FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 2/16/22

College basketball is in the midst of conference play, and we have a 10-game slate today.

March Madness is only a month 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 7:00 p.m. EST. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Jaden Ivey, Purdue ($7,700) - Ivey could fly under the radar after failing to crack 20 FanDuel points in back-to-back games. Despite the recent struggles, the matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats represents a bounce-back spot. The Wildcats rank 65th in defensive efficiency. Ivey remains a vital part of the Purdue Boilermakers offensive attack. He is posting a 27.5% usage rate.

Darryl Morsell, Marquette ($6,700) - Ken Pom has projected the Marquette Golden Eagles to score 85 points tonight against the Georgetown Hoyas. Morsell ranks second amongst the Golden Eagles in usage rate (23.7%). He is also a willing rebounder (10.5% defensive rebounding rate) and an effective ball distributor (17.8% assist rate). This game should be played at a blazing pace. Both Marquette and Georgetown rank inside the top 45 nationally in adjusted tempo.

Xavier Pinson, Louisiana State ($5,500) - Pinson ranks third amongst the Tigers in usage rate (23.7%) and leads LSU with a 28.9% assist rate. The senior guard has played in four games since returning from a three-week injury absence. Pinson finally returned to his normal 30-plus minute role in the Louisiana State Fighting Tigers last game. The LSU point guard posted 22 FanDuel points in 34 minutes of action. The matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs is a home-run spot. The Bulldogs like to push the pace (85th in adjusted tempo) and have one of the nation's worst defenses (284th in defensive efficiency).

Myles Cale, Seton Hall ($4,500) - Cale plays a lot of minutes (28-plus in seven consecutive games) and has the ability to contribute on both ends of the court. The senior is averaging 9.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 26.9 minutes. Cale is capable of paying off his low salary in a big way when his shot is falling. He is averaging 9.9 field goal attempts per game over the last seven games. This slate is devoid of appealing salary-saving options under $5,000. Cale is one player that stands out as a value play.

Davion Warren, Texas Tech ($4,300) - Warren could be forced into heavy minutes on Wednesday night. Kevin McCullar suffered a sprained ankle over the weekend and is questionable for Wednesday's matchup with Baylor. Warren has been productive despite averaging only 24.4 minutes per game this season (averaging 0.71 FanDuel points per minute). The bottom line is that he is significantly under-salaried if McCullar is unable to play.

Forwards

Armando Bacot, North Carolina ($8,500) - Bacot has posted a double-double in 15 out of the last 16 games. The junior center should have a field day against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers are ranked 136th in defensive deficiency. They also struggle mightily on the offensive end of the court. Consequently, there should be plenty of rebounding opportunities for Bacot. The Panthers check in at 235th in offensive efficiency this season.

Justin Lewis, Marquette ($8,300) - Lewis could be in for a ceiling game. The Golden Eagles star is squaring off with the fast-paced (27th in adjusted tempo) and defensive deficient Georgetown Hoyas. Georgetown is ranked an eye-opening 260th in defensive efficiency. Moreover, the Hoyas have allowed some massive box scores recently. Over the last four games: Providence Friars guard Jared Bynum scored 32 real-life points, DePaul Blue Demons forward David Jones posted a triple-double, and Creighton teammates Ryan Hawkins and Alex O'Connell posted 30 and 27 points, respectively.

Trevion Williams, Purdue ($6,700) - Williams often flies under the radar on large slates because he usually is limited to 20 minutes of game action. Despite his limited playing time, his rates are simply off the charts. The Purdue big man ranks 13th nationally in usage rate (33.8%). His offensive and defensive rebounding rates rank inside the top 15th nationally. He also can rack up the defensive statistics (4.0% block rate and a 3.2% steal rate). Williams offers slate-breaking ability at a modest salary on Wednesday night.

Darius Days, Louisiana State ($6,000) - Days is averaging 0.89 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 27.0 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of player's salary. Days is averaging 29.1 minutes per game this season. As noted above, the matchup with Georgia is fantastic. Days will be popular. I also like Adama Sanogo. If Sanago can stay out of foul trouble, he's a tremendous play.

Pete Nance, Northwestern ($5,800) - Nance has struggled in the month of February. Consequently, his salary has cratered. He is a nice buy-low spot as the Wildcats host the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue has historically had one of the nation's top defenses. However, that is not the case this year. The Boilermakers rank 115th in defensive efficiency this season. It's time to buy low on Nance and his 26.4% usage rate.

Kevin Obanor, Texas Tech ($4,100) - The salary relief options at forward are rather thin. I wouldn't play Obanor unless Kevin McCullar is out. Obanor starred at Oral Roberts last season. However, he is a role player with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. If McCullar sits, that would open up some usage and a lot of rebounding opportunity. Obanor has the ability to make an impact in that scenario. He is second amongst the Red Raiders with a 112.0 offensive rating. His 16.4% defensive rebounding rate also ranks second amongst the Red Raiders.

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.