THE SLATE:
(w/ Implied Team Totals & Odds via KenPom)
6 pm ET -- Virginia (66) at Notre Dame (61) -- 127 total **DK ONLY**
7 pm ET -- Mississippi State (70) at Georgia (72) -- 142 total **DK ONLY**
7 pm ET -- Arkansas (73) at Auburn (72) -- 145 total
7 pm ET -- Seton Hall (71) at Xavier (73) -- 144 total
8 pm ET -- North Carolina (73) at Georgia Tech (69) -- 142 total
8:30 pm ET -- Penn State (66) at Indiana (71) -- 137 total
9 pm ET -- Florida (76) at Vanderbilt (66) -- 142 total **DK ONLY**
9 pm ET -- Tennessee (67) at Missouri (65) -- 132 total
9 pm ET -- DePaul (68) at Connecticut (75) -- 143 total
| Top Guards | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| James Bouknight | CONN | DPU | 8700 | 36.94 | 7800 | 33.90 | |
| After emerging late last season as a dynamic offensive player, Bouknight is now the stud playmaker for UConn this year. He has a monopoly on usage rate and shot volume in heavy minutes while running the point for the Huskies - and he’s the team’s best three-point shooter as well. Put all that together and Bouknight’s DFS floor is usually good for 30 DK points with upside for a lot more if he gets hot from deep - like his 40 real points scored and 51 DK points with five made three’s last time out. This is a pace-up spot for UConn vs. an uptempo DePaul squad - and Bouknight should have no problem anchoring your cash or GPP lineups. His discount on FD stands out as a value in the high end. | |||||||
| Paul Scruggs | XAV | SHU | 8400 | 35.83 | 8100 | 33.47 | |
| Maybe it’s just coincidence, but the Big East studs stand out as the best high-priced options on this slate - and Paul Scruggs is right there at guard next to James Bouknight and Charlie Moore. The senior is now the lead playmaker and scorer for Xavier with so much pro talent gone in the offseason - and the added offensive responsibility and usage has raised his DFS value to elite status. In this tight matchup with Seton Hall, expect Scruggs to have the ball in his hands on nearly every possession with the likelihood of totaling 40+ DK points by the game’s end. He’s a strong cash play on either site. | |||||||
| Sahvir Wheeler | UGA | MSU | 6900 | 30.42 | |||
| A DK-only play here and in a game that should not go overlooked. Georgia plays at one of the fastest tempos in the country and Wheeler is the offensive catalyst at point guard. After taking a backseat to Anthony Edwards last year, the sophomore is now the Bulldogs’ go-to as he leads them in usage rate, shot volume and assist rate. Considering he has double-digit assist upside and 40+ DK point potential, this is a bargain for Wheeler and he has no business being priced below 7k. This is Georgia’s start of SEC play and Wheeler should be at his best in a close one vs. Miss St. | |||||||
| Justin Powell | AUB | ARK | 6600 | 29.91 | 6400 | 27.27 | |
| Auburn may be a newbie to the DFS CBB slate, but this matchup is definitely one to target in a pace-boosted situation for the Tigers against the faster Arkansas squad. Bruce Pearl’s team has a ton of talent, but true freshman Justin Powell has emerged as the top playmaker on the offensive end. With fellow freshman Sharife Cooper still ineligible and Tyrell Jones now off the team, Powell is the clear-cut lead point guard for Auburn and he’s getting all the responsibility he can handle running the attack. His high involvement on both ends and steady playing time gives him a very good DFS floor and ceiling - and it makes his price tags a slight bargain when you consider he can eclipse 30-40 DK points if he’s making shots. If playing one stud guard on this slate, Powell might be the other to lock in. | |||||||
| Value Guards | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Tyrese Martin | CONN | DPU | 5500 | 20.42 | 5100 | 19.13 | |
| Martin should be a popular value option on this slate with an affordable salary, solid floor and favorable matchup. The Rhode Island transfer has now started the last two games for UConn after being suspended for the opener and coming off the bench in his first outing. It’s encouraging to see Martin start and log 28 and 35 minutes, respectively, against two tougher opponents (USC and Creighton). With double-digit rebounds in two of three games this year, Martin is already one of UConn’s best rebounders - and that should give him a safe DFS floor against a DePaul frontcourt that isn’t rebounding well this season. | |||||||
| Keon Johnson | TENN | MIZZ | 4700 | 18.08 | 5500 | 16.68 | |
| To be honest, it’s really tough to get a read on Tennessee’s true rotations and usage split - and we might not get an answer until after the first SEC matchup tonight. The Vols have a ton of returning talent from last season, but have two five-star freshmen now in the mix with Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson added in. Both have come off the bench to begin the year, but it might be a matter of time until Springer and/or Johnson crack the starting lineup with pure skill and talent taking over for experience. It makes all of Tennessee’s players GPP plays until we see how this shakes out with a tougher conference schedule here. Johnson, though, is a safer option than Springer as he leads the team in usage rate and has a higher statistical floor - and comes at a discount on both sites. | |||||||
| Dwon Odom | XAV | SHU | 4200 | 20.32 | 4400 | 19.29 | |
| After missing the last two games due to COVID protocols, Odom is expected back tonight and should step right back into Xavier’s starting backcourt. He was a regular starter before the absences and fills a key secondary ball-handler role to complement Paul Scruggs. For much of this season, Odom has provided a decent DFS floor with his assists and ancillary stat production on a Xavier squad that plays a tight rotation. He’s way too cheap on both sites and is a great cash value if he’s back in the starting lineup. | |||||||
| Trey Galloway | IU | PSU | 4100 | 12 | 4000 | 11.06 | |
| With a few early-season losses, Indiana mixed things up last game and moved Galloway into the starting lineup in place of Rob Phinisee. It’s an interesting move and something to keep an eye on tonight if Galloway gets another start. The freshman provides a longer, bigger body on the wing compared to Phinisee - and the move resulted in a season-high 32 minutes for Galloway. There’s upside in GPP’s at these salaries for him to be a good value in a matchup vs. Penn State that might end up being a faster-paced, guard-dominated game. | |||||||
Other Guards to Consider:
Charlie Moore - DePaul ($8,600 DK / $7,000 FD)
Jose Alvarado - Georgia Tech ($8,500 DK / $7,200 FD)
Tre Mann - Florida ($7,500 DK Only)
Izaiah Brockington - Penn State ($6,900 DK / $6,400 FD)
Caleb Love - North Carolina ($6,100 DK / $6,200 FD)
Leaky Black - North Carolina ($5,300 DK / $6,100 FD)
Bubba Parham - Georgia Tech ($5,100 DK / $5,700 FD)
Noah Locke - Florida ($4,500 DK Only)
Bryce Aiken - Seton Hall ($3,800 DK / $4,400 FD)
| Top Forwards | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis | IU | PSU | 9000 | 37.19 | 8200 | 35.04 | |
| Whenever Indiana is on the slate, Jackson-Davis needs to be strongly considered in all formats as one of the most dominant big men in the country. The Hoosiers’ offense usually begins and ends with the sophomore center as he leads the team in usage rate and shot volume so far this season. He basically has a floor of 30 DK points with his production across all stat categories while playing a versatile frontcourt role in an Indiana rotation overloaded with guards around the perimeter. He’ll have a size and skill advantage in the paint vs. Penn State and could easily put up a double-double with upside for more. | |||||||
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | SHU | XAV | 8000 | 34.78 | 7700 | 32.29 | |
| Stop me if you heard this one before: Sandro Mamukelashvili is under-priced on both sites and he’ll be a chalky play tonight. His salaries are slightly down after he put up just 10 DK pints in only 25 minutes last time out vs. Georgetown - but we should expect a big bounceback tonight. Seton Hall’s best player and go-to offensive option had put up 40+ DK points in three straight before that dud outing and he’s a nightly threat to be even better with production in all stat categories and the legit possibility he drops 20 real points with double-digit boards. Xavier is below-average on the glass this season and Mamu should have no problem putting up DFS value in this matchup. | |||||||
| Romeo Weems | DPU | CONN | 7600 | 36.25 | 6900 | 31.90 | |
| Weems missed DePaul’s opener for an undisclosed reason, but he was back on Sunday and immediately stepped into a key offensive role. The sophomore wing was expected to form a solid one-two punch with point guard Charlie Moore - and his season debut was certainly encouraging. In 34 minutes off the bench (in double-overtime), Weems scored 21 points with five made three’s and seven boards - good for 36 DK points. He should move into the starting lineup tonight and would play a big role for the Blue Demons in a sleeper matchup that might end up being higher-scoring than we think. He’s a great GPP play with people likely going elsewhere in the expensive range. | |||||||
| Scottie Lewis | UF | VAND | 7200 | 29.44 | |||
| The very unfortunate situation of Keyontae Johnson being done for the season leaves a massive hole in Florida’s rotation - and one we can target in GPP’s for the DK slate. Johnson was the SEC Preseason Player of the Year and it will likely take multiple players to make up for his production on both ends of the floor. Tre Mann ($7500) steps into a more prominent offensive playmaker role, and Scottie Lewis now becomes a clear #2 option in Johnson’s place. The sophomore never lived up to his high recruiting ranking last year, but he definitely has the talent to be a wing threat next to Mann for the Gators. After Johnson went down last game, Lewis stepped up for 19 points scored in 39 minutes for 38 DK points. We should expect Mann and Lewis to both take a step forward with a ton of added responsibility. | |||||||
| Value Forwards | |||||||
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Connor Vanover | ARK | AUB | 4900 | 25.78 | 4700 | 24.46 | |
| Although he doesn’t have a notable offensive role for Arkansas, Vanover provides a solid floor with his rebounding and shot-blocking ability with his 7-foot-3 height advantage. The sophomore will face his toughest test of the year tonight vs. Auburn - but he should return 15-20 DK points because of his rebounding and blocked shots. Assuming he stays out of foul trouble and logs his regular 20 minutes or so, Vanover is a solid salary-saver for GPP’s with the upside to produce double-sigit boards and 3-4 blocks. | |||||||
| Khalid Moore | GT | UNC | 4700 | 15.68 | 4800 | 14.66 | |
| If there’s one thing we love for DFS CBB it’s when teams play a very short rotation. That’s Georgia Tech this season with basically seven players logging all the minutes - and Khalid Moore plays a pivotal role off the bench. At 6-foot-7, the junior can play multiple positions for Tech and he’s usually good for 20-25 minutes or more in that reserve role. His rebounding and steals with steady playing time keeps his DFS floor in the 15-20 DK point range with upside for more if Tech needs his size more. That should be the case against UNC’s frontcourt duo of Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot presenting problems for opposing teams right now. | |||||||
| Josh Carlton | CONN | DPU | 4700 | 15 | 4200 | 14.40 | |
| This play might come down to UConn’s starting lineup announcement ahead of this 9 pm ET tip. After missing a game for an undisclosed reason, senior big man Josh Carlton played 30 minutes in his first game back and then moved into the starting lineup last time out. He started every game last season and should stick amongst the starters moving forward. Carlton is the best pure center for UConn and he forms a taller frontcourt duo alongside Isaiah Whaley. The Huskies should have the rebounding advantage tonight against a DePaul team that plays fast and doesn’t rebound well. | |||||||
| Darious Hall | DPU | CONN | 4000 | 15.5 | 4100 | 14.60 | |
| After missing DePaul’s opener for undisclosed reasons, Hall returned to action on Sunday and logged 21 minutes off the bench and led the team in rebounds with eight. The junior should continue to play a key role in DePaul’s frontcourt with Jaylen Butz still out and Oscar Lopez now questionable to play tonight with a knee injury. Hall and Nick Ongenda are big values on this slate with the minutes available - and we may even see Hall crack the starting lineup tonight. Pauly Paulicap is another one to watch as he could start in Lopez’s place as well. All are perfectly fine in cash with GPP upside. | |||||||
Example Lineups
The Example Lineups are meant to show how one can build lineups for tonight's slate based on the players mentioned in the Playbook. They are not meant to be strictly plugged and played.
| DK Cash | FD Cash | |||||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
| G | Paul Scruggs | XAV | SHU | 35.83 | $8,400 | G | Paul Scruggs | XAV | SHU | 33.46 | $8,100 | |
| Pivot | Charlie Moore | DPU | CONN | 37.38 | $8,600 | $8,600 | Pivot | |||||
| G | James Bouknight | CONN | DPU | 36.94 | $8,700 | G | James Bouknight | CONN | DEP | 33.9 | $7,800 | |
| Pivot | $8,700 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| G | Justin Powell | AUB | ARK | 29.91 | $6,600 | G | Justin Powell | AUB | ARK | 27.27 | $6,400 | |
| Pivot | $6,600 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| F | Sandro Mamukelashvili | SHU | XAV | 34.78 | $8,000 | G | Trey Galloway | IND | PSU | 11.05 | $4,000 | |
| Pivot | $8,000 | Pivot | Dwon Odom | XAV | SHU | 19.28 | $4,400 | |||||
| F | Darious Hall | DPU | CONN | 15.5 | $4,000 | F | Sandro Mamukelashvili | SHU | XAV | 32.28 | $7,700 | |
| Pivot | $4,000 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| F | Khalid Moore | GT | UNC | 15.68 | $4,700 | F | Khalid Moore | GT | UNC | 14.65 | $4,800 | |
| Pivot | $4,700 | Pivot | Josh Carlton | CONN | DEP | 14.4 | $4,200 | |||||
| Util | Trey Galloway | IU | PSU | 12 | $4,100 | F | Darious Hall | DEP | CONN | 14.6 | $4,100 | |
| Pivot | Dwon Odom | XAV | SHU | 20.32 | $4,200 | $4,200 | Pivot | |||||
| Util | Tyrese Martin | CONN | DPU | 20.42 | $5,500 | Util | Romeo Weems | DEP | CONN | 31.89 | $6,900 | |
| Pivot | Connor Vanover | ARK | AUB | 25.78 | $4,900 | $4,900 | Pivot | Jose Alvarado | GT | UNC | 28.41 | $7,200 |
| Total | $50,000 | Total | $49,800 | |||||||||
| Pivot Total | $49,700 | Pivot Total | $49,900 | |||||||||
| DK GPP | FD GPP | |||||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | Pos. | Player | Team | Opp | FPPG | Salary | |
| G | Sahvir Wheeler | UGA | MSU | 30.42 | $6,900 | G | Charlie Moore | DEP | CONN | 32.9 | $7,000 | |
| Pivot | $6,900 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| G | Bryce Aiken | SHU | XAV | 6.62 | $3,800 | G | Keon Johnson | TENN | MIZZ | 16.68 | $5,500 | |
| Pivot | $3,800 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| G | Caleb Love | UNC | GT | 21.53 | $6,100 | G | Tyrese Martin | CONN | DEP | 19.13 | $5,100 | |
| Pivot | $6,100 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| F | Trayce Jackson-Davis | IU | PSU | 37.19 | $9,000 | G | Izaiah Brockington | PSU | IND | 24.03 | $6,400 | |
| Pivot | $9,000 | Pivot | James Bouknight | CONN | DEP | 33.9 | $7,800 | |||||
| F | Romeo Weems | DPU | CONN | 36.25 | $7,600 | F | Trayce Jackson-Davis | IND | PSU | 35.04 | $8,200 | |
| Pivot | $7,600 | Pivot | ||||||||||
| F | Scottie Lewis | UF | VAND | 29.44 | $7,200 | F | Armando Bacot | UNC | GT | 23.04 | $6,800 | |
| Pivot | $7,200 | Pivot | Seth Lundy | PSU | IND | 19.61 | $5,400 | |||||
| Util | Seth Lundy | PSU | IU | 21.29 | $5,100 | F | Jaylin Williams | AUB | ARK | 24.22 | $6,200 | |
| Pivot | Keon Johnson | TENN | MIZZ | 18.08 | $4,700 | $4,700 | Pivot | |||||
| Util | Nick Ongenda | DPU | CONN | 20 | $4,300 | Util | Nick Ongenda | DEP | CONN | 19.29 | $4,700 | |
| Pivot | Josh Carlton | CONN | DPU | 15 | $4,700 | $4,700 | Pivot | |||||
| Total | $50,000 | Total | $49,900 | |||||||||
| Pivot Total | $50,000 | Pivot Total | $49,900 | |||||||||