February 17th NCAA Basketball DFS Breakdown
@Hoover__26 February 17
With no NBA DFS until tomorrow, many players are turning to CBB, and there is no better day to do so than today! With a huge slate of games tonight, not just in numbers but in magnitude of the games themselves, there are plenty of chances to win big.
Guards
Ryan Arcidiacono- $6400
Let me start by saying that Ryan is averaging .571 from long range in the last ten games. If that was over the entire season, it would be good enough for second in all of Division 1. He also plays more minutes during road matchups, which is what his Villanova team has tonight (against Temple). He seems like a pretty strong play today, at his lowest salary since he dropped 19 points vs. Providence.
Antonio Blakeney- $5200
Blakeney is one of the most up-and-down players in college basketball, having had stat lines of both 10.25 and 44.75 DK points in his last four games. However, if LSU wants to beat a Crimson Tide team that’s coming off a large winning streak, they are going to need Blakeney to step up and have a game similar to the one he had against MSU, where he put up 31 points and 7 boards. Plus, $5200 won’t hurt your salary cap at all, leaving room for you to pay up for the next guard.
Quenton DeCosey- $7400
DeCosey is a guard that never seems to put up a bad stat line. He has only scored less than 30 DK points twice in the last ten games, and didn’t dip under twenty even once in that span. He is pretty much as sure a bet as there is (no pun intended), and it doesn’t appear that his streak of success is going to change tonight. Temple should give a great Villanova team a run for their money, and DeCosey figures to be a driving force behind their upset hopes. He also scores considerably better at home, which certainly gives his value a bit of a boost. If you are only paying an average of $5800 for your other two guards, $7400 for a high floor/high ceiling player isn’t bad at all.
Forwards
Brice Johnson- $9700
Brice is the big ticket guy in this lineup. Honestly, the fact that there are three guys that cost over 10k on DK, and seven that cost more than 9k is pretty shocking. Basically, you have to play at least one of them. Brice Johnson, UNC’s big man, seems to me like the best play of them all. Duke isn’t known as the best rebounding team in the world (especially without Amile Jefferson, their best rebounder), and Johnson (who averages a double-double) appears to be just the guy to exploit that. However, he may not just exploit it, he might blow it out of the water. Over his last ten games, Johnson has no less than three 50+ DK point performances, including one game where he topped 80 DK points! If he can even get close to touching some of his better stat lines, you should be in tremendous shape playing Brice.
Dusan Ristic- $4200
Ristic is the cheapest play in this lineup, but I think the Arizona big man could turn in a nice performance tonight. Their opponent, Arizona State, only averages 2.8 blocks per game, meaning Ristic should have plenty of space on the low post. In his last game, Ristic came only one point and one board away from a double-double, and his cheap salary makes room for Brice Johnson. Ristic also scores almost 2 more DK points in home games, and against a traveling Sun Devils team, he could very easily topple his value at $4200. It may not be the coolest pick in the world, but if you want to pay up, you have to pay down as well.
Raymond Spalding- $4800
Louisville is riding a 2 game losing streak, and in need of a jump-start. They are facing a talented Syracuse team tonight, and Spalding is going to have to put up big numbers if they want to break that streak. Fortunately for Raymond, Syracuse doesn’t have a single player who averages more than 8.8 rebounds per game. Plus, Spalding is in his home gym, where he crushes his away stats. He averages 5 more DK points at home, and rebounds the ball better at home as well. $4800 is another slight salary, and Spalding has a tremendous upside for such a meager price tag.
Utility
Trey Lewis- $5700
Lewis is another Louisville guy, and will also have to come up big for the Cardinals to defeat the Orange. He may be a little more expensive, and is a bit of a risk, but I think he could really surpass his value. Plus, with some of the “safe” picks in this lineup, you can afford to take a little risk at $5700 in the utility spot. He shoots a much better percentage at home, and is also a very solid producer of steals. Going up against a Syracuse team that averages 11.8 turnovers per game, I would be surprised if he doesn’t put some numbers in that category.
Tyler Lydon- $6600
Lydon is a Syracuse forward that could be the sleeper of the night. He averages nearly 30 minutes per game, so he has plenty of usage. He has a pretty solid stroke from long range (which is at it’s best during away games), and has put up a combined 35 points and 16 boards in his last two games. Louisville has a tough defense, no doubt, but with such a huge ceiling, I can’t see not throwing him in to finish up this lineup. At $6600, that isn’t really a pay-up, but he certainly has pay-up like numbers in his recent games. This lineup has a little bit of everything, and Lydon rounds it all out. His $6600 takes up every penny of the remaining salary, and allows you to pay up for stars without sacrificing too much on the other end.
Guards
Ryan Arcidiacono- $6400
Let me start by saying that Ryan is averaging .571 from long range in the last ten games. If that was over the entire season, it would be good enough for second in all of Division 1. He also plays more minutes during road matchups, which is what his Villanova team has tonight (against Temple). He seems like a pretty strong play today, at his lowest salary since he dropped 19 points vs. Providence.
Antonio Blakeney- $5200
Blakeney is one of the most up-and-down players in college basketball, having had stat lines of both 10.25 and 44.75 DK points in his last four games. However, if LSU wants to beat a Crimson Tide team that’s coming off a large winning streak, they are going to need Blakeney to step up and have a game similar to the one he had against MSU, where he put up 31 points and 7 boards. Plus, $5200 won’t hurt your salary cap at all, leaving room for you to pay up for the next guard.
Quenton DeCosey- $7400
DeCosey is a guard that never seems to put up a bad stat line. He has only scored less than 30 DK points twice in the last ten games, and didn’t dip under twenty even once in that span. He is pretty much as sure a bet as there is (no pun intended), and it doesn’t appear that his streak of success is going to change tonight. Temple should give a great Villanova team a run for their money, and DeCosey figures to be a driving force behind their upset hopes. He also scores considerably better at home, which certainly gives his value a bit of a boost. If you are only paying an average of $5800 for your other two guards, $7400 for a high floor/high ceiling player isn’t bad at all.
Forwards
Brice Johnson- $9700
Brice is the big ticket guy in this lineup. Honestly, the fact that there are three guys that cost over 10k on DK, and seven that cost more than 9k is pretty shocking. Basically, you have to play at least one of them. Brice Johnson, UNC’s big man, seems to me like the best play of them all. Duke isn’t known as the best rebounding team in the world (especially without Amile Jefferson, their best rebounder), and Johnson (who averages a double-double) appears to be just the guy to exploit that. However, he may not just exploit it, he might blow it out of the water. Over his last ten games, Johnson has no less than three 50+ DK point performances, including one game where he topped 80 DK points! If he can even get close to touching some of his better stat lines, you should be in tremendous shape playing Brice.
Dusan Ristic- $4200
Ristic is the cheapest play in this lineup, but I think the Arizona big man could turn in a nice performance tonight. Their opponent, Arizona State, only averages 2.8 blocks per game, meaning Ristic should have plenty of space on the low post. In his last game, Ristic came only one point and one board away from a double-double, and his cheap salary makes room for Brice Johnson. Ristic also scores almost 2 more DK points in home games, and against a traveling Sun Devils team, he could very easily topple his value at $4200. It may not be the coolest pick in the world, but if you want to pay up, you have to pay down as well.
Raymond Spalding- $4800
Louisville is riding a 2 game losing streak, and in need of a jump-start. They are facing a talented Syracuse team tonight, and Spalding is going to have to put up big numbers if they want to break that streak. Fortunately for Raymond, Syracuse doesn’t have a single player who averages more than 8.8 rebounds per game. Plus, Spalding is in his home gym, where he crushes his away stats. He averages 5 more DK points at home, and rebounds the ball better at home as well. $4800 is another slight salary, and Spalding has a tremendous upside for such a meager price tag.
Utility
Trey Lewis- $5700
Lewis is another Louisville guy, and will also have to come up big for the Cardinals to defeat the Orange. He may be a little more expensive, and is a bit of a risk, but I think he could really surpass his value. Plus, with some of the “safe” picks in this lineup, you can afford to take a little risk at $5700 in the utility spot. He shoots a much better percentage at home, and is also a very solid producer of steals. Going up against a Syracuse team that averages 11.8 turnovers per game, I would be surprised if he doesn’t put some numbers in that category.
Tyler Lydon- $6600
Lydon is a Syracuse forward that could be the sleeper of the night. He averages nearly 30 minutes per game, so he has plenty of usage. He has a pretty solid stroke from long range (which is at it’s best during away games), and has put up a combined 35 points and 16 boards in his last two games. Louisville has a tough defense, no doubt, but with such a huge ceiling, I can’t see not throwing him in to finish up this lineup. At $6600, that isn’t really a pay-up, but he certainly has pay-up like numbers in his recent games. This lineup has a little bit of everything, and Lydon rounds it all out. His $6600 takes up every penny of the remaining salary, and allows you to pay up for stars without sacrificing too much on the other end.