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 and Fanduel. The KenPom score projections are in parenthesis.
Oregon St (78) vs Washington St (73) – DK Only
Mississippi (68) vs Missouri (69) – DK Only
Louisville (55) vs Virginia (69)
Arizona St (69) vs Arizona (71)
UCF (69) vs Temple (68)
West Virginia (70) vs Oklahoma St (74)
St Johns (72) vs Xavier (75)
USC (69) vs Colorado (74)
Duke (83) vs UNC (84)
Oklahoma (59) vs Kansas St (65)
Alabama (71) vs Arkansas (75)
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OREGON ST vs WASHINGTON ST – DK Only
This is a spot where Tinkle and S.Thompson Jr probably go off against a weak WSU squad. I think you can look at Kelley and E.Thompson as GPP options but its really the other two I want to get pieces of, even at their higher price points. I could see them combining for 90-100 fantasy points.
For WSU, it is a similar situation as Oregon St. Franks and Elleby are do-it-alls for the Cougars. I think guys like Cannon, Ali, and Pollard are usable GPP options on a team that is pretty bad. We just never know what kind of minutes guys are going to get or how the rotation will play out.
Preferred Plays: Tinkle, S.Thompson, Elleby
MISSISSIPPI vs MISSOURI – DK Only
I am a bit shocked to see Mississippi projected to take the loss in this game. I really like Tyree, Shuler, and Stevens for Ole Miss. Davis is certainly a solid GPP option but I generally prefer him at home while using Tyree on the road. The bigs for Mississippi are really tough to figure out but I like the upside that Stevens offers us.
There are a lot of rotating parts for Missouri which makes them really tough to figure out. Right now I am very close to locking in T.Watson on this slate. Pickett is questionable so his status is important in terms of solidifying minutes for Watson and Pinson. Geist is my second favorite option with Pinson and Mitchell Smith as GPP dart plays.
Preferred Plays: Tyree, T.Watson
LOUISVILLE vs VIRGINIA
I do not have a ton to say about this game. Most likely I will be skipping it but there are a few guys who could make sense for GPP purposes. For Louisville, it’s really just a shot in the dark with Nwora or Sutton for me. I am not enamored with either but I could see one of them working out well in a tough match-up.
Virginia is always an option to mini-stack with guys like Jerome, Hunter, and Guy. I prefer just Hunter in this one of those three. I like Diakite as a solid GPP option with Huff being a dart option. I do think pairing Jerome with either Hunter or Guy is a solid GPP play as they could share a ton of assists and three’s.
Preferred Plays: Hunter
ARIZONA ST vs ARIZONA
This appears to be a solid spot to target ASU players for your cash lineups. Cheatham, Dort, and Martin are all pretty safe in this spot and each could sit between 28 and 35 fantasy points. The rest of ASU is just a shot in the dark with Edwards being the best GPP dart option of the remaining players.
Arizona is a mess at the moment. Jeter might not play which would probably open up Ira Lee as a really strong GPP option. I could be talked into using Luther with Jeter out and maybe Coleman who had a strong game the first time these two teams faced off. The rest of Arizona is just a wreck at this point in the season.
Preferred Plays: Cheatham, I.Lee
UCF vs TEMPLE
This may be the spot that I finally slide Tacko Fall into my lineups. He went for nearly 40 fantasy points the first time these teams met and should dominate the interior of Temple. I really wish they were at home as fouls are always an issue. I would consider using both Taylor and T.Allen as I think both have upside in a tougher road game.
Temple could really use this game to solidify their tournament resume. Alston has been a beast of late so we have to consider him for GPPs, however, I worry at this match-up is just a bit too tough to pay that price tag. I think my preferred Owls play is Rose because of his ability to get hot and I think he has the better personal match-up between him and Alston. The rest of Temple is uninspiring and I think I have to fade them.
Preferred Plays: Fall, Rose
WEST VIRGINIA vs OKLAHOMA ST
This is going to sound crazy but I legit believe that you can use 5 guys from WVU in your cash lineups, especially on DK. All of Culver, West, Haley, McCabe, and Matthews are too cheap on DK and all could hit their upside in a solid match-up. I certainly wouldn’t plug all 5 in the same lineup for cash but I think your roster construction can dictate which 2-3 of the group to use. My preferred plays are McCabe and Haley with Culver giving us the big ceiling.
Much like WVU, I believe nearly all of the starting lineup for OK State is in play for GPP purposes. The guy I have most reservations about is Anei as he will be dealing with Culver. McGriff and Waters are my favorites of the group with Dziagwa intriguing me enough. I certainly could see stacking this game multiple ways in GPPs, especially on DK.
Preferred Plays: McCabe, Haley, McGriff, Waters
ST JOHNS vs XAVIER
For St Johns, it is really about Ponds and Figueroa for me right now. Figueroa has been playing really well and we know Ponds has the ability to explode at any point. The rest are just OK options without any excitement for me. If Heron is deemed 100%, I could see him being a solid GPP option in this spot.
The status of N.Marshall is extremely important for us. If he is 100% I like him as a GPP option. I am really interested in T.Jones in this match-up. Would really love him without Marshall but will be interested in shares no matter what. If Marshall is out I think we have to consider Goodin or Scruggs. I worry about Scruggs drawing Simon defense though.
Preferred Plays: Figueroa, T.Jones
USC vs COLORADO
USC has a couple of stellar GPP options in Boatwright and Weaver. Boatwright has been a beast for a while and he is pretty close to cash safe at this point. Weaver stepped into the starting lineup and looked really good. Some of his upside is tied to the status of Porter Jr so we have to pay attention to that for sure.
For Colorado, it’s really all about Bey being at home again. I think he is a near cash lock on this slate. I would consider using both Wright IV and Schwartz in cash as well. I think this game goes somewhat overlooked and could be a sneaky spot for your GPP lineups as well.
Preferred Plays: Boatwright, Weaver, Bey, Schwartz
DUKE vs UNC
Oh, this game is going to be a blast. I will be talking in the slack channel about this game for showdown purposes so make sure you join me! Duke is expected to be without Williamson which automatically means Barrett has to be considered in all formats. I like Reddish for GPP purposes but he is extremely volatile. We need to find out the status of Bolden as I think he or DeLaurier can pay off their cheap price points. White might be back in play in this spot as well.
For UNC, I am all about Maye and Cameron Johnson. I think Coby White is a fade going against Tre Jones’ defense. Maye is coming off of a monster game and dominated the paint against Duke the first time. I expect this game to be absolutely electric so others on UNC could make sense for GPP purposes. I think we could see a big Little game!
Preferred Plays: Barrett, Maye, C.Johnson
OKLAHOMA vs KANSAS ST
This game really doesn’t excite me and I honestly do not see a reason to go here as we have games to target above for both value and studs. If I end up using anybody in this game its probably Stokes as a cash play. He has been really solid without Diarra.
Preferred Plays:
ALABAMA vs ARKANSAS
This is a spot that I am completely avoiding as far as Bama goes. I just don’t want to try and predict who does it so I am just going to fade them and hope nobody goes crazy.
Arkansas provides us with a couple of guys I want to use in GPPs. Gafford is in a smash spot but I worry about him seeing only 25-28 minutes. I think Mason Jones is heating up again so he makes a very strong GPP play. Joe is capable of getting super hot from three so he has GPP upside when playing at home.
Preferred Plays: Gafford, M.Jones
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!
