NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 12/12/18

Jordan Nwora and Louisville draw a favorable matchup against fast-paced Lipscomb. Who should you be deploying there and elsewhere 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 main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST and consists of four games. Oddly enough, Lipscomb/Louisville looks like our top game, sporting a slate-high 155.0 over/under.

Wednesday, December 12th
Lipscomb at Louisville
Massachusetts at Temple
LSU at #24 Houston
San Diego at Oregon


Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Shizz Alston Jr., Temple ($7,900): Tonight's player pool is really weighted toward high-priced guards. While there's just four forwards over $7,000 and three over $7,500, we get a total of 11 guards over $7,000 and another 7 over $7,500. At the top, Luwane Pipkins is $8,700, but I think the smart pivot is Shizz Alston in the same game. At a $800 discount, Alston's playing on his home floor with his Temple Owls holding the second-highest implied total (79.75) of the evening. Not only that, but the senior is averaging 29.8 FanDuel points on team-highs in points (16.9) and assists (5.4). His 26.1% usage rate is second on the team, but there's a 7.4% gap between he and the third-highest guy. And if anything the matchup creates a sky-high ceiling, as Massachusetts ranks 200th in KenPom.com's adjusted defensive efficiency, making them the slate's lowest-ranked team in that category.

Garrison Matthews, Lipscomb ($7,000): We'll get to Louisville's slate-high total (83.25), but there's no reason to ignore the Bisons entirely. Unlike years past, the Cardinals aren't a very bad matchup, as they sit 56th in defensive efficiency, having given up 70 or more points -- in regulation -- in 3 games, and then 68 on Saturday to Indiana. Plus, Lipscomb plays at a high pace, which is what has helped Matthews, the flat-out scorer that he is. The senior averaged 20-plus points the last two seasons, and he has tallied 16.7 points per game through nine games, despite scoring only 10 on 4-of-11 shooting over his last 2. Teams may be focusing on him more, so keeping Matthews to tournaments wouldn't be a bad way to go.

Galen Robinson Jr., Houston ($6,400): Houston's Dejon Jarreau has played in only one game this season due to eligibility issues and injuries. But still, his status is in question and holds up some rather obvious go-to's on the Cougars' side of this tilt with LSU. He's been termed a game-time decision after spraining his MCL on Friday, which sounds more like he's doubtful to return just five days later. If so, a few players would benefit, but Robinson is the best point-per-dollar value. His two backcourt mates are much more expensive, and Robinson is playing some big minutes. He's logged 34 or more minutes in 6 of 8 appearances, averaging 24.2 FanDuel points in those games and maxing out at 30.7 back in mid-November. His 14.7% usage rate isn't anything special, but his 32.6% assist rate speaks to exactly where his upside comes from.

Tyler Williams, San Diego ($5,700): At an implied total of 65.25, the San Diego Toreros are expected to score the fewest points tonight as they travel to Eugene to face the Oregon Ducks. Oregon is 39th in defensive efficiency, but they've had their lapses, having allowed 89 points to Texas Southern, 72 to Green Bay and 77 to Iowa already this year. If our in-house projections are any indicator, this San Diego team should be able to at least flirt with 70 points. And if they do, Williams should be a factor. The senior averages just 8.1 points, but he has contributed 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game, not to mention he's posted 12-plus points twice in the last three games. Oh -- and did I mention he's playing 34.9 minutes? Lock him in as a nice form of salary relief this evening.

V.J. King, Louisville ($4,700): As we've alluded to, there's a lot to love with the Cardinals in this spot. They are playing a team averaging just short of five more possessions than them on a per-game basis, and their implied total is 3.5 points above any other team. So, why not start with the cheap exposure? King, a 6'6" junior, isn't setting the world on fire with his 7.7 points and 13.6 FanDuel points per game, but he's been productive with his time split between the bench and starting lineup. He's averaging 20.0 minutes a night, which he has managed to turn into double-digit points three times, including a 17-point, 31.2-FanDuel-point game last Wednesday against Central Arkansas. He should at least get a decent piece of the Cards' scoring tonight.

Forwards

Bol Bol, Oregon ($9,000): Rostering Bol isn't exactly going out on any kind of limb, nor is it maybe even necessary on this slate. But if you want to rely on a bunch of value and pay up for a 45-plus FanDuel point ceiling, no one can fault you for doing so. The ridiculously athletic freshman and future NBA lotto pick averages a slate-high 38.5 FanDuel points, which includes three games of at least 45.9 and another four of at least 31.8. His lowest of the season came Saturday against Nebraska Omaha -- an 18-and-10 double-double resulting in 29.5 FanDuel points. Bol went without a single block after turning in three or more in five of his first seven games. Don't expect him to do that here, against a San Diego team that's been blocked four-plus times in four games to date. Finding enough value will be the only hard thing about this one.

Jordan Nwora, Louisville ($8,100): Suggesting a lower-level guy like King might have left you wanting more, but that's exactly what you're getting in Nwora. From his forward spot, the 6'8" forward is producing a team-high 17.8 points per game to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocks-plus steals (29.9 FanDuel points). He has a sizable advantage in usage rate (30.1%) over the next Cardinal, and his 27.3 player efficiency rating (PER) tells you just how effective he's been with his shot attempts. You can't go wrong with Bol, but Nwora offers the most bang for your buck in considering matchup.

Dwayne Sutton, Louisville ($5,600): So, basically the Cardinals' frontcourt is the way to go. Unlike the backcourt, the minutes and production are much more predictable. Sutton's 30.1 minutes lead the team and are 2.2 clear of even Nwora. And while he averages a not-so-exciting 8.0 points, he boasts 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks-plus-steals a game. The upside is there to be unlocked, though, as Sutton has three times scored in double-digits, pushing his fantasy totals to 21.5, 23.2 and 23.3 FanDuel points in those contests. A salary-implied total of 22.4 is certainly within reach with Lipscomb looking to push the pace.

Samba Diallo, Massachusetts ($4,400): Though there are higher-priced targets to consider on UMass' side of this matchup, I prefer to take the obvious value in Diallo. Now, this hinges upon the health of Jonathan Laurent, who sat out last game with a knee injury. Diallo started in his absence and played 27 minutes, producing 7 points, 10 rebounds and a total of 21.0 FanDuel points. Without any update at this moment in time, we're operating under the assumption that Luarent sits again and Diallo starts. If that isn't the case, feel free to swap Diallo out for Oregon's Kenny Wooten ($4,600), who is just $200 more in a plus matchup.



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.