The college basketball slate for Saturday, March 26, opens up the Elite 8 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and provides some great CBB DFS picks. This article will go over the top CBB picks for DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy college basketball lineups as well as the best plays from each price range. Don’t forget to visit the CBB DFS projections and Awesemo College Basketball pages.
March Madness Elite 8 CBB DFS Picks Today
NCAAB Picks Today for Houston vs. Villanova
Houston – 65.25 Implied Team Total
No. 5-seeded Houston enters this game fresh off three superb wins over UAB, Illinois, and No. 1 seed Arizona. They now face the No. 2 seed Villanova as a 2.5-point favorite in a game with a 128-point total. Houston matches up against Villanova well stylistically, but this game still projects to score about 20 points less than the nightcap. Still, Houston plays a narrow distribution of minutes when the team doesn’t foul.
Houston’s most active stud is Kyler Edwards ($7,500). Edwards has played 38, 38, and 37 minutes for Houston over the last three games, contributing a 26% shot rate, 17.5% rebound rate, and 24.4% assist rate. He projects behind some other studs on this slate, but remains useful in GPPs. Jamal Shead ($6,500) brings the top price-adjusted projection from this team. Shead will handle the ball and play almost every minute. He also has a strong 21.9% shot rate and 39% assist rate in Houston’s last three games.
Edwards and Shead were both jumping out in the College Basketball Projections today. They both look like solid plays, and are featured prominently in our DraftKings CBB DFS Cheat Sheet and FanDuel CBB DFS Cheat Sheet.
Taze Moore ($6,700), Josh Carlton ($5,300), and Fabian White ($6,300) round out Houston’s core. Moore only played 17 minutes against Arizona due to fouls, but he will play between 33-36 without them. He doesn’t project quite as well as Shead, but the combo guard could provide leverage in tournaments. Carlton rarely plays more than 25 minutes due to foul trouble, but he notched 28 against Arizona. His shot and rebound rates are attractive at this price against a Villanova team that ranks 175th in rebounding and 265th in height. White theoretically exploits the same matchup, but White has played reduced minutes since experiencing a back injury in the AAC Tournament. Even in the most importantly games, white is recording 26-29 minutes, making him more volatile at his price.
Ramon Walker ($3,000) may also be used by some as a value piece. Walker popped up for 27 minutes after playing 12 and 16 in the two games prior. His minute increase came when Moore nearly fouled out of Houston’s most recent game. His minutes depend on foul trouble for one of the guards. The same can be said for Reggie Chaney ($3,500) and J’Wan Roberts ($3,300) in the frontcourt.
Villanova – 62.75 Implied Team Total
Villanova easily has the lowest implied team total on this slate and features a nightmare matchup against Houston stylistically. With that said, Villanova plays a tight core of players, keeping them viable for CBB DFS lineups. As a team, Villanova ranks top 50 in 3-point attempts and 3-point field goal percentage. To begin, none of the Villanova players cost more than $7K, making them slightly more palatable in lineups. Collin Gillespie ($6,900) leads this group and will play every minute in competitive games. He brings a 18.9% usage rate, highlighted by a 23.5% shot rate, 11.8% rebound rate, and 28.6% assist rate in Villanova’s last three games. Behind Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels ($6,200) appears over his season-long injury woes. Now playing full minutes, Samuels has logged 35, 38, and 31 minutes over Villanova’s last three games, contributing an 18.7% shot rate, 25.8% rebound rate, and 11.3% assist rate. Justin Moore ($6,000) also pops as a buy-low option. Moore leads the team with a 19.2% usage rate this season and he continues to play every minute in close games. Moore still has a 21.1% shot rate and 34.3% assist rate in Villanova’s last three games. Caleb Daniels ($5,600) rounds out the Nova core consistently playing 30-plus minutes. Daniels’ usage rate lags at 13.6%, but he has been far more involved in the NCAA Tournament. Through Villanova’s first three tournament games, Daniels has a 16.3% shot rate, 20.4% rebound rate, and 14.3% assist rate. Daniels comes off the bench, but he has still played 34, 35, and 30 minutes in Villanova’s last three games. Brandon Slater ($4,500) and Eric Dixon ($5,100) round out the starting five. Both foul a fair amount and bring a limited ceiling in this game environment. Slater offers more salary savings, so he gets the nod as the slightly better play here.
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NCAAB Picks Today for Arkansas vs. Duke
Arkansas – 71.75 Implied Team Total
Fresh off an upset win over No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, Arkansas enters this game as a 3.5-point underdog to No. 2-seeded Duke. Even as the underdog, Arkansas still has the second-highest implied team total on the board with the game total sitting at 147 points. As a team, Arkansas will play a narrow group of players when the team doesn’t foul. However, Arkansas also subscribes to the moronic two-foul, auto-benching in the first half principle. This brings more volatility than the other teams on this slate. With that said, Arkansas still projects as the top value team across the board.
At the top of pricing J.D. Notae ($7,600) and Jaylin Williams ($7,200) stand out among the studs on this slate. Both will play over 35 minutes without fouls here. Notae leads the team with a 23.4% usage rate, highlighted by his 35.2% shot rate, 16.2% rebound rate, and 37.1% assist rate over the last three games. In that same span, Williams checks in with a 17.9% shot rate, 35.2% rebound rate, and 20% assist rate for the Razorbacks. While Williams has more double-double equity, both remain awesome plays here and can be played together. Behind them, Stanely Umude ($6,100) provides a consistent mid-priced option. Umude only played 20 minutes in Arkansas’ last game due to fouls, but consistently plays above 30 minutes otherwise. He has contributed a 14.5% shot rate, 18.1% rebound rate, and 20% assist rate over Arkansas’ last three games.
Notae was one of the players featured the most when running optimal lineups on our CBB lineup optimizer today. He stands out at as one of the top CBB DFS picks today. For more of our free NCAAB picks today, check out the DraftKings CBB Cheat Sheet and FanDuel CBB Cheat Sheet before building your lineups for tonight’s Elite 8 matchups.
As for value, Au’Diese Toney ($4,800) will be the most popular value play on the entire slate. Toney has played 39, 40, and 40 minutes in Arkansas’ last three games. He has a pathetic 9.5% shot rate, 13.3% rebound rate, and 0% assist rate in that span, but his minute upside cannot be ignored here. Davonte Davis ($4,400) occupies the fourth starting position and has played 25, 34, and 36 minutes in Arkansas’ last three games. He required foul trouble the four starters listed above him to reach that 30-minute ceiling, but his usage on the floor remains solid. Even in Arkansas’ last three games, he has a 12.9% shot rate, 8.6% rebound rate, and 17.1% assist rate.
Because of Arkansas’ handling of fouls, Trey Wade ($3,100) and Chris Lykes ($3,600) are interesting punt plays. Lykes is strictly a backup point guard and needs Notae to foul to receive minutes. Even in that instance, Davis simply might handle more ball handling duties. Wade benefits foul trouble to Williams, Umude, and Toney. Even in Arkansas’ most recent game, Wade played 34 minutes with Umude parked on the bench. Still, Wade only played 6 and 18 minutes in the two games prior, making him extremely risky as a value piece here. There’s a chance people play him two after the strong showing against Gonzaga.
Duke – 75.25 Implied Team Total
Bringing the highest implied team total on the state in a pace-up environment against Arkansas, Duke is a clear CBB DFS target. At the top of pricing, Duke plays primarily through future lottery pick Paolo Banchero ($8,300). While expensive, Banchero has played 37, 38, and 33 minutes in Duke’s three tournament games. In that span, he contributed a 22.4% shot rate, 20% rebound rate, and 34.3% assist rate for the Blue Devils. Slightly less expensive, Mark Williams ($7,700) has actually begun to receive consistent minutes for the Blue Devils in the tournament. Williams has played 30, 30, and 32 minutes, which rarely occurred in the regular season. Close to a walking double-double at these minutes, Williams’ offers leverage off the highly owned plays in this range for GPPs.
Wendell Moore ($7,000) still finds himself at $7K here. Moore continues to play solid minutes, reaching 34, 36, and 29 in Duke’s last three games. However, his rates have sharply declined down the stretch. He is simply too expensive for his current role outside of the larger GPPs. As for cheaper options, Jeremy Roach ($5,400) and AJ Griffin ($5,200) both look like excellent plays. Since coach Mike Krzyzewski made the decision to move Trevor Keels ($5,500) to the bench, Roach has played 35, 37, and 35 minutes in three straight games for Duke. He has also contributed a 16.2% shot rate, and 37.1% assist rate in that span. Griffin has now played 37, 23, and 33 minutes in three straight games for Duke. His 23-minute game occurred due to injury, but he looks recovered now. An excellent shooter, Griffin still has a 14% shot rate and 15.2% rebound rate, despite the injury suppressing his rates a bit. Duke occasionally rotates Keels and Theo John ($3,500) into the game, but neither is viable at this point in the year.
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