NCAAB
College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 11/12/18
On a short four-game slate, fitting the Jayhawks' Dedric Lawson into your lineup could be key. Who joins him as a top fantasy play tonight?

College basketball season is back! And this year, with it comes the return of college basketball DFS.

March Madness is still four months away, but you can get in all the college hoops hype by playing daily contests at FanDuel today. If you've played NBA DFS before, it's quite simple: pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards and one utility spot you can use for either position. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

Where scoring differs from NBA is in the blocks and steals categories, with each worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in daily NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST and consists of four games. Highlighting the short DFS slate is a projected high-scoring affair (160.0 over/under) as Arizona State plays host to Long Beach State.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Luguentz Dort, Arizona State ($7,900): After going 20-12 and finishing as KenPom.com's 49th-best team a year ago, the Sun Devils are out to an impressive 2-0 start heading into Monday night. While they haven't faced stiff competition, Arizona State has scored 102 and 80 points through two games, and Dort is a big part in that. The 6'4" freshman is averaging 26.5 points and 39.1 FanDuel points over 33.0 minutes a game. He's hit 47.5% of his shots, including 38.5% on 6.5 three-point attempts per game, and he owns a ridiculously high 36.5% usage rate. He should continue to eat tonight with his team implied at a slate-high 87.0 points against Long Beach State, KenPom's 191st-ranked team.

Cameron Johnson, North Carolina ($7,500): On Monday, the North Carolina Tar Heels will play their first game of the season in Chapel Hill as they take on Stanford. And as they do so, they'll enter with the second-highest total (86.0) on the main slate. There will be big opportunity for points and fantasy stats, something Johnson is very familiar with. Due to a big blowout last game, the 6'9" guard has logged only 49 minutes through two games. However, he's managed 59.1 FanDuel points, bringing his per-minute output to 1.21. Lock him in for 30 minutes against the Cardinal, and you're bound to get a big game from a guy starting off the season red-hot from the field (65%).

Quentin Grimes, Kansas ($6,500): Ranked 123rd by KenPom, the Vermont Catamounts are not the lowest quality team on the slate, but they don't stand much of a chance against the high-powered Kansas Jayhawks, who are first overall in adjusted efficiency margin to date. KU surrendered 87 points to Michigan State in the Champions Classic last week, but they themselves went for 92 after a 50-36 advantage at the halfway mark. True freshman Quentin Grimes had no problem with the tough competition, turning 30 minutes and a start into 21 points and 29.4 FanDuel points. Expect his price to go up in due time, but now is the time to take advantage in a juicy matchup at Allen Fieldhouse.

Remy Martin, Arizona State ($5,400): Redshirt junior Rob Edwards was held out of Friday's game because of a back injury, allowing others to step in for more minutes. We haven't gotten an update since, so keep an eye out later this afternoon. As long as Edwards is out again, Remy Martin should start and play close to 30 minutes, as he's done in both games this season. He's averaging just 16.8 FanDuel points, but that's on only 30.8% shooting and a usage rate (15.3%) more than 6 percentage points lower than it was a year ago. He's set to see some positive regression, and the opportunity that comes with a high total should benefit him here.

Devon Dotson, Kansas ($5,100): If there's a team to stack on this slate, it's the Jayhawks. They have a nice 86.0-point total, trailing the Sun Devils by just a single point for the slate's highest. Somewhat surprisingly, Dotson saw 33 minutes right off the bat against the Spartans, and he did not disappoint, scoring 16 real-world points while contributing 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds (24.9 FanDuel points). Assuming he sees similar run, $5,100 is far too cheap for a guy in the KU backcourt, and he allows you to pay up at a position or two tonight.

Forwards

Dedric Lawson, Kansas ($8,800): In his first game as a member of the Jayhawks, Dedric Lawson went absolutely nuts, tallying 20 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 38 minutes. He totaled 51.8 FanDuel points, which might not even be his highest ceiling. In his last year at Memphis (2016-17), the junior transfer posted 13 games of 21-plus points, including 8 outings of 25 points or more -- with 5 of those being double-doubles. Tonight's matchup is much softer than that of the season opener, so Lawson shouldn't have a problem putting up points and producing a fantasy line worth his slate-high salary.

Daniel Oturu, Minnesota ($6,400): For the Minnesota Golden Gophers, they will remain without redshirt sophomore Eric Curry, who is recovering from knee surgery. Until he returns, Oturu will be handed additional minutes in the Minnesota frontcourt. The freshman center played just 24 minutes in a blowout of Nebraska Omaha, but he was efficient, yielding 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, as well as 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. That was despite four fouls, which might suggest that his minutes and production could be higher tonight with his team carrying an implied total of 77.5 points against Utah.

Garrison Brooks, North Carolina ($5,700): After starting 16 games and averaging 14.6 minutes a year ago, sophomore Garrison Brooks has higher expectations in 2018. Early on, we've gotten a mixed bag from the 6'9" forward. Following a season-opening 20-point, 26-FanDuel-point showing in 25 minutes, Brooks dropped to 20.7 FanDuel points in only 16 minutes (1.29 per minute) against Elon. But UNC had 63 at half against the Phoenix and won by 49 points in that one. Versus Stanford, the Tar Heels are more reasonable 17.0-point favorites, meaning Brooks' minutes should fall back into the 25-minute range, and with his early efficiency, that should be enough for him to hit value.

Romello White, Arizona State ($4,800): We know that the matchup out in the desert is one to target. It has a high total, but the reason for that total is what's expected to be a very fast pace. By KenPom's adjusted tempo, the Sun Devils' mark of 74.0 possessions per 40 minutes sits 58th while the 49ers' average of 75.1 possessions ranks 22nd. Somehow it's a pace-up game for Arizona State, so there's no better place to find value, especially this low. White had just 9.4 FanDuel points last time out, but he started the season off with 15.2 in 35 minutes. A year ago, he averaged 20.22 FanDuel points per game and 0.83 per minute, which he should be able to turn into value at this price.



Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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