NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 11/10/21

Expectations are high for Hunter Dickinson and the Michigan Wolverines this season. Is he worth targeting, and who else should we consider rostering?

College basketball is back, and we have a three-game slate today.

March Madness is a ways 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.

Scoring differs from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's slate, which locks at 6:30 p.m. EST. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall ($6,700) - Richmond joins the Seton Hall Pirates after transferring from Syracuse. While at Syracuse, Richmond averaged an impressive .82 FanDuel points per minute despite limited playing time. Now that he's at Seton Hall, Richmond has earned a starting assignment. He could see his usage rate skyrocket on Wednesday night if backcourt mate Jared Rhoden is unable to play. Regardless of Rhoden's availability, Richmond is a fine play.

Jared Rhoden, Seton Hall ($6,500) - This recommendation comes with an asterisk. Rhoden is questionable with an ankle injury. The ankle injury sidelined him during Seton Hall's lone exhibition game (November 4th). If he does play, he is one of the top overall plays on the slate. Rhoden posted a 22.3% usage rate, 17.4% defensive rebounding rate, and an 11.6% assist rate last season. With Sandro Mamukelashvili now in the NBA, Rhoden should take over as the Pirates' alpha dog on offense.

Anthony Polite, Florida State ($6,100) - Polite played in the Florida State Seminoles' second exhibition game after sitting out the exhibition opener. Polite provides a solid floor due to his ability to contribute in every major statistical category. Additionally, he emerged as a key player late last season. Over his final four games last season, Polite averaged 27.9 FanDuel points. He should have a field day against the Pennsylvania Quakers. Pennsylvania will be playing their first game in nearly two seasons (Ivy league was canceled due to COVID-19 last season).

DeVante Jones, Michigan ($6,000) - The Michigan Wolverines have plenty of talent, but they were desperately missing a ballhandler after Mike Smith departed the program. Enter DeVante Jones. Jones is expected to provide an immediate impact at Michigan as the team's starting point guard. The graduate transfer averaged 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while playing at Coastal Carolina last season.

Myles Cale, Seton Hall ($5,500) - Scoring has never been an issue for Cale. It's the ancillary stats that have kept Cale from being a major DFS player in past seasons. Perhaps that changes this season. The senior recorded four rebounds, four assists, and two steals to go with 13 points across 20 minutes of action in Seton Hall's lone exhibition game. I like him as a play regardless of Rhoden's status. However, if Rhoden were to miss Wednesday night's game, Cale would be a tremendous salary-saving option.

Forwards

Hunter Dickinson, Michigan ($7,600) - Dickinson is back for the Maize and Blue after testing NBA waters. The seven-foot center is one of the front runners for College Player of the Year. Dickinson was a beast on both ends of the court last season. He posted a 26.4% usage rate, 10.9% offensive rebounding rate, 21.3% defensive rebounding rate, and a 5.4% block rate. He'll have a significant size advantage over Buffalo's undersized frontcourt.

Josh Mballa, Buffalo ($7,000) - Mballa is a forward that affects both ends of the court. The senior led Buffalo with a 26.1% usage rate last season. He also posted a team-leading 14.7% offensive rebounding rate and a 21.7% defensive rebounding rate. Mballa kicked off his final collegiate season in style. He poured in 19 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out an assist, and blocked 4 shots in Buffalo's lone exhibition game.

Alexis Yetna, Seton Hall ($6,400) - Yetna will start at center for Seton Hall after transferring from South Florida. It didn't take too long for the Pirates big man to impress his new team. In Seton Hall's lone exhibition game, Yetna recorded 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in 21 minutes of game time.

Jeenathan Williams, Buffalo ($6,300) - Williams and Mballa formed one of the MAC's top duos. Williams has the capability to stuff the stat sheet due to his strong all-around game. He recorded a 25.7% usage rate last season. Williams also tallied a defensive rebounding rate of 15.8% and an assist rate of 14.6%. While the matchup with Michigan is tough, I'm not overly concerned. Michigan had plenty of roster turnover during the off-season. It may take Juwan Howard and company some time before the defense starts to assert itself.

Moussa Diabate, Michigan ($4,200) - Michigan reloaded over the off-season with a strong recruiting class. Diabete is the crown jewel of Michigan's incoming freshman class. The power forward was a consensus five-star recruit and ESPN's 11th overall prospect for the class of 2021. He will likely come off the bench, but his upside is enormous. In Michigan's lone exhibition game, Diabate recorded 14 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and one steal in 17 minutes of action.

Malik Osborne, Florida State ($4,200) - Osborne is significantly under-salaried if he suits up on Wednesday night. The Florida State big man missed the Seminoles second exhibition game due to the flu. I'd expect him to play but his status is unknown as of Tuesday night. Osborne posted an eye-opening 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in Florida State's first exhibition game. He is my favorite source of salary relief, if he is able to play.



Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her 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.