RADIO
We are back with some mid-week college hoops action this week! We have 16 games tonight across two different slates. It's an even split with eight games during the 6:30-8 p.m. window and eight more after that.
We've got some big names and some great matchups today. We'll go through all of those for each slate. We'll give you the core pieces that you can build either a cash or GPP lineup with. Then we'll have some value plays to make it all fit. And for you Ricky Bobby types, we'll give you guys with a great ceiling with a low floor because..."if you ain't first, you're last."
Here are my picks across all CBB DFS slates on Tuesday, February 4 with the main slate starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on DraftKings. The late slate starts at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Today's Main Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
Purdue guards vs. Iowa
Houston vs. Oklahoma State
Georgetown guards vs. Xavier
Penn State wings vs. Minnesota
Mississippi forwards vs. Kentucky
Minnesota forwards vs. Penn State
Core Pieces:
Jamir Watkins, Florida State ($8.2K)
Jamir Watkins’ playmaking is becoming a reliable and key ancillary skill for him.
His initial NBA role will be as a 3&D wing, but the value he adds as a secondary playmaker should help compensate when the shot isn't falling (career 32% 3P shooter on 336 3PA) pic.twitter.com/IwRAyT7y6s
— Jam Hines (@jamontheboards) December 21, 2024
That is an older post, but I put it in here for a reason. It's to highlight that Watkins has a great floor even when the shots aren't falling. Watkins has at least 25 DraftKings points in six straight games. He was over 30 in five of those. That is despite shooting 25 percent or less from the floor in two of those games.
Payton Sandfort, Iowa ($7.5K)
Owen Freeman will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season with broken fingers. That means a lot of shots to be taken by other players. Sandfort and his younger brother will be at the top of that list.
The elder Sandfort is already a polished scorer. He'll need to fill the defensive void left by Freeman and match his work on the glass. We should see the usage increase, but there is a modicum of risk among all Iowa players until they get the rotations figured out without Freeman.
Stevie Mitchell, Marquette ($7K)
Teams have successfully loaded up on Kam Jones enough to keep him from taking over games. They are trying to force other Marquette players to beat them. Mitchell has done a pretty good job in that respect.
Mitchell can score points in bunches, but he still picked up 26 DraftKings points in the loss to UConn on Saturday despite scoring just six actual points. He's a great defender and good facilitator with the ball in his hands. Mitchell has only been under 23 DraftKings points once since December 14.
Value Pieces:
Chandler Jackson, Florida State ($4.6K)
Jackson played a season-high 34 minutes in his return to the starting lineup on Saturday. He only had 13.5 DraftKings points to show for it, but if someone is playing most of the game at this price, I pay attention. Jackson is averaging 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. That's a nice floor even if Saturday's stat line doesn't reflect it.
Pryce Sandfort, Iowa ($4.1K)
The younger Sandfort has seen an increase in playing time anyway after his solid play in blowouts on the West Coast. He played more against Ohio State after Freeman left the game, racking up five rebounds, three assists, and two steals to go with his one made shot. Expect an increase in everything but price tonight.
Seydou Traore, Iowa ($4.1K)
Traore is a more efficient shooter than Sandfort and he gets to the line more. Sandfort has a more stable floor thanks to his work in other categories, but Traore is a major threat without Freeman since he is the more polished offensive player right now.
Slate-Breaking Potential:
Braden Smith, Purdue ($10.5K)
For anyone who’d like to know - I calculated Braden Smith’s conference stats through 11 Big Ten games so far. Here they are -
17 points
4.4 rebounds
11 assists
2.8 steals
.27 blocks
2.8 turnovers47/33/76 shooting splits
Remarkable.
— Jerry (@AngryBoilerFan1) February 3, 2025
How a guy under six feet tall averages more than four rebounds per game is beyond me. He's the smallest guy on the court in just about every situation. That tells you everything that you need to know about Smith. He plays hard. He's a great defender and great passer. No, we don't care that he doesn't shoot or make a ton of threes. He's too busy creating open shots for teammates.
Smith has four games over 50 DraftKings points so far this season. He has one game over 60. He's expensive, but this is a dream spot for Smith. He has a chance at a ceiling game against Iowa.
Malique Ewin, Florida State ($7.9K)
Ewin only plays 25-30 minutes per game, so the floor is lower than a lot of his peers. However, He has topped 40 DraftKings points five times since the beginning of December. He didn't even play 30 minutes in three of those games. He has a great matchup tonight, but his floor is single digits.
Koby Brea, Kentucky ($5.6K)
Brea has started the last two games with Lamont Butler out. Butler will not return tonight against Mississippi State, so Brea should see around 30 minutes again. He put up 31.25 DraftKings points in 31 minutes against Tennessee in his first start. Brea had just 11 DraftKings points in 29 minutes against Arkansas. Some middle ground would be nice, but the upside is big.
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Today's Late Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
Clemson vs. Georgia Tech
Wisconsin guards vs. Indiana
Northwestern guards vs. USC
Kansas State vs. Arizona State
Texas Tech frontcourt vs. Baylor
Core Pieces:
Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State ($9.7K)
.@KStateMBB's Coleman Hawkins (@colehawk23) is one of 5 Division I players to lead his team in rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.
He is the only player in Division I averaging at least 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game this season.
— KStateStatsInfo (@KStateStatsInfo) February 3, 2025
I'm a Coleman Hawkins truther. He's the main reason for Illinois' deep NCAA Tournament run last year. Hawkins has taken a lot of static for his lucrative NIL deal and the struggles of the Kansas State team. If you look at the post above, you realize that it's not all his fault. There aren't a lot of playmakers around him this year.
The Wildcats are starting to right the ship with three straight wins in the conference, including a 19-point thrashing of a top 10 Iowa State team in Ames. Hawkins was front and center in that upset. He has at least 40 DraftKings points in three of the last five games after hitting that mark just three times in the first 16 games.
Jalen Leach, Northwestern ($7.9K)
Leach put up 44.75 DraftKings points against Wisconsin this weekend with Brooks Barnhizer out. Barnhizer will miss this game as well. Leach's price went up around $1K, but that's not enough to push me away. I'll take 40-45 DraftKings points at this price whenever I can get it!
Richie Saunders, BYU ($7.2K)
Something has clicked for Saunders in the last fortnight. He has between 31 and 39 DraftKings points in five straight games. He has scored in double figures in seven straight. Saunders has the shooting stroke figured out and has pushed the Cougars to four straight wins.
Value Pieces:
Carter Gilmore, Wisconsin ($4.2K)
Gilmore is often more valuable on the court than the stat sheet, but he erupted for 15 points against Northwestern over the weekend. Wisconsin is going to need all the help they can get against the Indiana front. Gilmore should see plenty of minutes again. Let's hope he doesn't lose his stroke for this one.
Angelo Ciaravino, Northwestern ($4K)
There are more minutes opened up for the Northwestern guards with Barnhizer sidelined. Ty Berry is soaking up a lot of those, but Ciaravino started a couple of games in place of the slumping Berry in January. He has played between 18-20 minutes in four of the last five games. Ciaravino isn't much of an offensive player, but he does a little of everything else.
Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech ($3.6K)
The veteran came up big on the road for Tech over the weekend after JT Toppin got tossed. It was the second straight game over 25 minutes for Walton. Walton is almost exclusively a scorer, but the Red Raiders need the bench scoring. He'll keep playing until he cools off.
Slate-Breaking Potential:
Caleb Love, Arizona ($9.2K)
Caleb Love having a downright horrendous game and then doing this is peak Caleb Lovepic.twitter.com/g68oCpAdmA
— Karl Heiser (@KHeiserCBB) January 28, 2025
That's the shot heard 'round the world in Ames, Iowa right now. That one shot broke the Cyclones. Caleb Love was having a terrible game up to that point. He dominated overtime after he hit that shot and didn't let up until the refs tossed him against Arizona State for being head-butted. You read that right. Love was on the receiving end of a head butt and got ejected.
Granted, it was in the last minute of the game when Love got tossed and we can only guess what he said to BJ Freeman. Whatever it was, head-butting shouldn't be allowed. Love put up 50.5 DraftKings points before getting the heave-ho (and a big headache). He ceiling is higher than anyone's.
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech ($6.8K)
Ndongo has fouled out of three of the last four games. In the one that he didn't foul out of, he put up 41.75 DraftKings points. He put up 39.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting them Clemson in 38 minutes. If Ndongo can quit fouling, he's in for another big game.
Desmond Claude, USC ($6.7K)
I have no idea how or why Claude is this cheap. He had a miserable game against Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago but has averaged 31. 3 DraftKings points in the three games since. His ceiling is in the 40s and Northwestern is without Barnhizer. The potential is there for a huge night at a reasonable price.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech ($6.5K)
I'm going to give you an extra one tonight just because Toppin is so cheap. He only played four minutes against Houston before (unjustly) getting ejected, so he'll be well-rested. Toppin has topped 40 DraftKings points six times in 17 games. He cleared 50 in two of those.
