NCAAB

FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 2/17/22

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas Feb 17th, 2022

March Madness is a ways away, but you can get into college hoops today by playing daily contests at FanDuel.

If you've played NBA DFS before, college basketball DFS is similar. You pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards, and one utility spot. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap, and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

The scoring settings differ from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is worth two FanDuel points, rather than the three you get in NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, let's attack today's main slate. All betting lines come from NCAAB odds.

Guards

Kyler Edwards, Houston ($6,900) - Houston is a 14.0-point favorite against Central Florida, and the Cougars' 75.25-point implied total ranks third on the slate. The Cougars' 10th-ranked offense, per KenPom, should dominate UCF's 109th-ranked defense. Edwards leads a balanced Houston attack in points (13.8) and adds 5.7 boards and 2.7 dimes. He's had duds of 15.8 and 15.5 FanDuel points across his last three games, but those two outings are the only times in his past six games that he's been under 28.2 FanDuel points. He's also seen at least 30 minutes in five straight.

Eli Brooks, Michigan ($6,400) - The best DFS game environment belongs to the Iowa-Michigan clash, a battle between two teams with good offenses and bad defenses. It's got a 151.0-point total and a 6.0-point spread, with the host Hawkeyes favored. Brooks sees huge minutes -- at least 33 in eight consecutive games -- and has posted 30.3 and 30.2 FanDuel points in his past two games. Iowa is 48th in adjusted tempo, so this is a big pace-up spot for a Michigan squad that is 290th in adjusted tempo. The Wolverines' 20th-ranked offense should have plenty of success against the Hawkeyes' 121st-ranked D.

Patrick McCaffrey, Iowa ($6,000) - McCaffrey is another modest-salaried way to get a piece of the Iowa-Michigan game. His 21.7% usage rate is second on the team among regular starters, according to Sports-Reference, and Michigan's defense is ranked just 88th. McCaffrey has totaled at least 17.1 FanDuel points in seven of his past eight contests, with three outputs between 26.9 and 28.4 in that span.

Justin Kier, Arizona ($4,300) - Arizona is in a mouth-watering spot against Oregon State. The Wildcats boast a huge 88.75-point implied total, but the issue is they are 25.0-point favorites. That makes me leery of investing in their high-salary options due to the risk of decreased minutes in a blowout. A lopsided win could do the opposite for Kier's minutes. In the Wildcats' last two wins by 20-plus points, Kier has logged 31 and 15 minutes while amassing 22.7 and 18.3 FanDuel points. That works at this salary as long as the game lives up to the spread.

Forwards

Keegan Murray, Iowa ($8,700) - Murray and Hunter Dickinson ($8,500) are super appealing high-salary forwards from the Michigan-Iowa game. Between the two, Murray is my pick. His 30.5% usage rate is tops on Iowa by a healthy margin, and he's averaging 40.9 FanDuel points per game for the campaign. He's on a heater, scoring 54.2, 41.9, and 51.5 FanDuel points over his last three games. Murray can keep it going against Michigan's 88th-ranked defense.

Christian Koloko, Arizona ($6,300) - As mentioned earlier, Arizona's starters might not get their full minutes as 25.0-point favorites against Oregon State. That makes Koloko risky, but I can stomach the risk more with him at his salary than either Bennedict Mathurin ($8,100) or Azuolas Tubelis ($7,500) at theirs. Koloko still got 25 and 27 minutes in Arizona's two most recent wins of 20-plus points, and he's shown good upside for this salary, going off for spike games of 40.6 and 48.1 FanDuel points over his last eight appearances.

Moussa Diabate, Michigan ($4,400) - One more guy from the Michigan-Iowa game. Diabate -- a five-star recruit -- is a low-salary way to get exposure to the Wolverines. He's played at least 28 minutes in three straight games, and if he gets that kind of run tonight, he can thrive in what should be a high-scoring game. While his fantasy production has been underwhelming lately, Diabate had produced at least 14.5 FanDuel points in 9 of 10 games prior to a dry spell.

Brandon Angel, Stanford ($4,200) - Stanford is a good team to target as the Cardinal hold a 71.75-point implied total versus Utah. Angel will come off the bench, but he's been producing well for his low salary, recording games 19.3 and 22.5 FanDuel points over his past four appearances. He's played 25 and 27 minutes in his last two games. If Michael O'Connell ($5,300) and Noah Taitz ($3,200) sit again, that only enhances Angel's outlook.