Highest Scoring Teams:
(by Implied Points per KenPom)
Illinois -- 77 Points (-8 vs. Miami FL)
Washington -- 77 Points (-12 vs. South Dakota)
Kansas State -- 75 Points (-24 vs. Florida A&M)
Miami FL -- 69 Points (+8 vs. Illinois)
Minnesota -- 67 Points (-3 vs. Clemson)
Best Plays
Kofi Cockburn - Illinois ($8,600 DK / $7,000 FD)
While Illinois has trio of talented guards, it’s the center who is the best DFS play among the starters. Cockburn, a true 7-footer at 290 pounds, leads the team in offensive usage (29.2%) and combined rebounding rate (53%) and is a close third in shots share (26.4%). It’s his size and rebounding skills that make him so valuable in fantasy - especially in tonight’s matchup. The freshman’s offensive rebounding rate is the best in all of college basketball and his defensive rebounding is 15th-best. The activity on the glass at both ends has allowed Cockburn to average 15.3 points and 12 rebounds on the season with five double-double’s through the first seven games. Now he gets to face a Miami team that is not a good rebounding team at all - especially on the defensive end, which is right Cockburn’s wheelhouse. Miami has a pair of forwards who stand 7-foot and 6-10, but they both tend to commit fouls. Meanwhile, Cockburn draws fouls at the 21st-best rate in the country. The matchup sets up perfectly for you to pay up for him in your lineups - particularly on FD where he’s much cheaper.
Cartier Diarra - Kansas State ($8,100 DK / $7,100 FD)
Game log chasers may look at Diarra scoring in single-digits in three of the past four games and look past him at this salary. However, Kansas State’s junior point guard has very high floor in DFS because of his assists, rebounds and steals. Diarra leads the team in offensive usage (27.8%) and his 46.3% assist rate is the 4th-best mark in all of college basketball. He’s racked up six or more assists in every game thus far and that high involvement on offense keeps his floor fairly high - even if he’s not scoring a ton. Plus, he’s averaging 3.5 steals and 4.5 rebounds per game over the last four - allowing him to put up 30.8 DK points on average over that span. He’s the motor that runs the Kansas State offense and he’s a lock-down defender as well who plays 30-35 minutes per game.
Jaden McDaniels - Washington ($7,600 DK / $6,300 FD)
Although McDaniels is the third-most expensive player on his own team, the true freshman provides the safest consistency for DFS purposes compared to his higher-priced teammates, Isaiah Stewart and Nahziah Carter. The 6-foot-9 wing scorer leads the Huskies in offensive usage (26%) and minutes share (86%) while averaging 27.4 DK points per game. Both Stewart and Carter may have higher fantasy ceilings - thus the more expensive price tags - but McDaniels has the highest floor among them all as he’s been safe for 25-30 DK points in nearly every game this year. His high involvement on offense certainly helps, but he provides solid production across all stat categories even if he isn’t the team’s leading scorer.
Cody Kelley - South Dakota ($4,500 DK / $5,500 FD)
On the surface, it may seem like no South Dakota players should be worth rostering tonight but there are a couple who could benefit from this pace-up matchup. Kelley, the senior shooting guard, doesn’t have a high usage rate or shots share on the team - but he does shoot the three really well and that’s been an area of struggle for Washington’s defense. The Huskies are very strong in the paint with talented forwards inside, but they are also one of the country’s worst teams at defending the three-pointer. They allow offenses to shoot 38.4% from deep (311th-worst) and give up nearly 40% of opposing points via the three-pointer (the 18th-most in the country). Meanwhile, South Dakota’s offense is predicated on the three-point shot and Kelley is one of their best perimeter threats with the most three’s taken this season (34) while draining 47% of those. Plus, Kelley is averaging 20.2 DK points this year and has 5x-ed this price tag in each of the last two games.
Antonio Gordon - Kansas State ($4,300 DK / $4,000 FD)
Gordon has stepped into Kansas State’s starting rotation the last two games with Montavious Murphy out with a knee injury - and he should start again tonight with Murphy expected to miss a couple more games. Gordon, a 6-foot-9 freshman, is currently playing the bulk of the power forward minutes for the Wildcats and this increase in playing time makes him a solid value on this slate. He had a down game last time out - with only 7.25 DK points - but he tallied 22.25 and 18 DK points in the two games prior in 26 and 27 minutes, respectively. If we’re getting that type of production at this price tag, Gordon should be strongly considered as one of the better salary-savers on the small four-game slate.
Others to Consider:
Daniel Oturu - Minnesota ($9,000 DK / $7,900 FD)
Tyler Hagedorn - South Dakota ($7,400 DK / $6,000 FD)
Payton Willis - Minnesota ($6,500 DK / $6,000 FD)
Quade Green - Washington ($5,800 DK / $5,600 FD)
Harlond Beverly - Miami FL ($5,100 DK / $4,300 FD)
Alihan Demir - Minnesota (4,600 DK / $4,400 FD)
DraftKings Example Lineup:
G: Cartier Diarra - KSU ($8,100)
G: Cody Kelley - SDU ($4,500)
G: Payton Willis - MINN ($6,500)
F: Kofi Cockburn - IL ($8,600)
F: Jaden McDaniels - UW ($7,600)
F: Alihan Demir - MINN ($4,600)
U: Antonio Gordon - KSU ($4,300)
U: Quade Green - UW ($5,800)
FanDuel Example Lineup:
G: Cartier Diarra - KSU ($7,100)
G: Cody Kelley - SDAK ($5,500)
G: Quade Green - WASH ($5,600)
G: Harlond Beverly - MIA ($4,300)
F: Kofi Cokburn - ILL ($7,300)
F: Daniel Oturu - MINN ($7,900)
F: Jaden McDaniels - WASH ($6,300)
U: Tyler Hagedorn - SDAK ($6,000)