Good morning to you beautiful people out there in DFS land! You have managed to find yourself in a great spot here at DFS Army. I look forward to providing you with analysis and picks throughout this 2018-2019 CBB season! Remember, if I mention a player as a cash game play they most likely are OK for GPP play. Let’s take a look at what games are on the slate for DraftKings. The KenPom score projections are in parenthesis.
Iowa (66) vs Wisconsin (74)
Temple (71) vs UCONN (74)
Cincinnati (61) vs UCF (64)
Indiana (69) vs Illinois (70)
SMU (61) vs Houston (75)
UCLA (71) vs Colorado (76)
USC (75) vs Utah (77) – DK Only
California (66) vs Stanford (79) – DK Only
College basketball hasn’t been back that long, and we have the coaches teaching! Save yourself time and energy by letting us do the work. And, if you want to see a real track record of success, stop by our Wall of Wins page to see what we’ve done in NFL, NBA, and MLB recently. We aren’t one-trick-ponies at DFS Army, and we are dedicated to sharing our knowledge with you to help you improve your game.
IOWA vs WISCONSIN
I think this game is very sneaky from a game stack perspective as most will be on the late night games. Iowa is coming off of a couple of pretty ugly losses and needs to right their ship. I really like the interior players for the Hawkeyes in this game. Tyler Cook had a monster game against Wisconsin earlier this season and a guy like N.Baer could give them fits. Wieskamp, Garza, and Bohannon all deserve GPP consideration.
Welcome to senior night for who is arguably the best CBB player in program history, Ethan Happ. I think Happ goes nuts against an interior that gives up a ton of points. I know he is priced up and it makes it tough but I need some Happ GPP shares and think he’s a lock on FD for cash games. It is senior night for K.Iverson as well so I do have some interest for GPP purposes. Guys like Davison, Trice, and Reuvers are all in consideration for me with Davison being the one that interests me the most.
Preferred Plays: Cook, Happ, Iverson
TEMPLE vs UCONN
This game has the feel of one that we should be targeting, however, the guys we would normally be targeting are priced to where I would rather play guys from the later games. For Temple, its really all about Alston and Rose. Alston is priced up so high that I find it tough to get him into my cash builds. He does a little bit of everything for Temple. I like Rose for GPPs because he is capable of getting hot. NPL has peripheral stat upside but doesn’t always take a ton of shots. Guys like Moorman and Hamilton are going to be somewhat popular value plays on this slate.
You would think that figuring out UCONN would be easier with J.Adams out, however, the return of Gilbert has kind of messed with the usage and minutes of the guard position. I do not like Vital much at all as he has lost a lot of ball handling responsibilities with the return of Gilbert. Carlton is somebody that a lot of people will be on and I am tempted to go the fade route. I haven’t made up my mind as of yet because he does look like a very strong play in this spot. I do think Gilbert is in play, even though he destroyed a couple of beautiful lineups the last time out. The rest of UCONN is just uninspiring for GPP purposes. Polley or T.Smith certainly could get hot from the outside but I would rather look elsewhere.
Preferred Plays: Hamilton, Carlton, Gilbert
CINCINNATI vs UCF
I feel very good in saying that I believe this game is a definite fade at this point. Do I think there are a couple of players in this game that could surprise? I suppose that is the case because of their abilities. The problem is this game may not cross the 110 point mark. The last time these two met, there were hardly any peripheral stats to be had. Cumberland is always a GPP play because of his upside. Dawkins or Taylor can get hot from the outside, which is something that is possible against Cincinnati. I probably will have a GPP share or two of the UCF guards but they will be nowhere near any of my main teams.
Preferred Plays: NONE
INDIANA vs ILLINOIS
I feel like this is a huge letdown spot for Indiana after they went to double-OT to beat Wisconsin and then just beat Michigan St for the second time this season. With that said, Indiana is a desperate team and they need to keep winning to have a shot to secure their postseason spot. I am not in a hurry to roster anybody from Indiana but I do have interest in Morgan for cash purposes, Langford, Phinisee, and J.Smith for GPPs. De’Ron Davis is said to be 100% which makes me wonder what his role will be and that could eat into Smith’s upside.
Illinois is a team I like to target when they are at home as they have a couple of nice pieces. My favorite tonight is Bezhanishvili. I really like the spot for him as long as he avoids foul issues. I expect him to come off the bench on senior night so that De La Rosa can get the start but also wouldn’t be surprised to see both in the starting lineup. Dosunmu is on my GPP list and Feliz is somebody that is going to be popular but I have my reservations after his big game was aided by a ton of FT’s.
Preferred Plays: J.Smith, G.Bezhanishvili
SMU vs HOUSTON
This game is another one that lacks intrigue for me. SMU is most likely without Whitt Jr who has a shoulder issue. Without him, I could see McMurray being a solid GPP play with a guy like White getting extra minutes at his cheap price point. White just doesn’t do a ton when he is on the floor. Foster returned last game and played 20 minutes so I guess he is in play as a value dart. I have been using Mike a ton this season and have interest but I am not instantly jamming him in.
Houston is another team I rarely target because I struggle to get guys right. The two that stand out for me tonight are Davis Jr and Jarreau. Jarreau is very much a GPP upside play with Davis being the solid cash option. The F position is extremely tough to figure out as they rotate a bunch of guys who play 10-20 minutes. I don’t mind taking a dart with White Jr or Alley Jr.
Preferred Plays: McMurray, Davis Jr
UCLA vs COLORADO
This game might be my favorite one of the night. UCLA has played some pretty high scoring games while Colorado is a ton better when they are at home. For UCLA, I want exposure to Hands, M.Brown, Bernard, and even Singleton or J.Hill. I do not like Wilkes all that much because of how much I like Hands and Bernard. Brown put up a monster game the first time these two teams met and it looks like Hill is back to getting some minutes.
Colorado at home means I want to lock in Tyler Bey. I love his upside when he is at home. I do wish he was more aggressive on offense but he is one of those wings that picks up a ton of stats on the defensive end. I like the idea of using Siewert, Gatling, or Schwartz against the UCLA zone. Battey could be used as a GPP dart but I feel like this game gets to be too fast-paced for him. Wright IV seems like a safe option but I just do not like his upside.
Preferred Plays: Hands, Bernard, Bey
USC vs UTAH – DK Only
For USC, we need to learn the status of Porter Jr tonight as that could open up some interesting plays. I am very close to locking in Boatwright as he has just been a monster. The problem is that at some point he is going to start missing but the spot is very nice. I think that Mathews, Aaron, and Weaver are excellent options tonight. It looks like Weaver has bypassed Thornton a bit and if Porter is out, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Weaver slide into the starting lineup.
Utah is a pretty blah team overall but they continue to play a solid game and offer some GPP upside. Barefield is a guy that is going to take a ton of shots so I like his upside in this match-up. Allen intrigues me but I do have my worries if he plays more PF than SF tonight as that means more time dealing with Boatwright. J.Johnson seems safe for a 20-25 fantasy point game while guys like Van Dyke, Gach, and Battin are GPP fliers who have put up monster games at various times this season.
Preferred Plays: Boatwright, Weaver, Barefield
CALIFORNIA vs STANFORD – DK Only
This game is going to be key to winning GPPs. The matter is trying to figure out who gets it done. Sueing is somebody with upside but I worry about the road atmosphere. Austin seems like a safe bet for 25-30 fantasy points while guys like Bradley and McNeill offer us GPP upside. Harris-Dyson is a punt play that sees minutes but I think is somebody we don’t need. Vanover has seen his price rise but is certainly in play tonight, even with his atrocious hair.
Stanford is a spot we have to monitor as a ton depends on the status of D.Davis. With it being the late game we are going to have to plan some pivots in case he does play (I don’t have an interest in using him after another ankle injury). I think the best plays, should Davis be out, are Wills, Okpala, and Sharma. Da Silva and Ryan are definitely GPP plays but I prefer to look at Okpala for upside.
Preferred Plays: Austin, Okpala, Sharma
Make sure you tune in to the slack channel to get my updates as news comes out! We will be discussing CBB all afternoon and evening long. I will be updating my Coaches-Notes throughout the day and we will discuss what injuries we need to monitor and what they mean to our construction. I will also be posting my cores for each site in slack!
