Who else rostered Zion Williamson last night? Calm down, take a deep breath. It’s not every day the best player in the country busts through his Nike shoe 36 seconds into a game and doesn’t return due to a knee injury. That’s college basketball, though - an unpredictable series of events that can just as easily keep you glued to your TV or make you want to throw your remote through it. The good news? We’ve got another DFS CBB slate for us to win back some of that money we lost with Zion last night!

 

Tipping at 7 pm ET, FanDuel has a 5-game slate while DraftKings includes six games with the Oregon State-UCLA game acting as a real late-night hammer at 11 pm ET. There’s a good mix of AAC and Pac-12 matchups with an added Big Ten rematch in Michigan-Minnesota.

With a specific eye towards recent game trends, favorable and/or tough matchups, rotation changes 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 based on pace of play, spread and implied point totals as predicted by KenPom.

If you have any questions or comments about CBB DFS strategy or college basketball in general, feel free to hit up my Twitter @dan_servodidio. Good luck!

Games To Target:

Connecticut @ SMU - 9 pm ET (SMU -2 / 148 Implied Total)

California @ Arizona - 9 pm ET (ARI -15 / 141 Implied Total)

Oregon State @ UCLA - 11 pm ET (UCLA -2 / 150 Implied Total) - DK ONLY

Games To Fade:

 

Michigan @ Minnesota - 7 pm ET (MICH -5 / 131 Implied Total)

 

UCF @ Cincinnati - 7 pm ET (CIN -6 / 128 Implied Total)

 

Guards

 

Jarron Cumberland - CIN ($9,400 DK / $8,300 FD) - Tonight’s top-tier of expensive guards is not as deep as other slates, but Cumberland deserves consideration even as the cash king at the position on both sites. Cincinnati is 10-2 in conference play largely because of the junior’s do-everything role on offense - his possession usage, shot volume, assist rate and fouls drawn rate all lead the team by far and are top 6 marks in the AAC. Over the last ten games, Cumberland is averaging 38.5 DK points, 23 real points, four assists and 5.4 rebounds - Cincy has clearly leaned on Cumberland in conference play to score and set up his teammates as their best ball-handler and pure scorer. This matchup with UCF should be a low-scoring one with two slow-paced teams, but Cumberland has been able to produce DFS value all season long despite playing in for the 11th-slowest team in the country (out of 353 possible teams, per KenPom). His ability to get to the foul line, knock down three-pointers, assist, rebound and shoot 15-20 times keeps his fantasy floor consistently high with the upside to reach 40+ DK points if he’s scoring 25+ real points.

Alterique Gilbert - CONN ($6,300 DK / $6,300 FD) - A key injury to pay attention to tonight will be whether or not Alterique Gilbert returns for UConn. The Huskies’ lead point guard has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury but could return to the starting lineup tonight as he’s gone full speed in practice the last three days and is expected to play at least in some capacity. Before he got hurt, Gilbert was putting up 25 DK points per game and was arguably Connecticut’s second-best player behind Jalen Adams - who is still out himself with a knee injury. If Gilbert does play, he could slot right in as the lead ball-handler with Adams out. Yet, temper your expectations a little because he may be on a minutes restriction in what would be his first game back. On the other hand, there’s a chance he starts and plays a full allotment of minutes since he’s been held out for almost a month. According to UConn head coach Dan Hurley, the sophomore has been going hard in practice and actually beating the first-team unit in scrimmages while leading the second-teamers. Gilbert may be just a GPP play for the above reasons, but he could easily turn into a core cash option if the news comes out he’s starting.

Dylan Smith - ARI ($4,800 DK / $5,400 FD) - At first glance, Smith doesn’t seem like anything special - but he should become very attractive on a slate with very few value options. With Brandon Williams still out for Arizona, Smith has guaranteed playing time of 30+ minutes as a regular starter for Arizona with seven starts in the last eight games including five straight. He also gets a favorable matchup tonight as California is one of the worst teams in the country at defending the three-pointer. Meanwhile, Smith is Arizona’s best perimeter shooter and has gone 21-for-50 (42%) from three in the last ten games. The junior normally doesn’t get many scoring opportunities outside of this three-point attempts, but he’s seen a bump in shot volume from two-point range as well in the past five games as he’s gotten more acclimated to a starting role. He’s also coming off two straight games of 16 real points and has scored in double figures in four of the last five outings.

Kevin Porter Jr. - USC ($4,800 DK / $5,200 FD) - The former five-star recruit and future NBA draft pick has had an interesting season, to say the least. Porter began his freshman campaign on fire offensively before a quad injury and a conduct suspension sidelined him for much of this season until last month when he returned to USC’s rotation. Since then, Porter’s minutes have fluctuated a little but he’s seen an increase in usage and shot volume lately and is coming off back-to-back games of 22+ DK points. Over the last five games, Porter’s possession usage is actually third on the team behind only Bennie Boatwright and Nick Rakocevic. If anything, Porter has passed the eye test recently as he looks a lot more comfortable on the floor now that he’s past the injury and suspension and has eight straight games under his belt in the USC rotation.

Other Guards to Consider:

Jimmy Whitt Jr. - SMU ($8,100 DK / $7,500 FD)

Jaylen Hands - UCLA ($7,900 DK ONLY)

Terrell Allen - UCF ($5,300 DK / $5,600 FD)

Forwards

Bennie Boatwright - USC ($8,200 DK / $8,400 FD) - USC as a whole has been very inconsistent this season, but Boatwright seems to put up his numbers every game no matter what the scoreboard says. Nick Rakocevic began this season as the Trojans’ go-to option, but in conference play it’s actually Boatwright who’s taken over that title. In Pac-12 action, he leads the Trojans in possession usage, shot volume, offensive rating, three-point shooting and field-goal percentage. The senior is also averaging 36 DK points over the last ten games including a monstrous 52.75 DK points last time out thanks to 36 real points with 10 made three-pointers. At 6’10” and 235 pounds, Boatwright is a handful for any opposing team but especially tonight vs. undersized Oregon who has trouble with opposing bigs. His salary on DraftKings is particularly affordable considering the price discrepancy compared to his FanDuel price and the fact he’s cheaper than Rakocevic, who’s been relegated to the bench in the last two games.

Chase Jeter - ARI ($6,300 DK / $5,900 FD) & Ryan Luther - ARI ($5,500 DK / $6,200 FD) - The decision as to which Arizona forward to play comes down to which site you’re playing on tonight. As you can see, Jeter is the more affordable option on FanDuel while Luther is the cheaper of the two on DraftKings. Both are solid plays tonight, though, against a poor California defense that’s one of the worst rebounding teams in the Pac-12. In this season’s previous meeting, it was Jeter who put up 36+ DK points on 23 real points and nine rebounds vs. Cal. Yet, Luther has been more productive lately with back-to-back outings of 25+ DK points in the last two and going 11-of-24 from three-point range (45.8%) in the past three games. The increased role offensively firmly puts Luther in play but as Arizona’s best rebounder, Jeter could easily have a double-double vs. an undersized California team.

Connor Vanover - CAL ($4,100 DK / $6,000 FD) - The price discrepancy for Vanover between the two sites is something to really pay attention to. His cheap salary on DraftKings makes him an elite value play in all formats, but his FanDuel price limits his appeal to GPP’s only. Vanover has started the last three games for Cal and is coming off a recent stretch of at least 12 real points in four straight games. The 7’3” freshman has also put up at least 20 DK points in five straight thanks to elite rebounding and blocking rates when he’s on the floor. He’s taken over the starting center role from fellow freshman Andre Kelly, who’s getting only 10 minutes off the bench in Vanover’s last three starts. Even though Cal tips late tonight, expect Vanover to get a fourth straight start to become a near-lock on DK for the salary savings.

Miles Norris - ORE ($3,500 DK / $4,400 FD) - One of the key injury situations to monitor on this slate will be the status of Louis King. Oregon’s leading scorer and rebounder hurt his hand in Saturday’s game, has missed this week’s practices and will be a game-time decision tonight. If King misses tonight, Norris would get a big boost in playing time as one of the Ducks’ best reserve players lately. The freshman has played sparingly off the bench this season but he’s coming off the best game of his young career over the weekend when he scored seven points with career-highs in rebounds (5), blocks (3) and minutes (17) for 22+ DK points. It’s important to note he put up that impressive performance even with King playing 37 minutes on an injured hand. If King misses, expect Norris and his 6’10” frame to fill in at center with Paul White and Kenny Wooten moving over to the small and power forward spots, respectively. Norris can return 3x or 4x value even if King plays in a limited role - but there’s upside for a lot more in extended minutes if his teammate does end up sitting out.

Other Forwards to Consider:

Tres Tinkle - OSU ($10,000 DK ONLY)

Ignas Brazdeikis - MICH ($6,500 DK / $6,200 FD)

Josh Carlton - CONN ($6,000 DK / $6,100 FD)

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Jimmy Whitt Jr, SMU - $8,100

G: Jarron Cumberland, CIN - $9,400

G: Dylan Smith, ARI - $4,800

F: Bennie Boatwright, USC - $8,200

F: Connor Vanover, CAL - $4,100

F: Miles Norris, ORE - $3,500

U: Alterique Gilbert, CONN - $6,300

U: Ryan Luther, ARI - $5,500

Example Lineup on FanDuel:

G: Kevin Porter Jr, USC - $5,200

G: Jarron Cumberland, CIN - $8,300

G: Dylan Smith, ARI - $5,400

G: Alterique Gilbert, CONN - $6,300

F: Bennie Boatwright, USC - $8,400

F: Josh Carlton, CONN - $6,100

F: Miles Norris, ORE - $4,400

U: Chase Jeter, ARI - $5,900