With the college basketball season in full swing, we have a full breakdown of the three-game slate on Draftkings on February 22.
Syracuse Orange vs Duke Blue Devils(-6)
o/u 148.5
The Syracuse Orange travel to Chapel Hill to face a red hot Duke Blue Devils squad that has won three games in a row. The Orange have won three games in a row as well, so we should get an awesome DFS game.
The Orange really need this one if they have any hopes of playing in the NCAA tournament. The Orange have a thin bench and play most of their starters 30 minutes or more a night. The slate priced everyone down so we should have some unique lineups tonight on a small slate. The guards for the Orange are Buddy Boeheim ($6,500), Joe Girard ($6,000) and the stud frosh Kadary Richmond ($4,300). Boeheim is in the best form after a monster game and is still better than his $7k price point, so he’s in play for me in all formats. Girard has been losing time to Richmond because the freshman is much longer at the top of the zone and is a much better defender. I prefer the savings and will have limited exposure to Girard. The forwards are all at price points we like to target them at: Alan Griffin ($7,300), Quincy Guerrier ($7,500) and Marek Dolezaj ($5,900). Griffin was benched the majority of the second half for Robert Braswell ($3,300), but I don’t see that being the case tonight. Griffin was recruited by Duke before committing to Syracuse, so I could see a nice bounce-back performance tonight. Guerrier is always playable at that price range and has been right around 4x in his last three games. Dolezaj is playing all the minutes and sitting right around 4x, so he seems like a safer cash play, but Duke struggles to defend the paint, so he's definitely viable in all formats.
The Blue Devils have been trying to figure out their rotation since the departure of Jalen Johnson. The forwards who are viable tonight: Matthew Hurt ($7,900), Mark Williams ($4,900), Wendall Moore ($6,300) and Jaemyn Brakefield ($4,700). Hurt has been a high usage guy with Johnson out all year, and his price is too low to ignore. Williams should feast in this matchup, but the minutes have been all over the place, so he's a high-risk GPP play. Moore should spend a lot of time in the middle of the zone, so I expect him to have a solid all-around game. He seems like a safe cash play with 35-point upside, and Brakefield can do it all offensively so if he gets at least 20 minutes, he should smash that tag as well. All the Duke forwards are in play but outside of Hurt and Moore, their minutes are very inconsistent. The guards are DJ Stewart ($6,100), Jeremy Roach ($4,900) and Jordan Goldwire ($5,700). All three are priced down and I don’t playing any of the three. My order of favorite plays would probably be Stewart, Roach and Goldwire.
Texas Tech Red Raiders @ Oklahoma State Cowboys (+3)
o/u 138
The Cowboys have held serve in Stillwater all year, and I expect another close home victory tonight. They’re coming off back-to-back home wins and face a Red Raiders squad who has lost two in a row after winning three in a row prior.
The Cowboys are lead by super frosh and the potential first overall pick Cade Cunningham ($8,600). The price is fair and the matchup is difficult, so I could see some regressed ownership. He had 35 fantasy points in 38 minutes in the first meeting, and I could see him scoring in the mid-30s again tonight. He a stud, and I’ll try my best to jam in. We are waiting on the news of Isaac Likekele ($5,800) because he sat last game, where Rondel Walker ($5,500) stepped up big time and played 37 minutes. I read that he practiced at 80% Friday, so I’m assuming he plays. I’m not a Likekele fan, so he’s a hard fade for me but more importantly, he takes away usage and possession rating away from Walker, Avery Anderson ($5,600) and Bryce Williams ($3,900). Texas Tech has been vulnerable from beyond the arc and on the offensive glass. Kalib Boone ($6,200) and Matthew Moncrieffe ($5,700) are both GPP targets with Cunningham back in the lineup. They’re both capable of breaking a slate in less than 25 minutes, but the matchup is difficult.
The Red Raiders are 18th in the country but need a win bad to get them rolling before the B12 tourney. They have been led by their guards all year, and I don’t expect that to change tonight. Mac McClung ($6,900) is too cheap, and DraftKings gave him forward eligibility tonight, so there are plenty of ways to jam him in. Kyler Edwards ($6,500) stands around too much for me to get excited about him, and Terrence Shannon ($4,700) has been dealing with nagging injuries recently, so he's hard to trust. If I knew that Shannon was a full go, he would be a lock and load at that price point, but he’s been coming off the bench playing limited minutes. Kevin McCullar ($6,800) and Marcus Santos-Silva ($5,100) are both solid rebounders who can hit 5x due to their regressed price tags. The Cowboys struggle on the offensive glass, so there might be some opportunities for easy putbacks for both big men.
Oregon Ducks @ USC Trojans (-4)
o/u 139.5
The red-hot Ducks travel to California to face the 18th ranked Trojans, who are coming off a tough loss against Arizona. The Ducks have won five in a row and are finally fully healthy. I expect this to be the best P12 game of the year, and I like the Ducks a lot tonight. They’re way too talented and have so many offensive weapons to match up with the Trojans.
The Ducks don’t have an interior defender who can match up with Evan Mobley ($9,800), but I think they can do enough to win the ball game. The guards for the Ducks are priced down: Chris Duarte ($7,600) and Will Richardson ($5,100). I like both tonight and they're viable against the Trojans, who love to play at a fast tempo. The forwards are too cheap as well: Eugene Omoruyi ($7,000), Eric Williams Jr. ($5,200) and LJ Figueroa ($6,700). Omoruyi might lose some minutes with the return of Williams, but he’s sitting right between 4x-6x in his last seven games. Williams played 24 minutes in his return, and I expect that number to keep climbing. I think he makes for a nice GPP play on a small slate. Figueroa’s price is where it should be, and his minutes might start to creep down as Williams starts to get back into game shape.
The Trojans are led by the potential No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, Evan Mobley. He’s a stud, and I don’t expect Oregon to have an answer for him one-on-one all night. If they don’t double him, he could have 50 fantasy points tonight. They’re going to need him to be aggressive all night long if they want to beat the Ducks and call themselves P12 champions. The Trojans, as a whole, play about eight guys and outside of Mobley, they’re hard to predict. The guard I have the most confidence in Tahj Eaddy ($6,600), but his price point is at an all-time high and the matchup is difficult. I’m leaning Ethan Anderson ($4,100) for value tonight, as he seems to finally be healthy and has played over 20 minutes in five straight games. He only got over 20 fantasy points in the UCLA game but with limited options on a three-game slate, you can do worse.
