This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
SLATE OVERVIEW
Dayton (-8.5) @ Duquesne O/U: 140
LSU (-4.5) vs. Alabama O/U: 162
Kansas State (-1) vs. Oklahoma O/U: 134
TCU (-4) vs. Texas O/U 125.5
Texas Tech (-2.5) vs. West Virginia O/U: 128.5
Penn State (-6) vs. Indiana O/U: 142
Xavier (-2.5) vs. Marquette O/U: 144.5
Baylor (-4) @ Iowa State O/U: 141
San Diego State (-10) @ New Mexico O/U: 144 (DRAFTKINGS ONLY)
Louisville (-12.5) @ Boston College O/U: 133 (DRAFTKINGS ONLY)
Arkansas (-7.5) vs. South Carolina O/U: 142 (FANDUEL ONLY)
ELITE PLAYS
Markus Howard, Marquette (DK $9,500, FD $8,500) @ Xavier
Despite the prohibitive price on both sites, making Howard your cash anchor is the best possible advice I can offer you today. His 39 FP game against Butler was actually a REGRESSION, because he's rattled off FP scores of 47, 51 and 49 for the rest of his games over the past two weeks. Start him with confidence.
Obi Toppin, Dayton (DK $8,800. FD $8,300) @ Duquesne
We can start to put some faith back into Toppin now that his ankle injury is fully behind him. He's coming off a huge 52 FP game against Richmond, and he's put up at least 40 FP in three of his last ten games. Duquesne's defense is surprisingly good, but Toppin has the advantage in the paint.
Lamar Stevens, Penn State (DK $7,700, FD $7,200) vs. Indiana
I keep going back to Stevens week after week, and his price has dipped to a point where he's practically unfade-able, especially on FanDuel. The 6-foot-8 senior is currently averaging 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and he could be in line to exceed both of those averages against a fairly forgiving Indiana defense.
Freddie Gillespie, Baylor (DK $7,400, FD $6.800) @Iowa State
I get that Gillespie can be a little inconsistent but against Iowa State's porous defense, his rebound numbers should save the day. With a seasonal average of 9.9 points and 9.3 rebounds this season, he's a nightly double-double threat whenever he's on the slate.
Jalen Crutcher, Dayton (DK $7,100. FD $6,500) @ Duquesne
Crutcher went off with a 28/8/7 line against Richmond in his last game, and my reasoning for loading up with Crutcher mirrors my thought process with Stevens. Duquesne's defense will keep things competitive, and Crutcher's ability to dish the ball to his playmakers will be the deciding factor in this matchup.
Herb Jones, Alabama (DK $6,000, FD $6,000) @ LSU
It's imperative that we get a piece of this game, and Jones is falling in at an extremely favorable price. Jones has recorded two double-doubles over his last four games, and over that span, he's averaging 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds.
VALUE PLAYS
Koby McEwen, Marquette (DK $5,800, FD $5,900) @ Xavier
The Utah State transfer is an everyday starter for the Golden Eagles, and while his floor isn't that reliable, a combination of adept three-point shooting and adept ball distributing could spell out a nice total. He's coming off a double-double against a tough Butler team.
Ryan Mikesell, Dayton (DK $5,700, FD $5,300) @ Duquesne
Mikesell represents the nice, steady floor that you want at this price. Nothing flashy -- his averages sit just under 10 points and five rebounds per game -- but he's extremely efficient for a mid-range shooter, converting 50 percent of his shots.
Jaden Shackelford, Alabama (DK $5,200, FD $5,100) @ LSU
The freshman has now started four consecutive games for the Crimson Tide, and he's done well over that span, averaging 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. With the fast pace of this matchup, I think Shackelford could be in for value-beating numbers at this price.
Zach Freemantle, Xavier (DK $4,800, FD $4,100) vs. Marquette
The Musketeers have done some juggling in the lineup to accommodate Freemantle into the lineup, and they've been employing both Tyrique Jones and Freemantle in the frontcourt at the same time. It's resulted in a nice boost for the freshman, who netted his career-high in his second game as a starter.
Also consider: James Bolden, Alabama (DK $3,600, FD $4,200) @ LSU
DRAFTKINGS-ONLY GAMES
San Diego State (-10) @ New Mexico, o/u 144, 9 p.m. EST
The Lobos are reeling from all the injuries littering their lineup, and the status of JaQuan Lyle and Vance Jackson are totally up in the air in what could be a Mountain West Championship game preview. The injuries present a lot of variance for us, but the Aztecs' Malachi Flynn ($8,300) is as safe as Howard is on this slate. I'd really like to find value in the Lobos' lineup, but at this point I have no pivot information.
Louisville (-12.5) @ Boston College, o/u 133, 9 p.m. EST
This game should really be my game to fade, but I've already settled on a selection here. I would take Louisville and the points here, as I don't think this will be even close. This adds some variance to the Louisville lineup and I'm not touching Boston College. There's enough on this slate to pass this game entirely.
FANDUEL-ONLY GAMES
Arkansas (-7.5) vs. South Carolina, o/u 142, 8:30 p.m. EST
Mason Jones ($7,800) is your main target for the Razorbacks, but I'm going to use the Gamecocks for value and opt for Jermaine Couisnard ($4,800). Isaiah Joe ($6,400) is a game-time decision with a knee injury.
GAME TO TARGET
LSU (-4.5) vs. Alabama, o/u 162, 7 p.m. EST
We targeted this game a lot already, but we mostly focused on the underdogs. We can't leave out guys like Javonte Smart (DK $6,400, FD $6,200) and Trendon Watford (DK $6.800, FD $5,900) as great mid-range plays.
GAME TO FADE
TCU (-7) vs. Texas, o/u 125.5, 8 p.m. EST
The line total says it all. No need to worry about usage or value with a game this slow.
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