RADIO
DraftKings took what could have been an outstanding ten game slate and treated it like fans at a Gwar concert. They ground it up into two three-game slates and a giant four-game nightcap. It's enough to make you want to just give up on all three, right? We don't give up around here! The format for my article as it was is untenable when DraftKings takes a Ginsu to what should have been an amazing slate.
Instead, I'll change the formatting to a breakdown and theory of each small slate. First of all, let's take a look at the implied totals. The early has two games in the 140's with Tennessee-Alabama not one of them. They are the lowest in the early at 137. The afternoon has two fast paced games in Arkansas-LSU and Iowa-Illinois. The former has a staggering total of 162.5. The latter sits at 157.5. Memphis-Houston? They're a waste on the afternoon slate at just 132.5. The night slate features three games in the mid-140's and the horrible Conference USA title game with an implied total of 128. Let's dig into this, piece by agonizing piece.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 3/13/21. 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 CBB Early Slate
We'll begin with the lowest implied total, and a game that still seems intriguing none the less. These two teams met only once during the regular season back on January 2. That was at the beginning of Alabama's rendition of Sherman's march through the SEC. Things have changed some since then. Jahvon Quinerly has more of a role on this team and is priced nicely. John Petty was the best Alabama piece in that game, but as usual, the Tide were well-balanced. If you're looking for a slate breaker, look to one of the other five teams.
Tennessee is much like Alabama. The tables have turned for them as well since the first meeting. Tennessee was ranked 7th before losing to the Tide. Now the Tide are ranked in the top ten and the Vols are unranked. My Tennessee exposure will be limited to Victor Bailey and Santiago Vescovi. There's a reason the total is six points lower than the other two games.
The Wichita State-Cincinnati game is full of great DFS plays. Tyson Etienne has at least 30 DraftKings points in three straight. Keith Williams might be the best value on the entire slate and he had a strong game against the Shockers the first time around. Morris Udeze had one of his best games of the season against the Bearcats, but Alterique Gilbert has been much better than Udeze of late. Mike Saunders and Tari Eason have larger roles than the first time these two teams met as well. Keep that in mind while mining for value.
The regular season meeting between Ohio State and Michigan produced 179 real points without the benefit of overtime. Michigan only ran eight deep, but they were balanced with the exception of Franz Wagner. Hunter Dickinson dominated that game for Michigan. Ohio State went ten deep. E.J. Liddell and Duane Washington both had huge games in that one. So did C.J. Walker off the bench. I'll have more exposure to the Buckeyes than Wolverines in this one, but it will be limited to those three guys.
Core picks: E.J. Liddell, Ohio State; Hunter Dickinson, Michigan; Tyson Etienne, Wichita State; Alterique Gilbert, Wichita State
Value plays: Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee; Mike Saunders, Cincinnati; Victor Bailey, Tennessee; David DeJulius, Cincinnati
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DraftKings CBB Afternoon Slate:
We'll start at the bottom here too. Houston and Memphis was COVIDed two different times before finally getting played six days ago. It was close and exciting, so even though the total was low, there were a couple of good DFS spots. Dejon Jarreau was arguably the best player on either team and will fit in nicely with the higher-paced games. Houston had three players in the 30's for DraftKings points. Quentin Grimes and Justin Gorham both joined Jarreau. Memphis only had one guy over 24. That was Deandre Williams. My exposure will be limited to the Houston side of this. They simply have better players for DFS purposes.
Ayo Dosunmu was the driving force behind Illinois' upset of Iowa on January 29. The Illinois guards with the exception of Andre Curbelo were all good in that game. Iowa was well balanced for the most part. The only guy that really blew past value was Connor McCaffrey. The minutes are still there for McCaffrey, but he has been a model of inconsistency this year. Play at your own risk. Luka Garza was well below value in that game. It will be hard for me to roster him at this price.
I can definitely see game stacking the LSU-Arkansas game. Cameron Thomas will be in every lineup I make. Moses Moody's awful game last night against Missouri may chase some off, but don't let it do that to you. Moody, Justin Smith, and JD Notae all had big games against LSU on two separate occasions this year. Trendon Watford makes a nice pairing for Thomas, but I wouldn't touch any other LSU pieces. Much like Ohio State, they are dominated by two high-usage pieces.
Core picks: Cameron Thomas, LSU; JD Notae, Arkansas; DeJon Jarreau, Houston; Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Value plays: Trent Frazier, Illinois; Connor McCaffrey, Iowa; Tramon Mark, Houston; Josh LeBlanc, LSU
DraftKings CBB Late Slate:
The Western Kentucky-North Texas game is predicted to be a slog. It is a full 15 points behind the other three games on this slate. If you're going to mess around with this at all, Charles Bassey is the only one from either team that can realistically be counted on. Mardrez McBride might be the best value on the entire slate. Other than that, I have no real interest in this game.
Oklahoma State and Texas are getting hot at the right time. Both teams run deep. The star of this is Cade Cunningham, who could be the first pick in the NBA draft. Texas doesn't really have a star, which also means that none of them are priced like stars. Andrew Jones and Matt Coleman are playing well right now. Avery Anderson continues to produce despite the return of Isaac Likekele. This game will likely be guard dominated, but don't sleep on Kalib Boone. He was sneaky good in both games against Texas this year.
Georgetown and Creighton are both teams that will run nine or more players. To me, that makes the high-priced Creighton pieces a huge risk. If you've followed Creighton at all this year, this is a balanced team and it seems like someone different steps up every game. Denzel Mahoney was the best Creighton player against Georgetown. That was also the last game he had more than 26 DraftKings points. Christian Bishop and Mitch Ballock are worth a look if you like roulette.
On the Georgetown side, Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett carried the team in both meetings with the Blue Jays. Chudier Bile is an interesting play because Creighton doesn't have much size on the inside.
Moses Wright and Jose Alvarado feel overpriced. Michael Devoe is the most consistent piece of this team and will have to step up if the Bees are to keep their tournament hopes alive. On the other side, Raiquan Gray and Scottie Barnes are essentially the same at Wright and Alvarado in different colored uniforms. They are cheaper and will get you the same production. The Florida State bench is far more involved than Georgia Tech's. You can find some nice value there.
Core picks: Raiquan Gray, Florida State; Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State; Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech; Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown
Value picks: Anthony Polite, Florida State; Mitch Ballock, Creighton; Jase Febres, Texas; Mardrez McBride, North Texas
