With the college basketball slate featuring some afternoon games of note, naturally, the Monkey Knife Fight column again takes a look at two more Saturday evening games. Remember, Selection Sunday is tomorrow.
With the evening games, there are a few that were just destined to get some coverage. The Conference Tournament games are ones to get prepped and get ready for when March Madness truly hits next Thursday.
MonkeyKnifeFight.com continues to be ahead of the curve with their canceling of contests amid postponements, so don't worry about wasting money on a player or game that might not play. As always, you can find me @ChrisWasselDFS on Twitter with any questions, especially since lines and players are subject to change throughout the day.
Today's err this evening's featured matchups are Oklahoma State vs. Texas and North Texas vs. Western Kentucky.
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Western Kentucky vs. North Texas
Charles Bassey (W. Kentucky) MORE 19.5 Points - Javion Hamlet (North Texas) MORE 15.5 Points
This will come across as high-risk. Now, the center will be a handful for North Texas to contain as he has made eight or more of his field goals in five of the previous six games. The only game Bassey did not was when he got in early foul trouble. North Texas does not have the frontline or guards to do that. One risk is that the teams have not faced each other and now they do in the Conference Final. Normally, North Texas is outstanding defensively but so is Western Kentucky. Transition and half-court sets favor Western Kentucky and Bassey excels at both. Expect a 20+ point night here.
Hamlet expects a lot of himself and rightfully so. He is their offensive leader even if his efforts from the field seem forced at times. He delivered late when it counted in the semifinals and will have to again on Saturday night. The odds have come down to almost a pick'em because of the way North Texas plays defense. Hamlet's best weapon is the transition from that defense and there should be opportunities (15+ shot attempts). If the guard gets to the line 5+ times, the feeling is the MORE will hit again. Take the shot!
A win here pays three times your wager.
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More or Less
Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State) LESS 19.5 Points - Andrew Jones (Texas) LESS 14.5 Points
Swing guards are often a scary proposition for any team and Cunningham is no exception. The freshman jumped right in and is nearly averaging 20 points a game for Oklahoma State this season. Cunningham came up huge against Baylor including shooting seven of eight from the foul line -- mostly late. That padded his total and pushed him to a 25-point night.
The problem here is that Cunningham has been right near his prop total all season -- except for a few outliers. He had 19 and 25 points respectively in his matchups versus Texas. Is Texas the same team they were earlier in the season? That's one wildcard. The other is what do the Cowboys and Cunningham have left after downing top-seed Baylor? It is why taking less may be more here.
The good thing for the second half of this prop is Andrew Jones, aside from a hot stretch in the middle portion of the season, Jones has not attempted that high-volume of shots that would cause elevated point total potential. The other problem is that Jones can get hot from the field. Lately, he has been inconsistent which is worrisome. The last two regular-season games were his best shooting games and then the first tournament game came. He missed eight of his 11 shot attempts and again got to the foul line just twice. If Jones drew some more fouls, he would be even more of a threat to the MORE but he is not. Taking the LESS is more approach here is risky but could work.
A win here also pays three times the wager.
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