Welcome back, college basketball fans!! While it may seem like just yesterday when Virginia was cutting down the nets as champs - the 2019-20 CBB season is finally here and we’re back for another year of DFS College Hoops! 

Each week we will cover three or four of the bigger DFS CBB slates on DraftKings and FanDuel throughout the season. We’re now into the first weekend of the season and we’re back for another solid slate of college hoops. DK and FD both have a four-game slate on this Saturday night with some Top 25 teams in action!

With a specific eye towards expected rotations and usage rates, implied point totals, matchups 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.

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:

(by Implied Points per KenPom)

  • Maryland -- 79 Points vs. Rhode Island

  • Oklahoma -- 75 Points vs. Minnesota

  • Oregon -- 75 Points vs. Boise State

  • Purdue -- 72 Points vs. Texas

GUARDS

Payton Pritchard - Oregon ($7,900 DK / $8,600 FD)

Oregon lost a couple key players this offseason and it’s thrust Pritchard into a much bigger role as the best scorer and distributor for the offense. Plus, the Ducks’ point guard showed us in the opener that he may be fighting for more rebounds this season. In Oregon’s first game of the season, Pritchard put up 24 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals with a team-high 32% usage rate. He has one of the safest DFS floors on this slate because he’ll be bringing the ball up on nearly every possession and will either be scoring or assisting on most buckets. There aren’t many high-priced options worth paying up for but Pritchard should be strongly considered for cash and GPP lineups. 

Jahaad Proctor - Purdue ($6,900 DK / $7,900 FD)

Many thought that Proctor would fill the offensive void left by Carsen Edwards - and he proved just that in Purdue’s first game. Proctor, a grad transfer from High Point, scored a team-high 26 points in the opener and added five rebounds, two assists and two steals with a 24% usage rate (tied for the team lead). It’s definitely encouraging to see Proctor have such a large shot volume in his Boilermakers’ debut as well, going 11-for-17 from the field and consistently driving to the rim with fearlessness. He seems ready for the big stage and tonight’s game will be the first real test vs. Texas and their tough guard play. Proctor still has a high floor because of how often he’;; be shooting it - and most of his attempts aren’t from deep range but instead are mostly around the bucket. This will allow him to still rack up points on free throws as he drives to the bucket. 

Anthony Cowan - Maryland ($6,500 DK / $6,700 FD)

This may be the lowest price we get Cowan at for the rest of the year. He’s been viewed as one of the best point guards in the Big Ten this season but he’s not priced like it at all. In the opener, Cowan “only” had 12 points, five assists and four rebounds - but we should expect bigger performances in the near future. Last season, the senior point guard led the Terps in usage rate and shots share as the main ball-handler and go-to scorer in crunch time - and he should get back to those levels soon this year. We’re buying low on Cowan right now because he’ll likely live above 7k on both sites in the next week or so. 

Darryl Morsell - Maryland ($6,100 DK / $7,100 FD)

Despite starting 31 of 33 games last year, Morsell came off the bench in Maryland’s season opener - but it didn’t stop him from producing starter-level production. In 23 minutes as the Terps’ sixth man, Morsell dropped 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Coach Mark Turgeon seems set on giving sophomores Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins starts moving forward - but Morsell has proven he can be one of the better bench players in the country with his playmaking abilities across the board. If he continues in this sixth-man role, Morsell will continue to be safe for DFS purposes because of his usage and shot volume once he’s in the game. 

Andrew Jones - Texas ($4,700 DK / $5,800 FD)

Jones was the feel-good story around sports on Tuesday when he put up a team-high 20 points off the bench in his first game back from battling Leukemia for most of last year. In that performance, the sophomore went 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point range while adding in three rebounds and two assists. Head coach Shaka Smart said before the season that Jones would be the first guy off the bench for the Longhorns after impressing in the preseason - and that reigned true in the opener as he played 29 minutes in a reserve role and saw a much higher usage and shot rate than starter Jase Febres. Jones could eventually crack the starting lineup but he may be more effective off the bench as a score-first sixth man - and this makes him a nice value on today’s slate. 

Other Guards to Consider:

  • Marcus Carr - Minnesota ($7,300 DK / $7,200 FD)

  • Austin Reeves - Oklahoma ($7,100 DK / $7,700 FD)

  • Aaron Wiggins - Maryland ($6,500 DK / $6,100 FD)

  • Eric Hunter - Purdue ($6,300 DK / $6,300 FD)

  • De’Vion Harmon - Oklahoma ($6,400 DK / $6,000 FD)

FORWARDS

Jalen Smith - Maryland ($7,200 DK / $7,500 FD)

Smith opted to return for his sophomore season instead of going to the NBA this past summer, and he looks poised for a big year. In Tuesday’s opener, he led the Terps in scoring (16 points), rebounding (11 boards), usage rate (29%) and shot volume (15 attempts) and added in three blocks. With Bruno Fernando now gone, Maryland will look to Smith as the dominant post player this season with the upside to stretch the court and hit from outside. Plus, the guy who is nicknamed “Stix” has bulked up over the offseason and should be a matchup problem for any opposing frontcourt because of his scoring versatility. 

Kristian Doolittle - Oklahoma ($6,400 DK / $6,900 FD)

Another buy low opportunity for us at forward today! Doolittle will play tonight after he was suspended for the opener and he should slot right into the starting lineup for the Sooners. Last year, the senior averaged 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and led the team in rebounding rate and free throw percentage overall. Oklahoma has a couple transfer guards that impressed in the opener, but Doolittle doesn’t much competition for playing time and usage in the frontcourt. He was last year’s Big 12 Most Improved Player and was an honorable mention in the preseason All-Big 12 team this season. This is another player, like Maryland’s Cowan, who will live in the 7k range on both sites after today’s game. Oklahoma will need Doolittle’s size and rebounding skills vs. Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu tonight and we should see a normal 25-30 minutes from him. 

R.J. Williams - Boise State ($5,600 DK / $4,900 FD)

There aren’t many viable plays for Boise State tonight because of their low projected total, but Williams should provide a high enough floor for our lineups at an attractive value. Williams gobbled up 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s opener and added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 5-for-7 from the free throw line. He’s now the starting center for the Broncos following the departures of a pair of seniors from last season’s team - and he won’t have much competition for rebounds on his own team. Plus, the rotation will shorten in tonight’s matchup vs. Oregon after Williams played just 21 minutes in a blowout win over Life Pacific earlier in the week.

Aaron Wheeler - Purdue ($5,500 DK / $5,900 FD)

Wheeler was a value play for us on Wednesday and he responded with a solid stat line of 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Eventually his salary will rise to the 6k level on both sites so there’s still a discount on him right now. Wheeler was expected to have a much bigger role for Purdue coming into the year and he showed us in the opener he can stuff the stat sheet with his involvement on both ends of the floor - something we love for DFS, especially in the value range. Even though Sasha Stefanovic will play tonight after missing the opener, expect Wheeler to start again and even get playing time as the small-ball center when Matt Haarms goes to the bench at times. 

Other Forwards to Consider:

  • Matt Haarms - Purdue ($7,700 DK / $8,300 FD)

  • Cyril Langevine - Rhode Island ($7,000 DK / $7,800 FD)

  • Daniel Oturu - Minnesota ($6,800 DK / $7,600 FD)

  • Francis Okoro - Oregon ($6,100 DK / $5,700 FD)

DraftKings Example Lineup:

G: Payton Pritchard - ORE ($7,900)

G: Anthony Cowan Jr. - MD ($6,500)

G: Andrew Jones - TEX ($4,700)

F: Jalen Smith - MD ($7,200)

F: Kristian Doolittle - OU ($6,400)

F: RJ Williams - BSU ($5,600)

U: Darryl Morsell - MD ($6,100)

U: Aaron Wheeler - PUR ($5,500)

 

FanDuel Example Lineup:

G: Payton Pritchard - ORE ($8,600)

G: Anthony Cowan - MD ($6,700)

G: Andrew Jones - TEX ($5,800)

G: Nojel Eastern - PUR ($5,100)

F: RJ Williams - BSU ($4,900)

F: Kristian Doolittle - OU ($6,900)

F: Aaron Wheeler - PUR ($5,900)

U: Aaron Wiggins - MD ($6,100)