The Big Monday college basketball slate - while stockpiled with top talent - isn’t so large in terms of number of games to build lineups from. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have just three games on their slates tipping at 7 pm ET.
The biggest decision in DFS CBB today comes down to the Duke players. The Blue Devils have the highest implied team total (82 points) on the slate by far and you’d be foolish to fade them entirely with only six teams in action. Do you pay up for Zion Williamson or RJ Barrett? Do you try to fit both into one lineup? Do you trust Tre Jones is back to normal? We’ll try to answer all those questions and more!
Keep in mind with such a smaller player pool than usual on a shorter slate of games, nearly every team and game are in play. Don’t be afraid to stack teams more often than you normally would if the opportunity presents itself - especially among the favored teams.
With a specific eye towards recent game trends, favorable and/or tough matchups, rotations and KenPom’s advanced stats, we’ll outline the guards and forwards to prioritize in your DFS CBB lineups today for both sites. We’ll also point out the games to generally target and fade today based on pace of play, spread and implied point totals as predicted by KenPom.
Games To Target:
Duke @ Notre Dame - 7 pm ET (DUKE -14 / 150 Implied Total)
Baylor @ Oklahoma - 9 pm ET (OU -7 / 137 Implied Total)
Game To Fade:
TCU @ Texas Tech - 9 pm ET (TTU -4 / 128 implied Total)
Guards
Jarrett Culver - TTU ($8,900 DK / $8,500 FD) - We want to stay away from this TCU-Texas Tech matchup for the most part with a noticeably lower total than the other two games on tonight’s slate. Still, Culver is one of the best players in college basketball and has produced enough DFS value lately despite Texas Tech playing in low-scoring contests. Over the last four conference games, Culver is averaging 40.3 DK points and he’s as much a nightly threat to score 30 real points as he is to record five steals and/or double-digit rebounds. He contributes in every category and anchors the Red Raiders’ top-ranked defense. Culver presents an interesting pivot off one of the Duke studs tonight as most people may simply stack Williamson and Barrett and not even consider Culver.
Tre Jones - DUKE ($6,400 DK / $6,800 FD) - After missing the previous two games with a shoulder strain, Jones returned to Duke’s starting lineup Saturday and logged a full workload of 35 minutes in the win. The injury didn’t appear to limit him much, either, as he handled the ball a ton and finished with six points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal vs. Georgia Tech. With Duke projected to score the most points by far among the six teams in action tonight, Jones presents a cheaper avenue to get exposure to the offense if you don’t want to pay up for both Williamson and Barrett. The freshman point guard’s ceiling is capped because of his teammates’ dominance but he usually provides a 20-25 fantasy point floor as he’s on the court 30-35 minutes when healthy.
Jamal Bieniemy - OU ($4,500 DK / $5,300 FD) - Earlier this month, Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger switched up the starting rotation and handed the lead point guard duties over to Bieniemy. The freshman has since started the last three games and is getting extended minutes - making him one of the best value plays on this short slate. In those three starts, Bieniemy has seen 36, 35 and 29 minutes and posted 20, 29.75 and 24.25 DK points, respectively. In Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt, he still hit value despite not scoring a single point because of his seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. The 6’4” Bieniemy should see the start again tonight because Oklahoma has won back-to-back games with him at the point, plus he’s a better on-ball defender than previous starter Aaron Calixte. This may be the cheapest we see Bieniemy at for the rest of the season as his price should begin to rise if he continues to start and 4x or 5x his current salary.
Rashard Odomes - OU ($3,900 DK / $4,900 FD) - Like Bieniemy, Odomes is another attractive value play from Oklahoma’s backcourt because of the recent rotation changes. Odomes has also been inserted into the starting rotation for each of the last three games and is consistently getting around 25 minutes. The senior guard had started 55 games for the Sooners over the previous two seasons but was exclusively coming off the bench this year before this string of starts. Over the last four games, Odomes is averaging 22.3 DK points and has scored in double figures in each outing. Odomes, like Bieniemy, should see the start again tonight mainly because of his scoring contribution. He’s hitting 75% of his shots over the last four games and contributes decently enough in every other stat category to warrant consideration as a value play on this short slate.
Other Guards to Consider:
Desmond Bane - TCU ($7,500 DK / $8,100 FD)
Jared Butler - BAY ($4,900 DK / $5,500 FD)
Davide Moretti - TTU ($4,700 DK / $6,000 FD)
Dane Goodwin - ND ($4,200 DK / $4,900 FD)
Forwards
RJ Barrett - DUKE ($9,800 DK / $8,900 FD) - Whenever Duke is on the DFS CBB slate, Barrett and Zion Williamson are always in play - especially on a smaller slate of games of like tonight. The price difference between the two on FanDuel is just $200 but over on DraftKings, Barrett is $1,100 cheaper and thus more of a bargain overall. Zion has the higher floor because of his rebounding and blocking upside, but the two freshman standouts each average 40 fantasy points per game with similar floors and Barrett actually leads the Blue Devils in scoring (23.9 PPG), possession usage and shots share for the season. With Tre Jones back in the mix last game vs. Georgia Tech, Barrett’s shot attempts took a slight hit - but he still put up over 45 DK points. Note that on FanDuel, Barrett is listed only as a guard while he’s just forward-eligible on DK.
Cam Reddish - DUKE ($6,600 DK / $7,200 FD) - Reddish has been a complete DFS fade for much of this season as he just wasn’t outperforming his salary enough to warrant a roster spot. Finally, though, Duke’s ‘other’ freshman is actually a bargain on tonight’s slate based on his last four games. During that stretch, Reddish has seen a larger share of playing time for Duke - including more crunch time minutes - and he’s put up at least 32 DK points in three of four games. He certainly benefited from Tre Jones being out for two of those games - yet even with his teammate back on Saturday, Reddish still had 35 DK points. In that outing, he struggled shooting (going just 1-for-11 from the field) but he exceeded value thanks to his six rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block. There’s a small risk Reddish disappears again, but the larger minutes share and shot volume (especially from three-point range) is an encouraging sign that he’s here to stay.
Brady Manek - OU ($6,300 DK / $6,600 FD) - The biggest injury situation to monitor tonight involves Oklahoma’s Kristian Doolittle. The Sooners forward left Saturday’s game early with a thigh injury and could be out or limited tonight. This would raise the value of Manek and Jamuni McNeace ($4,400 DK / $4,700 FD) the most. Even if Doolittle plays, though, Manek has still been solid enough lately to garner attention at a weaker forward position tonight. The sophomore has scored in double figures in six of the last eight conference games and has double-digit shot attempts in all but one. It’s also encouraging that Manek has stuck in the starting lineup lately despite the Sooners’ recent rotation changes.
Other Forwards to Consider:
Zion Williamson - DUKE ($10,900 DK / $9,100 FD)
Kouat Noi - TCU ($6,200 DK / $6,700 FD)
Nate Laszewski - ND ($4,500 DK / $4,600 FD)
Example Lineup on DraftKings:
G: Jarrett Culver, TTU - $8,900
G: Jared Butler, BAY - $4,900
G: Jamal Bieniemy, OU - $4,500
F: RJ Barrett, DUKE - $9,800
F: Cam Reddish, DUKE - $6,600
F: Brady Manek, OU - $6,300
U: Rashard Odomes, OU - $3,900
U: Davide Moretti, TTU - $4,700
Example Lineup on FanDuel:
G: RJ Barrett, DUKE - $8,900
G: Jared Butler, BAY - $5,500
G: Jamal Bieniemy, OU - $5,300
G: Dane Goodwin, ND - $4,900
F: Nate Laszewski, ND - $4,600
F: Cam Reddish, DUKE - $7,200
F: Brady Manek, OU - $6,600
U: Tre Jones, DUKE - $6,800