If you’re new to playing DFS College Basketball, you’ll soon find out how fun - and frustrating - the Saturday CBB slates can be!

First, there’s the earlier-than-normal lineup locks - so no sleeping in or you’ll miss out on key injury news or last minute pivots! Plus, we usually get marquee matchups with plenty of tournament teams in action - making it entertaining to follow your lineups with so many good games to watch. Yet with all the talent on these slates, it’s usually tougher to cash as you really can’t miss out on the studs that smash or the value plays that 5x their salaries.

DraftKings and FanDuel both have slates starting at 2 pm ET - with the latest game tipping at 5:30 pm ET. DK has a 7-game slate, while FanDuel’s includes six of those games - Southern Miss @ Louisiana Tech is the outlier.

With a particular focus on KenPom’s advanced ratings and metrics, we’ll point out the teams to target as a whole based on implied team totals, usage and salaries for notable players in favorable matchups. Then, as always, we’ll break down the guards and forwards to prioritize in your DFS lineups today.

If you have any questions or comments on tonight’s slate or anything college basketball-related, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @dan_servodidio or in the Fantasy Alarm CBB chat room.

 

Teams To Target

KENTUCKY (-2.5) @ Louisville (146.5 o/u) - 2 pm ET (DK & FD)

NEVADA (-9.5) @ Utah (147.5 o/u) - 2 pm ET (DK & FD)

PURDUE (-10.5) vs. Belmont (159.5 o/u) - 4:30 pm ET (DK & FD)

 

Guards

Carsen Edwards - PUR ($9,700 DK / $8,600 FD) - Considering how much Edwards does for Purdue offensively, he should always be considered for your lineups no matter how expensive he is. When Edwards is on the floor - which is a ton as he logs 82.3% of the Boilermakers’ point guard minutes - he dominates the usage and scoring. He’s averaging 26 ppg thanks to top 10 national ranks in possession usage and percentage of shots taken. Edwards may have the highest floor of any player on the slate - 35 DK points - and a ceiling that matches anyone - 50-55 DK points.

D’Mitrik Trice - WISC ($6,900 DK / $7,200 FD) - Wisconsin’s offense runs predominantly through Ethan Happ down low and Trice at the point. The Badgers normally play at a very slow tempo, but they’ll have to play faster in a pace-up matchup vs. Western Kentucky - which benefits Trice as the main ball-handler. This is actually Trice’s cheapest price tag in five games as he’s regressed to just 20-25 DK points over the last four outings after a few 30+ point performances in November. Expect larger production from him today, though, because of that increase in offensive possessions and possibly more shot opportunities if Happ runs into foul trouble or is bothered with WKU big man Charles Bassey in the paint - a real possibility.

Devin Gage - DPU ($5,500 DK / $5,700 FD) - Gage usually gets overshadowed by DePaul’s two senior offensive studs in Max Strus and Eli Cain. Still - as the starting point guard - Gage handles the ball enough to provide 25-30 fantasy points on a daily basis. In fact, he’s posted no less than 23 DK points in each of the last five games. Xavier runs relatively smaller lineups, which should allow Gage to stay on the floor alongside Strus and Cain for most of the game.

Jazz Johnson - NEV ($4,700 DK / $5,500 FD) - Nevada notoriously sticks to a tight rotation and Johnson finds himself right on the edge of those lineups as an elite offensive weapon off the bench. Most of Nevada’s playmakers (the Martin twins & Jordan Caroline) are taller forward-types, allowing Johnson to lock in as a change-of-pace scorer. When Johnson is on the floor - which is more often than the typical bench player - he’s top 10 nationally in offensive rating, true shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage, per KenPom’s standards. Essentially, Johnson provides instant and effective scoring when he comes into the game.

Nojel Eastern - PUR ($4,400 DK / $5,400 FD) - Any time Purdue is on the slate, Eastern deserves cash consideration with how cheap his price tag has been. He doesn’t take a ton of shots - that role is heavily reserved for Carsen Edwards - but Eastern is a regular starter for the Boilermakers and is pretty reliable for 15-20 fantasy points. In a pace-up matchup vs. Belmont (the 7th-fastest tempo in the nation), expect Eastern’s stats to get a slight bump with an increase in possessions on both ends of the floor.

Ashton Hagans - UK ($3,900 DK / $4,800 FD) - It’s curious how low Hagans’ price is today - especially on DraftKings. He’s started the last three games for Kentucky and exploded for 32 DK points in his last game vs. a tough opponent in UNC. Coach Cal’s rotations tend to be tricky to figure out for DFS purposes, but Hagans seems to have gained enough trust to be the Wildcats’ starting point guard for the time being. Any starter with this cheap salary is worth consideration - but Hagans should be a cash game lock with how much he’s handling the ball at the point and feeding the playmakers around him.

Other Guards to Consider:

Caleb Martin - NEV ($8,400 FD) - Cash & GPP

Grayson Murphy - BEL ($8,300 DK / $8,00 FD) - GPP Only

Keldon Johnson - UK ($7,200 DK / $6,700 FD) - Cash Only

 

Forwards

Jordan Caroline - NEV ($8,600 DK / $8,300 FD) - Caroline has arguably been the most consistent DFS play on Nevada this season with each Martin twin going through their share of poor shooting stretches. Caroline is a force on the offensive and defensive glass - grabbing at least 10 boards in six of the last ten games - and is a putback machine as he gobbles up misses by the Martins and Co. What’s particularly promising about Caroline’s value of late, though, is his increased 3-point shooting. He’s shot at least five 3-pointers in each of the last three games - while uncharacteristic for him, it truly maximizes his team-leading 88.8% minutes share.

Reid Travis - UK ($7,100 DK / $7,400 FD) - The Stanford transfer went through a brief transition period in the beginning of the season, but he’s seemed to finally carve out a productive role as one of the two dominant bigs in Coach Cal’s best rotations. PJ Washington ($7,900 DK & FD) is a force on the glass, but his presence has allowed Travis to get better shot opportunities and easy putbacks as he tends to be guarded by opponents’ second-best defending forward. Louisville has one good big in Jordan Nwora, but it’s a committee of forwards outside of him. Travis could have a big game on Saturday if he plays up to his potential of 35-40 fantasy points.

Zach Hankins - XAV ($5,200 DK / $5,200 FD) - This is one injury spot to monitor right up to lineup lock. Tyrique Jones (head) will be a game-time decision for Xavier and was not cleared to practice as of Friday morning, meaning he could miss a second straight game. Hankins, the backup center to Jones for much of this season, put up 12 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and four assists in the spot start a game ago. Thankfully, we’ll get this news relatively earlier in the day with Xavier tipping at 2 ET.

Riley Battin - UTAH ($4,400 DK / $5,000 FD) - Rostering any player against Nevada’s vaunted defense is scary, we know, but Battin doesn’t have to do much to return value here. Plus, the big-bad Nevada D has tended to let teams hang around lately. Battin has cemented himself in the Utah starting rotation over the past five games and scored in double-digits in five of the last 10.

Jordan Tucker - BUT ($4,600 DK / $3,000 FD) - Tucker is a really interesting value play today - especially on FanDuel where he’s min price. The Duke transfer is slowly working his way into the Butler rotation and his minutes have increased in each of the three games he’s played this season. In limited playing time, Tucker is shooting a ton - 14 attempts in just 34 minutes - with a team-high 36.4% usage rate when he’s on the floor and hitting 6-of-10 from 3-point range. Butler-Florida will be a very competitive non-conference battle, but it will not be a high-scoring one as both teams play at two of the slowest paces on the slate. It may be only a matter of time until Butler realizes their best scoring option lies with Tucker.  

Other Forwards to Consider:

Ethan Happ - WIS ($11,300 DK / $8,900 FD) - Cash & GPP

Caleb Martin - NEV ($8,700 DK) - GPP Only

Anthony Duruji - LATECH ($6,700 DK Only) - Cash & GPP

 

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Ashton Hagans, UK ($3,900)

G: D’Mitrik Trice, WISC ($6,900)

G: Carsen Edwards, PUR ($9,700)

F: Reid Travis, UK ($7,100)

F: Jordan Tucker, BUT ($4,600)

F: Riley Battin, UTAH ($4,400)

U: Jazz Johnson, NEV ($4,700)

U: Jordan Caroline, NEV ($8,600)

 

Example Lineup on FanDuel:

G: Ashton Hagans, UK ($4,800)

G: D’Mitrik Trice, WISC ($7,200)

G: Carsen Edwards, PUR ($8,600)

G: Jazz Johnson, NEV ($4,700)

F: Ethan Happ, WISC ($8,900)

F: Jordan Tucker, BUT ($3,000)

F: Zach Hankins, XAV ($5,200)

U: Keldon Johnson, UK ($6,700)