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With the college basketball slate featuring some afternoon games of note, naturally, the Monkey Knife Fight column takes a look at two evening games.
With the evening games, there are a few that were just destined to get some coverage. The Conference Tournament games are ones to get prepped and get ready for when March Madness truly hits next Thursday.
MonkeyKnifeFight.com continues to be ahead of the curve with their canceling of contests amid postponements, so don't worry about wasting money on a player or game that might not play. As always, you can find me @ChrisWasselDFS on Twitter with any questions, especially since lines and players are subject to change throughout the day.
Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!Today's err this evening's featured matchups are Duke vs. Florida St. and Indiana vs, Rutgers.
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Duke vs. Florida St.
Matthew Hurt (Duke) MORE 17.5 Points - Raiquan Gray MORE 14.5 Points
This will come across as a bullish play but could work. Now, Matthew Hurt struggled a bit at times versus Louisville but turned it on enough to shoot 7 for 12 from the field and pull off a 20 point evening in Duke's 14-point win. Now can Duke do this for a third-consecutive game? That remains the question. Hurt was down against Boston College, up versus the Cardinals, and now Florida State. Florida State is the favorite of the tournament even as the two seed.
The Blue Devils do overload Hurt a good bit but Wednesday saw a different side of him. He should be able to manage 18 points even against Florida State. Gray has been locked in double-digits since an uptick in minutes played about midway through the season. If he can get 3+ offensive rebounds and 5+ foul shots, that should give him a few extra opportunities to get to that 15 point plateau on Thursday. Does Duke run out of gas in the second half? That is the unknown. This may lead Gray and company to more chances to pad the stat sheet. Duke did play a lower-paced game on Wednesday. Florida State expects to play at a higher tempo. This should lead to a game that comes close to the over which means our MORE-MORE pick has a better chance of succeeding.
A win here pays three times your wager.
Play the Contest Now on Monkey Knife Fight
More or Less
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) LESS 18.5 Points - Jacob Young (Rutgers) LESS 14.5 Points
Unlike the Florida St. and Duke game, this contest has the feel of being just a little more uncertain. Jackson-Davis and Young were both struggling the past couple of weeks but Young unexpectedly went off for 23 points versus Minnesota. Granted, it is Minnesota but still. That did give some pause to this idea of being conservative in point projections.
The problems with Jackson-Davis are several. While a 66% free-throw shooting percentage is not terrible. Given that he averages 10.2 foul shots per contest over the last five games, that translates to about 3-4 points given away a night. His shooting from the field has fallen off. After three straight games above 50%, Jackson-Davis has been below 45% four times in a row. That lack of consistency and foul trouble (twice recently) make it hard to think that a 19 point night is likely.
The good thing for the second half of this prop is Jacob Young, aside from the Minnesota game has been quiet. Indiana plays a hair better defensively and in two meetings, Young averaged just nine points per contest. Also, he played 33 minutes in the last game versus Indiana while managing ten points and seven assists. He became more and more a facilitator as the contest wore on. The feeling here is that may happen again as Young's speed is more an asset to open the rest of the floor for Rutgers' forwards. Take the LESS here. Both will be close.
A win here also pays three times the wager.
Play the Contest Now on Monkey Knife Fight
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