The field of 68 is set and the glory started last night. We continue with the play-ins tonight, but the real magic starts tomorrow. We know you are involved in dozens if not hundreds of groups already, but if you would like to match wits with the RotoBaller writers, we have a group for you to join here.
Tonight we start off with Bryant and Wright State in one play-in game. The NIT gets going at 7pm with Toledo hosting Dayton, Virginia hosting Mississippi State, and Wake hosting Towson State. Nicholls State heads to Dallas to take on SMU an hour later. An hour after that we have Rick Pitino's Iona squad heading to Gainesville. We close it out with the last play-in between Notre Dame and Rutgers. This is not a bad lead up to the big one at all!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 3/16/22 starting at 6:40 pm Eastern. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings DFS Guards - NCAA Tournament
Peter Kiss, Bryant ($8,900)
I will do my best to not let my juvenile side show through. After all, Kiss is the leading scorer in the country with 25.1 points per game. That's not his only talent either. He is averaging nearly six rebounds, just over three assists, and over 1.5 steals per game. That comes out to a 40 DraftKings point-per-game average. I still think the ceiling on Williams could be higher, but I'm going with Kiss because this game should stay close. I'm not sure Towson can hang with Wake.
Charles Pride, Bryant ($8,200)
Kiss is the volume scorer, but Pride adds more rebounds to his game, giving him double-double potential. He finished with back-to-back double-doubles in the NEC tournament. Pride has at least 29 DraftKings points in ten straight games. Don't expect a monster out of Pride here, but 30 seems likely with his scoring and rebounding ability. Kiss and Pride are the leaders of this team and Bryant will go as far as these two take them. If you use one, you should try to use the other as well.
Emmanuel Bandoumel, SMU ($6,100)
The Weathers brothers get most of the attention, but Bandoumel put up three straight games over 30 DraftKings points before cooling off against Memphis in the final. Bandoumel can score in bunches and this game against Nicholls should be a shooter's paradise for the Mustangs. If this game stays close, Bandoumel has some serious upside, especially if he gets hot from outside again.
Ra'Heim Moss, Toledo ($5,700)
The Rockets are loaded with guards, but I lean towards Moss because he contributes across the board. He only scored 20 actual points in the MAC Tournament, but he racked up 52.25 DraftKings points. Moss has at least 25 DraftKings points in eight of the last nine games. That's a nice return for this price range.
Trey Calvin, Wright State ($4,900)
Calvin is a volume scorer and is dirt cheap. He has at least 16 actual points (and 30 DraftKings points) in four straight games. The competition in the Horizon League is at least as good as that in the NEC. This game is going to be dominated by guards. If running the Bryant guards, I'd run it back with Calvin. Regardless, Calvin will be in many of my lines because he is such a good shooter from everywhere on the court. He's way too cheap in this matchup. Bryant may be able to score a lot, but they don't defend the perimeter all that well.
Also consider: Ryan Rollins, Toledo ($8,700); Marcus Weathers, SMU ($7,400); Tanner Holden, Wright State ($6,900); RayJ Dennis, Toledo ($6,500); Prentiss Hubb, Notre Dame ($5,200); Walter Clayton, Iona ($4,900); Latrell Jones, Nicholls State ($4,800); Shakeel Moore, Mississippi State ($4,600)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards - NCAA Tournament
Colin Castleton, Florida ($9,000)
Iona doesn't have anyone that can manage Castleton. His low mark in DraftKings points on the entire season was 24.75 against Kentucky in January. That includes in all of the blowouts early in the season. This is a game that Iona may be able to hang around in. Don't forget, this is the team that knocked off Alabama in November and nearly sniped Kansas a week later. If this game stays close, Castleton's ceiling might be the highest on a slate that has a lot of them.
Grant Basile, Wright State ($7,300)
If you're looking for a spot where the Raiders have a clear advantage over Bryant, it's in the frontcourt. Basile hauled down 29 boards in the three games of the Horizon League Tournament. He's also second on the team in scoring going against a frontcourt that is going to have some issues. Both of these teams are fairly evenly matched. There could be a lot of fantasy goodness in that early game as opposed to some of these games that look lopsided on paper.
Tolu Smith, Mississippi State ($6,400)
There is a lot that I don't like about this game for the Bulldogs, but Smith still put up 14 points and shot decent against a tough Tennessee defense. He closed out the season with five straight games of 25 or more DraftKings points before running into a Tennessee team that bullied him out of his normal peripheral stats. There's a chance that Virginia can do that as well, but I don't really see a scenario where Smith is held to just two rebound again. He might not hit 25, but he should at least come close.
Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona ($5,800)
Does the name sound familiar? If it does, it's because Nelly had a monster game in the upset of Alabama and did well against Kansas a week later. Those are two highly-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament. Nelly put together a good game in the tough loss to Rider in the MAAC Championship. He was a solid contributor on the team that lost to Alabama in last year's tournament. Expect the Nigerian to be much more active against Florida like he has all season. It does make me a little nervous that he has to tangle with Castleton though.
R.J. Blakney, Dayton ($3,900)
Blakney is a starter for under $4k. That alone makes him worth a look. He's not much of a scorer, but he can't help but put up decent peripheral numbers when he's playing 30 minutes per game. He's not the kind of guy that can put together a game that breaks the slate, but he is capable of putting up a 20-spot at a very low price. He's low risk with 5x upside.
Also consider: Alondes Williams, Wake Forest ($9,600); Jake LaRavia, Wake Forest ($8,800); Daron Holmes, Dayton ($7,100); Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers ($6,400); Hall Elisias, Bryant ($5,500); Isaiah Mucius, Wake Forest ($4,400)
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