College basketball season is finally upon us, and DraftKings and FanDuel continue to provide sizable contests for CBB DFS grinders. Examining the slate for Feb. 28, a number of core plays stand out. In this piece I’ll be locating top plays from each college basketball matchup and determining the top CBB DFS picks for your DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
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Studs Tier
Luka Garza ($9,500) — Due to the context of the slate, Garza and Justin Champagnie clearly stand out among the other studs on this slate. With an abundance of value, playing both may be possible. Garza has a 41-point DFS projection on the second-highest implied team on the slate. Iowa is a 3.5-point underdog to Ohio State in a game totaled at 158.5 points. Ohio State has faltered recently, dropping games to Michigan and Michigan State. Garza retains his slate-leading 26.4% usage rate, 25.9% shot rate and 20.5% rebound rate. Garza looks like a priority on this slate.
Justin Champagnie ($9,100) — Pittsburgh has the second-lowest implied team total on the slate as a 7-point underdog to North Carolina State in a game totaled at 139 points. Pittsburgh recently saw Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney leave the program. Johnson leaves behind a 21.7% usage rate and 28.6 minutes per game. Toney leaves a 15% usage rate and 34.9 minutes. Champagnie already plays every minute with a 19.4% usage rate. Without any real threats in the offense, Champagnie’s usage should spike again here. North Carolina State ranks 237th in interior defense and 232 in 3-point defense, creating windows for Champagnie to succeed.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl ($7,800) — This game is a poor environment for DFS, but Villanova is 11-point favorite over Butler. Villanova has significant advantages over a Butler team with injuries to Bo Hodges and Aaron Thompson. Butler ranks 269th in interior defense and likely will struggle to defend Robinson-Earl. He averages 33.6 minutes per game with a 17.5% usage rate and accounts for 20.9% of the shots and 24.7% of the rebounds in Villanova’s last three games. Both Robinson-Earl and Collin Gillespie ($7,800) deserve consideration as contrarian studs.
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Keith Williams ($6,700) — Similar to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati is completely depleted after a series of opt-outs. Already missing Gabe Madsen and Rapolas Ivanauskas, Zach Harvey and David DeJulius recently opted out for the season. With few other options on the roster Williams and Jeremiah Davenport ($7,000) look likely to play every minute. Williams has the better 21.4% usage rate and brings a slightly cheaper price. He accounts for 23.5% of the shots, 8.4% of the rebounds and 22.2% of the assists in Cincinnati’s last three games. Memphis has the No. 1 overall defensive efficiency in the country, but Cincinnati’s tight rotation keep the Bearcats in play.
D.J. Funderburk ($6,100) — On the other side of the Pittsburgh game, North Carolina State continues to play with a narrow rotation after injuries to Devon Daniels and Thomas Allen. Funderburk has stepped up to play at least 31 minutes in three straight games for the Wolfpack. He accounts for 19.6% of the shots and 26.6% of the rebounds in that span. Facing a depleted Pittsburgh that already ranks 233rd in interior defense, this matchup suits Funderburk’s strong post presence.
Justice Sueing ($6,000) — On the other side of the Iowa game, Ohio State leads the slate with an 81-point implied team total. The Buckeyes are 3.5-point favorites against an Iowa defense that ranks 208th in defensive efficiency. Sueing has played 34 and 35 minutes in back-to-back games for Ohio State. He has a 12.6% usage rate on the season, but this game environment deserves a long look. He is also quite a bit cheaper than Duane Washington ($7,300) and E.J. Liddell ($8,400). With more consistent minutes than C.J. Walker ($6,100), Sueing looks like the preferred mid-priced option from Ohio State.
Value Tier
Keegan Murray ($4,800) — For a cheaper access point to Iowa’s implied team total, Murray looks like a potential value option off the bench for Iowa. Murray played 21 minutes, scored 7 points and snagged 6 boards in Iowa’s last game. Jack Nunge went down with an injury and will miss this game. His absence opens an additional 15.9 minutes per game for Iowa. Playing in the post alongside Nunge this year, Murray is a good bet to receive these additional minutes.
Nike Sibande ($4,300) — For those looking at value options, Pittsburgh’s depleted team may offer multiple. Even with Johnson active in Pittsburgh’s most recent game, Sibande started and played 36 minutes. He scored 12 points and added 7 boards in the periphery. Sibande’s 13.4% usage should rise with the losses of Johnson and Toney as well. With North Carolina State also struggling on defense, Sibande provides easy value on the Sunday DFS slate.
Musa Jallow ($3,400) — Kyle Young missed Ohio State’s most recent game with a concussion. He is questionable for this game, but his absence would open Jallow as a value play. Jallow played 31 minutes for the Buckeyes last time out. He didn’t take any shots, but he provided solid peripheral involvement. On the year, Jallow’s 8.4% usage rate leaves much to be desired, but his minutes look secure. Look for him to start again if Young misses this game.
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