You made it #FANation! The NCAA Tournament is finally here after months of building DFS CBB lineups that forced us to find value in Nebraska’s dismal backcourt, make room for the Zion Williamson’s of the slate or bank on certain mid-level guys to smash value. The time is NOW to apply everything we learned this season and apply it on Thursday - no matter who we’re picking in our brackets.

There are 16 games on the first Thursday of the tournament and DraftKings has a massive slate that includes all 16 first-round matchups. At first glance this may be overwhelming, but the late-swap lineup tool on DK allows for us to switch in some of the players in later matchups to shoot up leaderboards. FanDuel, on the other hand, has split up their slates into early and late ones - with lineup locks at 12:15 pm ET and 6:50 pm ET, respectively.

If you’re a regular or a newbie to these DFS CBB Playbooks, we will be doing things a bit differently for the NCAA Tournament in regards to the setup of teams and players to target. Instead of suggesting games overall, we will point out the teams on this slate who are projected to score the most points of all 32 teams in action (according to KenPom). For example: Michigan State is predicted to score 78 points but Bradley is slated to put up just 57 points. Normally, the 135 combined total in that matchup is on the lower-end and usually one we want to avoid in our lineups. Yet, Michigan State is definitely a team we want shares of tomorrow as they will likely dominate their 15-seed opponent and be one of the highest-scoring teams on the slate.

Plus, we will be highlighting MORE players than usual but won’t go as in-depth in our descriptions as before. This is simply to make sure we get to all the notable players you should be targeting without wasting your time as you build lineups. If you’ve read this Playbook before, you’ll probably recognize most of the names from power programs anyway.

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!

 

Teams To Target:

  • GONZAGA - 90 Implied Points vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (7:27 pm ET)

  • LSU - 85 Implied Points vs. Yale (12:40 pm ET)

  • MICHIGAN STATE - 78 Implied Points vs. Bradley (2:45 pm ET)

  • KANSAS - 76 Implied Points vs. Northeastern (4 pm ET)

  • MARQUETTE - 76 Implied Points vs. Murray State (4:30 pm ET)

  • YALE - 76 Implied Points vs. LSU (12:40 pm ET)

  • KENTUCKY - 75 Implied Points vs. Abilene Christian (7:10 pm ET)

Teams To Fade:

  • BRADLEY - 57 Implied Points vs. Michigan State (2:45 pm ET)

  • MONTANA - 57 Implied Points vs. Michigan (9:20 pm ET)

  • ABILENE CHRISTIAN - 59 Implied Points vs. Kentucky (7:10 pm ET)

  • OLD DOMINION - 59 Implied Points vs. Purdue (9:50 pm ET)

  • VERMONT - 62 Implied Points vs. Florida State (2 pm ET)

 

Guards

Ja Morant - MURR ($12,700 DK / $10,300 FD)

By now, you’ve certainly heard of Ja Morant, one of the top NBA Draft prospects not named Zion. As the highest-priced player on the slate, it’ll definitely be tough to fit his salary in lineups - but he still has the potential to put up 50 DK points in any game. The sophomore point guard actually eclipsed the 50-mark in Murray State’s conference title win over Belmont - and he’s reached that number in six of the past eight games. The fantasy ceiling really is that high for Morant as the do-it-all star on his team. Out of the 2,000+ players ranked by KenPom’s advanced metrics, Morant has the 3rd-highest offensive usage and the best assist rate of every player in the country. On the season, he’s averaging an outstanding 24.6 points, 10 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 51.2 DK points per outing. In a high-scoring matchup with Marquette, Morant can easily get to 50 fantasy points again - but you just have to pay a pretty penny for him.

Myles Powell - SHU ($9,400 DK / $9,000 FD)

If Morant’s price tag is a bit too much for your liking, Powell is not a bad alternative among the top-tier guards on this slate. The stud point guard has been on fire offensively in the past month as he anchored Seton Hall to a tournament bid. In the last ten games, Powell is averaging 25.9 real points scored and 42.6 DK points - including at least 43 DK points in five of six games coming into Thursday’s matchup with Wofford. Powell can also score in multiple ways - driving to the basket, getting to the free-throw line and draining from three-point range. This matchup against #7 seed Wofford should also be a back-and-forth, high-scoring one as both teams can score efficiently by launching tons of shots. Powell should have the ball in his hands a ton - especially late in the game - to reach 40 DK points yet again.

Bolden Brace - NE ($6,600 DK / $5,900 FD)

If you’re familiar with these Playbooks, you know we like to target opposing bigs against Kansas ever since Jayhawks center Udoka Azubuike went down for the year back in January. They just don’t have the same defensive presence or size in the interior and it’s allowed some teams to exploit the matchup and pull off wins. Northeastern could do just that with the use of Bolden Brace. The 6’6” junior is listed as a guard but he plays the stretch-four position for the Huskies as their best defensive rebounder who can also stretch the court with his three-point shooting (41.5% from three-point range this season). During the conference tournament, Brace put up at least 37 DK points twice - including a near triple-double in the title game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and 37 DK points. If Northeastern hopes to pull off the upset over Kansas, Brace will need to have a similar game on Thursday.

Makai Mason - BAY ($6,300 DK / $6,200 FD)

Whenever Syracuse is on the slate, we need to be looking at the opposing team’s three-point shooters who can break the famed ‘Cuse zone. Mason has been Baylor’s most consistent deep-ball threat all season long (38% from three during conference play) and he has the real potential to get hot and make them in bunches. In his last three games, the senior has gone 9-for-19 from three-point range (47.3%) and he recently scored 40 points with nine made three’s in a game back in February. Rostering Mason also gives you exposure to the latest game on the entire slate - acting as a true late-night hammer play that will help you rise up the leaderboards.

Alex Copeland - YALE ($6,200 DK / $5,800 FD)

This matchup between LSU and Yale contains the highest implied point total (161) of all 16 games on the slate, featuring two teams who both play fast and score efficiently. Copeland, Yale’s senior point guard, will do a little bit of everything and stuff the stat sheet in this high-scoring game. His offensive usage, shot volume and assist rate are all second on the team (behind star Miye Oni) and he’s averaged 28.4 DK points over the last ten games - including 38 DK points and 25 real points scored in Yale’s conference title win over Harvard. Unfortunately, many of the Yale and LSU players are a bit overpriced for this slate and Copeland presents the best point-per-dollar play among them for the very high fantasy floor he provides.

Buddy Boeheim - SYR ($5,000 DK / $4,400 FD)

Big news dropped Wednesday afternoon when Syracuse announced senior guard Frank Howard would not play in the NCAA Tournament for an “indefinite” amount of time for a violation of athletic department policy. This certainly means Howard is out for Thursday night’s first-round matchup vs. Baylor - opening the door for Boeheim to play a bigger role than his salary suggests. The freshman, son of head coach Jim Boeheim, recently started both ACC tournament games for ‘Cuse when starting guard Tyus Battle was out with a back injury. Battle will be back playing on Thursday, but the minutes will definitely be there for Boeheim as one of the Orange’s better three-point shooters who can break the Baylor zone defense. In those two starts last week, he scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, played 35+ minutes in both and shot 6-for-12 from three-point range.

 

Other Guards to Consider:

  • Cassius Winston - MSU ($9,200 DK / $8,900 FD)

  • Miye Oni - YALE ($8,600 DK / $8,100 FD)

  • Sam Hauser - MARQ ($7,900 DK / $7,400 FD)

  • Fletcher Magee - WOFF ($7,600 DK / $7,500 FD)

  • Nojel Eastern - PUR ($6,200 DK / $6,300 FD)

  • Trevelin Queen - NMST ($4,800 DK / $4,700 FD)

  • Tanner Krebs - STMRY ($4,600 DK / $4,900 FD)

 

Forwards

Cameron Jackson - WOFF ($8,400 DK / $8,100 FD)

We mentioned this Wofford-Seton Hall matchup earlier with Myles Powell - and Jackson should have plenty of rebound opportunities as the best big in a game with plenty of shots going up on both ends of the court. The 6’8” senior has a combined 38.8% rebounding rate while the top Seton Hall rebounders are nowhere close to that mark. In the last ten outings, Jackson is averaging 14.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.4 DK points - including a pair of impressive games in the Southern conference semis and finals with at least 15 points, seven boards, four assists and 33 DK points. Seton Hall has also struggled to contain opposing bigs in the paint throughout Big East play and Jackson is as good as any they’ve faced.

Reid Travis - UK ($5,600 DK / $5,800 FD)

One of the bigger injury news ahead of the NCAA Tournament centers on Kentucky big man PJ Washington, who was seen in a walking boot this past week. Although he’s expected to play on Thursday, Washington could still see limited minutes in Kentucky’s first-round matchup with 15-seed Abilene Christian as it should be an easy victory. Travis, meanwhile, recently returned from a knee injury himself but logged 23 and 28 minutes in UK’s two SEC tournament games, respectively. Kentucky likely will give Travis a full allotment of minutes to ensure he’s ready for a tournament run - despite the game possibly being a blowout. If Washington is limited at all, Travis could see a ton of touches in the paint and grab a bunch of rebounds vs. undersized Abilene Christian - something we saw from him earlier this season when he was at full strength.

Jermaine Samuels - NOVA ($5,300 DK / $5,200 FD)

For much of this season, Villanova has rotated a few of their younger forwards in and out - but they’ve stuck to a winning lineup lately and it’s Samuels who’s been getting the majority of the frontcourt minutes alongside senior Eric Paschall. Over the last six games of the regular season and Big East tournament, Samuels started and saw at least 32 minutes in each outing. He also averaged 30 DK points, 8.5 rebounds and 13.8 real points over that six-game span. At this price tag, Samuels can easily return 5x value if his extended playing time continues - which should happen considering Villanova just rode his contribution to a Big East tournament title.

Aaron Henry - MSU ($4,700 DK / $4,900 FD)

Henry became a value play for us late in the regular season and Big Ten tournament because of the increased playing time he got with Nick Ward out. Although Ward is back for the Spartans, they are now dealing with another injury which should keep Henry’s minutes safe. Kyle Ahrens sprained his ankle in the Big Ten title game and does not currently have a timetable to return. Henry was already a regular starter getting 30+ minutes in Michigan State’s rotation, but this injury should lock him in to more guaranteed playing time - even with Ward returning, albeit in a limited fashion. Over the previous five games, the freshman Henry put up at least 24 DK points three different times - offering solid production in all stat categories as a key role player for the Spartans.

David McCormack - KU ($4,300 DK / $4,100 FD)

Kansas has been looking for someone to step up ever since center Udoka Azubuike went down for the year in January - and McCormack was that guy late in the year for the Jayhawks. During a four-game stretch in March, the 6’10” freshman averaged 23.8 DK points with per-game marks of 12.5 real points and 6.8 rebounds as a nice complement to Kansas star Dedric Lawson. Inexplicably, though, head coach Bill Self went away from using McCormack in the Big 12 tournament loss to Iowa State when he only logged eight minutes with six DK points. Hopefully this is just a one-game outlier, though, because Self likely believed he had to go with smaller lineups to match up with Iowa State. Kansas has a clear size advantage in Thursday’s matchup with Northeastern and McCormack should get back to his 20-30 minutes of action if the Jayhawks want to avoid the upset.

Other Forwards to Consider:

  • Dedric Lawson - KU ($9,700 DK / $9,200 FD)

  • Naz Reid - LSU ($7,300 DK / $6,800 FD)

  • Mfiondu Kabengele - FSU ($6,100 DK / $6,000 FD)

  • Daniel Oturu - MINN ($5,800 DK / $6,000 FD)

  • Darnell Cowart - MURR ($5,400 DK / $5,000 FD)

  • EJ Montgomery - UK ($4,200 DK / $4,400 FD)

 

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Miye Oni, YALE - $8,600

G: Sam Hauser, MARQ - $7,900

G: Tanner Krebs, STMRY - $4,600

F: Cameron Jackson, WOFF - $8,400

F: Jermaine Samuels, NOVA - $5,300

F: Aaron Henry, MSU - $4,700

U: David McCormack, KU - $4,300

U: Alex Copeland, YALE - $6,200

Example Lineup on FanDuel EARLY:

G: Ja Morant, MURR - $10,300

G: Alex Copeland, YALE - $5,800

G: Bolden Brace, KU - $5,900

G: Sam Hauser, MARQ - $7,400

F: Naz Reid, LSU - $6,800

F: Aaron Henry, MSU - $4,900

F: David McCormack, KU - $4,100

U: Trevelin Queen, NMST - $4,700

Example Lineup on FanDuel LATE:

G: Myles Powell, SHU - $9,000

G: Makai Mason, BAY - $6,200

G: Tanner Krebs, STMRY - $4,900

G: Buddy Boeheim, SYR - $4,400

F: Reid Travis, UK - $5,800

F: Cameron Jackson. WOFF - $8,100

F: Jermaine Samuels, NOVA - $5,200

U: Nojel Eastern, PUR - $6,300