It's Pi Day! Hey, my boss thinks that's a huge deal. I think the first half of the First Four and the opening round of the NIT is more of a huge deal. We have some nice games on our DraftKings slate tonight. We open up with the first of the First Four games between Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
The NIT opens with Rutgers hosting Hofstra and Michigan hosting Toledo at the usual start time. The next tips are around 9 pm with Mississippi State hosting Pitt in the First Four. We have more NIT action with Liberty hosting Villanova and Vandy hosting Yale. The next tip is in Madison with Bradley heading west to face the Badgers. We end with Colorado hosting Seton Hall. Why DraftKings decided to leave off Southern Miss-UAB and Washington State-Eastern Washington is beyond me. Honestly, it's just dumb. But I will still enjoy the eight games we have!
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 3/14/23, starting at 6:40 pm Eastern. I’ll provide multiple player suggestions at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
Featured Promo: Get any DFS Premium Bundle for for 10% off using code BALLER! Win more with expert advice from proven winners and exclusive DFS tools. Get instant access to RotoBaller's Lineup Optimizers, Research Stations, daily picks and VIP chat rooms across 10 sports! Go Premium, Win More!
DraftKings CBB DFS Guards
RayJ Dennis, Toledo ($8,300)
Only Western Michigan held Dennis under 25 DraftKings points this season, and it was more the 26-point victory over the Broncos that held Dennis back than the Broncos themselves. Dennis hasn't been under 30 DraftKings points since Valentine's Day. Michigan is a team that might be able to hold him under that, but I kind of doubt it. Dennis is the leading scorer for the Rockets by a large margin, but he also fills up the peripheral numbers as well.
Kobe Bufkin, Michigan ($7,800)
Bufkin went cold from the field against Rutgers, but he still topped 30 DraftKings points for the fifth straight game. Bufkin plays a ton of minutes, and though he has become an accomplished scorer, his rebounds and assists have increased a lot since the beginning of the season. He has topped his season average of 13.7 points in seven of the last eight games while topping his rebound average of 4.4 in four straight. I expect a nice game out of Bufkin here.
Trevian Tennyson, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ($6,000)
Tennyson is mostly a scorer, but he is efficient, selective, and good at getting open for shots. He hasn't scored in single digits this calendar year. Tennyson is a sure 20 DraftKings points at a very reasonable price, even though the uspide isn't really there for GPP usage.
Julian Hammond III, Colorado ($5,000)
Hammond has been great for the Ralphies in the absence of K.J. Simpson. Considering that Simpson missed the Pac-12 Tournament because of a bout with mono, I would guess that even if he plays, he's not going to be anywhere near 100%. I doubt he plays, so Hammond should not only be a safe value play but a great one. Hammond has 95.5 DraftKings points over the three games that Simpson has missed so far.
Also consider: Chris Harris, Southeast Missouri ($8,200); Aaron Estrada, Hofstra ($7,900); Ezra Manjon, Vanderbilt ($6,900); Shakeel Moore, Mississippi State ($6,400); Dante Maddox, Toledo ($6,100); Colin Porter, Liberty ($5,500); Derek Simpson, Rutgers ($4,200); Ethan Wright, Colorado ($4,000)
Want some NBA DFS tools and content? If you like what you see here, don't forget to sign up for your RotoBaller NBA Premium Pass. Use code MARTENY and receive 10% off your purchase! You'll love the articles from myself and others, our daily DFS Cheat Sheets, Research Station, Optimizer, and Discord Chatrooms to help you out in real-time.
DraftKings CBB DFS Forwards
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan ($9,500)
Dickinson has had some big games against undersized teams this season. Toledo certainly qualifies as undersized. They only have one player on the roster over 6'8", and he plays 12 minutes per game. Dickinson has topped 40 DraftKings points in four straight games after a rough couple of games at the end of February. Considering the massive size advantage that Dickinson has against the Rockets, I'll be shocked if he doesn't hit 40 again.
Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers ($8,200)
Much like Toledo, Hofstra runs a little on the small side. Omoruyi isn't the volume scorer that Dickinson can be, but he is one of the best rebounders in the entire conference – yes, even better than Michigan. Omoruyi has eight or more rebounds in eight of the last nine games, scoring in double figures in six of those. He feels like a strong bet for a double-double in this game. He won't score like Dickinson has the potential to, but Omoruyi should be somewhere in the 30s for DraftKings points tonight.
Brandon Slater, Villanova ($5,200)
Slater's final tournament run at Villanova will, unfortunately, be in the NIT instead of the NCAA's, but the Wildcats won't let that get to them the way that it does to some teams. Villanova is the lower-seeded team, but Liberty is really going to have their hands full here. Villanova is tested in tournament settings and Liberty really isn't. For a senior like Slater, that experience is even more of a factor. I'll take a chance on the experience alone at this price and the minutes he gets.
Colin Smith, Vanderbilt ($3,700)
The Commodores put Smith in place of the struggling Myles Stute against Kentucky in the SEC tournament and Smith turned in 32.25 DraftKings points in the two games that he started. I would expect that to continue into the NIT. Smith became part of the offense against A&M after looking timid against Kentucky, I expect him to keep improving and he should perform well beyond what we expect from this price.
Also consider: Tolu Smith, Mississippi State ($8,800); Jordan Wright, Vanderbilt ($8,100); Setric Millner, Toledo ($7,900); Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin ($7,500); KC Ndefo, Seton Hall ($6,900); Matt Knowling, Yale ($6,500); Warren Williams, Hofstra ($5,500); Owen Dease, Texas A&M-CC ($4,700)