Highest Scoring Teams:
(by Implied Points & Spreads per KenPom)

  • Louisville -- 78 Points (-12 vs. Miami FL) **DK ONLY**
  • Marquette -- 77 Points (-9 vs. Providence)
  • Creighton -- 75 Points (-3 vs. Villanova)
  • Kentucky -- 72 Points (-3 vs. Georgia)
  • Villanova -- 72 Points (+3 vs. Creighton)
  • Rutgers -- 71 Points (-2 vs. Penn State)
  • Florida -- 70 Points (-5 vs. South Carolina)
  • Houston -- 69 Points (-2 vs. Temple) **FD ONLY**
  • Penn State -- 69 Points (+2 vs. Rutgers)

Top Guards

Markus Howard - Marquette ($8,600 DK / $8,300 FD)

If you’ve been following college basketball at all over the last couple years, you know about Markus Howard. He’s one of the best players in the country who can score in a variety of ways and is always one of the highest-scoring DFS plays any time Marquette is on the slate. The senior point guard is coming off an impressive outing vs. Villanova on Saturday when he put up 44.5 DK points with his 29 points scored. That was the fourth time in the last five games that Howard had at least 44 DK points, and he’s averaging 37.5 DK points and 26.2 real points over the last ten. His DFS value has such a high floor and ceiling because of his extremely high involvement in Marquette’s offense with a 37% usage rate and 40% shots share, and both marks are among the top six in the whole country. Not many of the high-priced options on tonight’s slate can match Howard’s safe production for all formats, and that makes him a near-lock in cash and GPP’s. 

Ashton Hagans - Kentucky ($8,200 DK / $7,500 FD)

Hagans suffered a low ankle sprain in the final minutes of Saturday’s win over Missouri, but he’s still expected to play tonight (according to CBS Sports’ Seth Davis). Obviously if he ends up sitting, this will open up some value in Kentucky’s backcourt with Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey as the best pivots. However, if Hagans does indeed suit up, we should expect regular production from him as the lead point guard and ball-handler tonight vs. Georgia. The sophomore leads the Wildcats in usage (24%) and assist rate (43%) this season, and he had put up at least 32 DK points in nine straight games before spraining his ankle last time out. The fact that Hagans is expected to play at all is a good sign because there were fears that he suffered an Achilles injury instead of an ankle. He should be a nice GPP play tonight because the general public may be scared off by his questionable tag and playing on a hurt ankle. 

Santiago Vescovi - Tennessee ($5,000 FD Only)

If you’re playing FanDuel tonight, Vescovi is one of the better values on that slate as he’s seemingly taken over Tennessee’s starting point guard role and is still affordable. Vescovi finally made his Vols debut on Saturday, and got the start right away after being ineligible for the first 12 games of the season. The Uruguayan freshman saw 34 minutes in his first collegiate action with a team-high 34% usage rate and tied for the team lead in points scored (18) while adding six rebounds and four assists. Although he did have nine turnovers, we can look past that for now because of his high involvement and production, plus, can we really blame him in his first college game? Vescovi will presumably be Tennessee’s lead point guard moving forward with Lamonte Turner out for the season, and eventually his price tag will increase to match his role in the offense. 

Caleb McConnell & Jacob Young - Rutgers

Geo Baker is out indefinitely with a thumb injury and we can expect McConnell and Young to both be nice value plays until he returns. McConnell ($4,600 DK / $4,500 FD) entered the Scarlet Knights’ starting lineup on Friday with Baker out and he promptly put up 35 DK points in a team-high 34 minutes with a season-high 20 points scored, five assists and five rebounds. Now, we can’t expect this type of DFS performance from McConnell every game, but his value definitely increases right now as long as Baker remains out. With a sub-5k price tag on both sites, he should be pretty chalky on this slate. However, we can also look towards Jacob Young ($4,400 DK / $4,300 FD) as a value play with Baker out too. Young comes off the bench for Rutgers, but his scoring will be needed more than ever with the offense losing one of its best players. Although he’s yet to start a game this season, Young leads the team in usage rate (27%) and shots share (25%) so far as he plays the role of instant offense off the bench for the Scarlet Knights. In Friday’s game without Baker, he had 27 DK points with his 16 points scored and 25% usage rate. We should expect this type of production to continue as well with Baker out. 

Lamar Kimble - Louisville ($4,000 DK Only)

Like Vescovi on FanDuel, Kimble is our DraftKings value special on tonight’s slate. The St. Joe’s transfer had been coming off the bench all year but he finally cracked Louisville’s starting lineup on Saturday and should have a solid offensive role moving forward. In that start vs. Florida State, Kimble played a season-high 30 minutes and had six points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal for 13.5 DK points. It was just a decent DFS performance, but it’s still a good sign that Louisville moved Kimble into the starting rotation ahead of Ryan McMahon as the team enters conference play. He was a key player for the Cardinals last Saturday against Kentucky when he had 23 DK points and 12 points scored in 29 minutes off the bench. It remains to be seen whether Kimble moves back to the bench tonight or sticks amongst the starters, but he should be able to return value at this price tag with an increase in playing time and offensive role as he’s become one of Louisville’s best players against tougher competition lately. 

Other Guards to Consider:

  • Alpha Diallo - Providence ($8,400 DK / $7,900 FD)
  • Ty-Shon Alexander - Creighton ($7,700 DK / $6,800 FD)
  • Immanuel Quickley - Kentucky ($5,900 DK / $5,000 FD)
  • Scottie Lewis - Florida ($5,400 DK / $5,400 FD)
  • Duane Washington Jr. - Ohio State ($5,300 DK / $4,800 FD)

Top Forwards

Kaleb Wesson - Ohio State ($8,100 DK / $7,700 FD)

Wesson has quietly become one of the more dominant big men in the country this season and he should have no problem putting up a big performance against Maryland tonight. The Terps’ frontcourt has struggled to contain opposing big-bodied centers this season as they lack depth in the frontcourt and Jalen Smith’s smaller frame usually presents a mismatch. The junior center leads Ohio State in usage rate (28%), is second in shots share (25%), and is now the clear-cut best rebounder on the team with Kyle Young likely out again. Against Wisconsin on Saturday, Wesson put up 46 DK points thanks to his 22 points scored and 13 rebounds. As long as he stays out of foul trouble tonight, he should have no issue dropping another double-double as the Buckeyes’ main offensive weapon and a guy who can dominate in the post against undersized frontcourts in the Big Ten. 

Nick Richards - Kentucky ($7,500 DK / $6,100 FD)

We don’t blame FanDuel for the $1,400 discount compared to DraftKings tonight because Nick Richards has been boom-or-bust for most of the season. Still, he could be in line for big game against Georgia, a team that has allowed some massive performances to opposing big men lately. The Bulldogs allowed 20 points/15 rebounds to Memphis’ Precious Achiuwa on Saturday, 25/12 to SMU’s Isaiah Mike on December 20, and 18/17 to Arizona State’s Romello White on December 14. Outside of the 6-foot-9 Rayshaun Hammonds, Georgia is undersized in the frontcourt and it should allow Nick Richards (at 6-foot-11) to have a similar stat line to those other opposing bigs. Richards, meanwhile, is coming off two straight good games when he had 13 points and 10 boards for 28.5 DK points vs. Louisville and then 21/12 and 46 DK points vs. Missouri on Sunday. He’s starting to be used more consistently in the offense and he should remain heavily involved tonight with Ahston Hagans needing more support than usual as he possibly returns from a sprained ankle. 

Emmitt Holt - Providence ($4,500 DK / $4,700 FD)

Providence’s senior big man is back in the starting lineup after he recently came off the bench for two games, and he’s producing at a level that’s much higher than his price tags on both sites. Holt has started the past three games and is averaging 22 DK points over this span with per-game averages of 8.3 points, seven rebounds and two blocks/steals. He had started a four-game stretch for the Friars a month ago, but was moved to the bench for Greg Gantt for two games in December. However, Holt seems to be firmly back in his starting role and getting more consistent playing time with Gantt back to the bench and only getting 12 total minutes over the last two outings. Outside of do-it-all guard Alpha Diallo, Holt is the best rebounder for Providence and he should have an advantage tonight against a Marquette frontcourt that doesn’t rebound well. 

Chol Marial & Donta Scott - Maryland

We mentioned on Saturday’s DFS CBB slate that either or both of Donta Scott and Chol Marial could be value plays with Maryland needing someone to step up in their frontcourt following the recent departures of the Mitchell twins. In that game vs. Indiana, we saw Scott ($4,000 DK / $3,900 FD) get the start and put up 13 DK points in 18 minutes. The freshman has now started three straight for the Terps and he’ll likely be amongst the starters again tonight vs. Ohio State. The ceiling is just not that high for Scott, but the playing time will be there without much depth in Maryland’s frontcourt. Meanwhile, Marial ($4,300 DK / $3,700 FD) only got eight minutes off the bench on Saturday but he did put up 7.75 DK points in limited action. He was very efficient DFS-wise when he was in the game, but foul trouble ultimately doomed him as he picked up quick fouls each time he stepped onto the court and was forced to sit the majority of the game. This will be an issue for Marial in Big Ten play as he’s only played two collegiate games in his career so far after sitting out the early part of the year recovering from stress fractures. Still, the fantasy ceiling is very high for this 7-foot-2 freshman from the South Sudan. He has the upside and pure talent to be one of the best players in the country, but his skills are very, very raw at this point. However, Maryland will need him to play a decent role moving forward without a true backup to Jalen Smith in the frontcourt, and facing the big men in the Big Ten will force his tall frame into more minutes eventually. He’s worth a GPP flier right now, but just now what you’re getting yourself into if he picks up quick fouls when he’s in there. 

Other Forwards to Consider:

  • Jordan Nwora - Louisville ($8,200 DK Only)
  • Kevin Samuel - TCU ($7,800 DK / $6,900 FD)
  • Toumani Camara - Georgia ($5,100 DK / $4,600 FD)
  • Montavious Murphy - Kansas State ($4,200 DK / $3,700 FD)
  • Omar Payne - Florida ($4,000 DK / $4,000 FD)

DraftKings Example Lineup:

G: Markus Howard - MARQ ($8,600)

G: Caleb McConnel - RU ($4,600)

G: Lamar Kimble - UL ($4,000)

F: Kaleb Wesson - OSU ($8,100)

F: Nick Richards - UK ($7,500)

F: Emmitt Holt - PROV ($4,500)

U: Jordan Nwora - UL ($8,200)

U: Chol Marial - MD ($4,300)

FanDuel Example Lineup:

G: Markus Howard - MARQ ($8,300)

G: Santiago Vescovi - TENN ($5,000)

G: Caleb McConnell - RUT ($4,500)

G: Alpha Diallo - PROV ($7,900)

F: Kaleb Wesson - OSU ($7,700)

F: Kevin Samuel - TCU ($6,900)

F: Emmitt Holt - PROV ($4,700)

U: Immanuel Quickley - UK ($5,000)