the last 10, but he's the leading scorer with strong peripherals, including a team-high 1.4 steals per contest. He didn't fare so well in a trip to Cameron Indoors last year either, but his stats are up across the board this year. UNC needs a big game from him here if they intend to keep it close. Another UNC player in consideration for me is Garrison Brooks ($6,100 FD, $5,200 DK). Nas Little ($5,700 FD, $4,800 DK) isn't at 100 percent with an ankle issue, and Sterling Manley (knee) remains out, so Brooks' minutes should remain in the upper-20s.

Game to Fade:

Ohio St. (-7.5) vs. Northwestern, o/u 128, 8:30 p.m. EST

While a cheaper, consistent option like Andre Wesson ($5,700 FD, $5,300 DK), Anthony Gaines ($5,800 DK, $5,000 DK) or AJ Turner ($5,000 FD, $4,700 DK) might be necessary due to the need to find salary relief, there's no need to allocate funds for any of the top-4 priced players in this game. We get a classic Big Ten matchup featuring two teams outside the nation's top-250 in KenPom's adjusted tempo. A triple-OT Vic Law explosion would probably win you a GPP, but anyone making 10 lineups or less probably doesn't need to worry about this one.