RADIO
We have a ten-game monster on Saturday morning and all of the marquee names that you would expect to go along with it. Kansas plays Oklahoma. Baylor, Creighton, Duke, and Wisconsin are all on here as well. It can be a bit overwhelming to sort through all this, but that's what I'm here for. To dig past the names and come up with a few players that could push us over the hump. Let's dive right into this!
I will be honest. I'm more interested in Duke to run guys at them than to actually use any Blue Devils themselves. This is a stance that could help gain separation in GPP contests. I kind of feel the same about Kansas, but those of you that have read my previous stuff know that I'm an Oklahoma fan. I try not to be a homer, but I do know what these guys are capable of.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 1/23/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward, and center, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings CBB DFS Guards
Jared Butler, Baylor ($8,700)
Baylor is fourth in the country in points per 100 possessions. That's the highest of any team on this slate. You can chalk that up to a lot of things, but great defense and the shooting of Butler are the main reasons why. Butler is still prone to the occasional off game, but it shouldn't happen here against Oklahoma State. Uber prospect Cade Cunningham's defense isn't nearly as polished as his offense. It says something when a team like Kansas can't even guard Butler. That was the case earlier this week. The Cowboys haven't played since January 6 because of COVID concerns, but they beat Kansas that day. This is a team that can hang with Baylor, which should lead to elevated scores on both sides.
Austin Reaves, Oklahoma ($7,500)
The first Oklahoma-Kansas game was a low-scoring affair, but Reaves had more DraftKings points (36.75) than anyone else on either team. Don't pay much attention to Reaves' lower scores over the last couple of outings. Oklahoma won both games by more than 20 points, so Reaves saw more of the bench than usual in the second half. The return of Brady Manek from quarantine could cut into the action for Reaves a little bit, but the Sooners are still going to need him to come up big if they want to topple the Jayhawks.
Meanwhile, Kansas is riding a two game losing streak. The Jayhawks have only lost three games in a row twice under coach Bill Self. The third loss of both streaks came in Norman, the last happening in 2013.
Tyrece Radford, Virginia Tech ($6,400)
Radford has been on quite a tear lately, dropping 38 real points and 73.5 DraftKings points over the last two contests. The Hokies are a bit of a surprise right now, sitting at second in the ACC. This Syracuse team has had issues with guards all season long. I'm riding Radford's hot streak here. It should continue against a Syracuse team that has allowed more than 80 points in three straight games. Now, Virginia Tech and Syracuse are both in the top 50 in points per 100 possessions. This could be a game to take a couple of pieces from. I just really like the fact that Radford is still cheap despite his recent surge. Buddy Boeheim and Hunter Cattoor look nice as well.
Clyde Trapp, Clemson ($4,800)
It has been an up-and-down year for Trapp, but he was up in the first meeting against Florida State. Trapp put up 28.5 DraftKings points in that game. Since that game at the end of December, Trapp has only been held under 18 DraftKings points once. That was by conference leader Virginia. The price adjustment has been slow to come for Trapp. With all of the elite top-tier options on this slate, we need a guy like Trapp that can get us 4x value on the cheap. There aren't many that can.
Also consider: Carlik Jones, Louisville ($8,800); D'Mitrik Trice, Wisconsin ($7,400) Ochai Agbaji, Kansas ($6,700); John Newman III, Clemson ($4,000)
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DraftKings CBB DFS Forwards
Jalen Johnson, Duke ($7,600)
Johnson turned in one of the best college basketball performances of the year (24 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks, and two steals) in the narrow loss to Pitt, so the ownership might be rather high. I really don't mind though. There are plenty of ways to separate yourself on this slate. Duke finally turned their prized freshman loose. I expect to see more of this going forward. This is a slightly better matchup for Duke's guards, but after what Johnson just did against a solid Pitt front, there's no reason for the Blue Devils not to keep feeding him. I'm not enamored with any of the other top forwards anyway. This looks like a slate to pay up at guard and save some money up front.
Jae'Lyn Withers, Louisville ($6,500)
Again, the place to attack Duke is up front. Johnson is not a great defender yet. We saw Justin Champagnie cut loose on Duke's front earlier this week. Withers isn't the player than Champagnie is, but this is still a very reasonable price against the Duke front. Louisville is a more guard-oriented team, but I expect them to take full advantage of Withers in this one. The Cardinals are one of the slowest teams in division 1, but they do a lot with their possessions. I can't say the same for Duke. Stylistically, someone is going to have to pace up or down. Due to that, I'm limiting exposure to this game.
JT Thor, Auburn ($5,900)
As far as I'm concerned, you can play Thor on name alone. It doesn't hurt that South Carolina is the second-worst team on the slate in fantasy points allowed to forwards. Auburn does have a tendency to play sloppy, but South Carolina is even worse than they are. This is not going to be a pretty game, but Thor has played well as he has gotten more comfortable on the team. Sometimes it just takes time for a freshman to get accustomed to his surroundings. I'm chalking his early season struggles up to that and expecting a strong game from Thor here.
Brady Manek, Oklahoma ($4,600)
Simply put, Manek is too cheap. Of course, we don't really know what he'll look like after a COVID layoff, but I'm willing to take the chance. He only played 11 minutes against Kansas State. I would expect the workload to tick up here, but keep in mind that Oklahoma has become more guard-oriented this season. Some if it is by necessity. Some is because of the struggles of Manek and because Reaves carries the team. That said, Manek is one of the few guys at this price that can blow a slate wide open. He's a perfect GPP play.
Also consider: Damien Jefferson, Creighton ($7,200); Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State ($7,100); Scottie Barnes, Florida State ($6,100); Jonathan Baehre, Clemson ($3,700)
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