College basketball season is in full swing and DraftKings and FanDuel continue to provide sizable contests for CBB DFS grinders. Examining the college basketball DFS slate for Jan. 28, a number of core plays stand out. This piece will locate the plays from each college basketball matchup and determine the top CBB DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
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CBB DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Basketball
Studs
David Roddy ($9,200) — With Orlando Robinson nursing a sprained ankle, David Roddy stands out as the top overall stud to target. Robinson has the better rates overall, but he only played 15 minutes in Fresno State’s most recent game. He will battle through the injury, but that game also has a horrific 118.5-point total. Meanwhile, Colorado State is a 13-point favorite over UNLV in a game with a 141.5-point total. John Tonje and Adam Thistlewood are both injured, potentially narrowing usage here as well. Roddy already has a 20.5% usage rate, consisting of a 21.2% shot rate, 23.3% rebound rate and 19.7% assist rate in the offense. He is an excellent play, despite his elevated price tag.
Ryan Rollins ($8,400) — One of the better game environments on the slate, Toledo is an eight-point home favorite over Akron in a game with a 140-point total. Toledo’s usage leader, Ryan Rollins enters this slate with an affordable $8.4k price tag and a tantalizing 23.3% usage rate. Playing nearly every minute, Rollins contributes a 23.7% shot rate, 14.5% rebound rate and 24.2% assist rate in Toledo’s offense. Akron ranks 156th in defensive efficiency, which should allow Rollins to maximize Toledo’s 74-point implied team total.
Ben Vander Plas ($8,200) — The best overall game environment on the slate, Ohio is a 3.5-point underdog to Buffalo in a game with a 149.5-point total. Overall, the Ohio studs do not project as well as some others with three alphas splitting the work. However, each of these three in Mark Sears, Jason Carter, and Ben Vander Plas have elite ceilings in these game environments. In particular, Vander Plas looks interesting after playing 34, 39 and 29 minutes in three straight games for Ohio. Vander Plas’ 14.7% usage rate trails behind Sears and Carter. However, Vander Plas is cheaper than Sears and plays more consistent minutes than Carter. Also, Vander Plas has excellent usage in Ohio’s last three games, recording an 18.6% shot rate, 18.2% rebound rate and 17.5% assist rate. Overall, Vander Plas has an excellent floor/ceiling combo with his minutes security against a Buffalo defense ranking 195th in defensive efficiency.
Kevin Marfo ($7,700) — A lower-level game, Quinnipiac is a one-point favorite over Marist in a game with a 137.5-point total overall. While the public may not know these games as well, Quinnipiac has a rising star in Kevin Marfo. On the year, Marfo has a 14.3% usage rate, but this continues to climb as he plays more minutes. In Quinnipiac’s last three games, Marfo has a 14.5% shot rate, 30.8% rebounding rate and 23.3% assist rate with the entire offense flowing through him. Marfo does not have the same minute consistency as some of the other studs on this slate, making him a better GPP play. However, this game environment provides sneaky upside with some high-usage players on Quinnipiac.
Mid-Range
Jeenathan Williams ($6,700) — On the other side of the Ohio game, Buffalo holds an elite 76.5-point implied team total on this slate. Interestingly, all of Buffalo’s main contributors are priced below $7k, including usage leader Jeenathan Williams. Williams leads the team with a 21% usage rate on top of playing 33, 37 and 36 minutes over Buffalo’s last three games. He also has consistent usage across statistical categories, including a 22.6% shot rate, 13% rebound rate and 16.3% assist rate. With his depressed price, Williams is one of the best overall plays on this slate.
RayJ Dennis ($6,300) — For those looking at cheaper attachments to Toledo’s offense, RayJ Dennis has played 34, 34 and 35 minutes in three straight games for Toledo. Dennis has a 14.9% usage rate, which lacks behind most of the other starters. However, his involvement has spiked in Toledo’s last three games. In this span, Dennis has taken 18.9% of the shots, 23.5% of the rebounds and 25.9% of the assists. Apart from Rollins, Dennis has played the best basketball on the team of late.
Ronaldo Segu ($5,700) — For those looking at cheaper Buffalo options, both Josh Mballa and Ronaldo Segu look like attractive options. Both play 30+ minutes per game, but Segu will play slightly more after reaching 34, 34 and 36 in Buffalo’s last three games. Segu also has a higher usage rate at 20.7%, which consists of a 19.5% shot rate and 33.7% assist rate. Mballa is a far better rebounder, which gives him a solid floor. However, the elevated shot rate from Segu will provide a larger ceiling. Also cheaper, Segu is the better price-adjusted play in a vacuum, but both are solid options here.
Chandler Jacobs ($5,400) — For those looking at cheaper attachments to Colorado State’s elite 77.25-point implied team total, Chandler Jacobs has recently played a larger role for this team. Mentioned above, Tonje will reportedly try to play through a torn meniscus to finish the year. Tonje did not play in Colorado State’s last game and Jacobs has now started each of the last two. In Colorado State’s last three games, Jacobs has 29, 21, and 26 minutes. This coincides with a 15.6% shot rate and 17.8% rebound rate. Impressing in the elevated role, Jacobs looks like a GPP play that could fly under the radar with Colorado State’s injury situations.
Value Plays
Enrique Freeman ($4,900) — For those looking at cheap attachments to the strong game environment in the Akron vs. Toledo game, Enrique Freeman plays a consistent role at a cheap price. Freeman has seen 32, 31 and 24 minutes in Akron’s last three games, maximizing a pedestrian 12.6% usage rate. Similar to Dennis on the other side, Freeman has played an elevated role of late. In the last three games, he has a 15.9% shot rate, 38% rebound rate and 9.1% assist rate. Fouls can sometimes trouble Freeman, as they did in his recent 24-minute game. However, without foul trouble, Freeman has displayed a solid ceiling this year.
Jordan McCabe ($4,600) — On the other side of Colorado State, UNLV has a 64.25-point implied team total as 13-point underdogs. UNLV has a myriad of potential injuries, including Donovan Williams, Royce Hamm, Josh Baker, and Marvin Coleman. While some may suit up, UNLV is unlikely to have the entire group. This means Jordan McCabe could walk into elevated usage at a cheap price. McCabe is not the most involved player to begin with, but he has played 29 and 30 minutes in UNLV’s last two games. Already contributing a 31% assist rate, McCabe’s shot rate has now risen to 13%. While McCabe is dependent on a few absences, he looks playable in GPPs.
Ali Ali ($4,200) –Another potential value option for Akron, Ali Ali also finds himself priced below $5k. Ali has played 35, 38 and 36 minutes in Akron’s last three games, maximizing his 15.2% usage rate. Importantly, Ali has also played a larger role since the New Year. In his last three games, he has a 21% shot rate and 15.2% assist rate. One of the cheaper options on the slate, Ali allows multiple studs to be jammed into lineups.
Brendan McGuire ($4,500) — Another potential play in the Marist vs. Quinnipiac game, Brendan McGuire has recently taken on a larger role for this team. McGuire has played 32, 27 and 30 minutes for Quinnipiac in their last three games, maximizing a 15.2% usage rate. This usage rate consists of a 13.3% shot rate, 15.4% rebounding rate and 44.2% assist rate in Quinnipiac’s last three games.
Tyson Degenhart ($3,300) — The worst game environment on the slate, Boise State is a one-point underdog to Fresno State in a game with a 118.5-point total. While Boise State is not very attractive overall, Tyson Degenhart has recently played an elevated role for the Broncos. He has reached 37, 29 and 31 minutes in Boise State’s last three games while contributing an 11% shot rate. Degenhart is a cut below the other value plays on this slate, but he is also much cheaper. Overall, he is a risk/reward play based on the studs he allows DFS players to jam into lineups.
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