Good morning/afternoon to you beautiful people out there in DFS land! You have managed to find yourself in a great spot here at DFS Army. I look forward to providing you with analysis and picks throughout this 2019 Tournament Season! Remember, if I mention a player as a cash game play they most likely are OK for GPP play. Let’s take a look at what games are on the slate for DraftKings. The KenPom score projections are in parenthesis.
Iowa (71) vs Cincinnati (72)
Oklahoma (72) vs Mississippi (71)
Northern Kentucky (61) vs Texas Tech (75)
UC-Irvine (56) vs Kansas St (63)
Colgate (68) vs Tennessee (83)
Gardner Webb (55) vs Virginia (77)
Arizona St (76) vs Buffalo (82)
Oregon (56) vs Wisconsin (61)
Washington (66) vs Utah St (68)
North Dakota St (63) vs Duke (88)
Georgia St (65) vs Houston (77)
Liberty (65) vs Mississippi St (71)
Iona (71) vs UNC (95)
UCF (63) vs VCU (64)
Ohio St (68) vs Iowa St (72)
St Louis (58) vs Virginia Tech (70)
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IOWA vs CINCINNATI
For Iowa, this is an extremely tough match-up against a very defensive-minded Cincinnati squad. I could see somebody like Cook or Garza paying off but I really only have GPP interest in Bohannon. Cincinnati can be beaten by outside shooters and few players can get as hot as Bohannon from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati is all about 2 players for me. Those 2 are Cumberland and Scott. Cumberland is going to be the scorer while Scott is going to do things against a very weak, defensive interior. Due to his price, Cumberland fits more of a GPP play for me while Scott can definitely be used in all formats.
Preferred Plays: Cumberland, Scott
OKLAHOMA vs MISSISSIPPI
Normally I would want to get three-point shooters against Mississippi but I can’t ignore what Doolittle has been doing for months now. He is still too cheap and should be considered for all formats. James does not excite me at all and seems to lack any real floor at his current price point. I have interest in Bieniemy but do have my reservations about his floor.
Mississippi interests me but they are difficult to pinpoint. I think that Davis is the play over Tyree but I might put both behind Shuler at his price tag. We should consider their forwards against an Oklahoma team that isn’t very strong on the glass. Stevens would be my preference with Buffen being a dart option.
Preferred Plays: Doolittle, Bieniemy, Shuler
NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs TEXAS TECH
I really wish that NKU had gotten a better match-up as I was looking forward to using McDonald. He has the type of game that could cause problems for Owens and Odiase but his price is just too high against an elite defense. Tate is also too expensive for my liking even though I think he has a shot to get us 30. I do have a legitimate interest in guys like Sharpe and Vogt for GPP purposes. Teams have had success shooting 3’s and getting to the FT line against TT.
One of my top plays on the slate is Culver and I feel very strongly about his safety for cash purposes. He does everything for TT and contributes to our lineups across the board. Mooney and Moretti are guys that I like to use in all formats thanks to their three-point shooting and steals upside. I want to look at Owens and wish I could suggest him as a cash play because I think his floor is extremely high but I worry about possible foul issues against McDonald.
Preferred Plays: Sharpe, Culver, Owens
UC-IRVINE vs KANSAS ST
This game is going to be extremely slow, however, I feel like there are a few guys that make sense due to being priced so cheaply. For UCI, I really am intrigued about Hazzard and Leonard. Both of those guys are going to shoot a bunch of threes and they both shoot it at about a 40% clip. Cartwright has some value for me and I think he makes an interesting GPP play.
Kansas St has two of the more popular value plays in Diarra and Mawien. I think you can use Stokes or Sneed with some semblance of safety but I would suggest avoiding Brown as he needs to knock down a bunch of perimeter shots to cross the 30 fantasy point mark. He just doesn’t have the upside at that price point.
Preferred Plays: Hazzard, Diarra, Mawien
COLGATE vs TENNESSEE
Colgate has a few guys that fit this game style and could get hot from three. Burns is their PG and he has a ton of upside but I just don’t know that we can fit him in at his price with so many other top tier options around him. Ivanauskas has enormous upside but the foul trouble induced floor really worries me. I really like Rayman and Richardson for their shooting ability and think they make excellent GPP options on this slate.
In this match-up, I feel like Williams and Schofield are slightly too high priced as I think it takes value away from where their floors are. I want guys from Tennessee that can knock down threes and pick up steals on the defensive end. Bone, Turner, and Bowden fall into those categories to a degree with Turner being my preferred play of the trio.
Preferred Plays: Rayman, Turner, Bowden
GARNDER WEBB vs VIRGINIA
Gardner Webb is NOT going to pull a UMBC against Virginia so we can mostly just avoid them in this spot. I think that we seriously need to consider using Laster at his price point. He offers a really solid upside, even as an extremely undersized center. Cornwall could be used as a GPP dart at his cheaper price point.
I really want to target Virginia’s 3-point shooters against a defense that is destroyed by the 3. Guy is one of my favorite plays on the slate, even in a spot where Virginia should blow them out. Jerome and Hunter are in play as GPP options for me, I just have reservations about their minutes total in what could be a blowout. Both offer a ridiculously high ceiling in this match-up. Salt probably needs to be considered as a deep GPP punt play.
Preferred Plays: Laster, Guy, Jerome
ARIZONA ST vs BUFFALO
This game is going to be popular and it makes a ton of sense. ASU is going to attack the basket and draw fouls against Buffalo. We want exposure to guys who are going to make baskets at the rim and get to the FT line. Dort and Cheatham are my preferred plays while Martin and Edwards are in the conversation due to their upside in this spot. As deep GPP dart plays, I would think about using Lawrence or Cherry in a spot where I could see them taking a few minutes away from White.
Buffalo has a bunch of options as you could basically use 5 guys in GPPs from this squad. I think Massinburg is the safest option, the problem is his price is up there. Harris is somebody I have used a ton of this season and love the upside he provides. Perkins and Graves are very solid GPP plays while Caruthers and Jordan have a bit more risk associated with them. I have used Caruthers a ton on the season and his foul issues are painful to witness. He commits a ton of fouls and most of them are really stupid decisions on his part. I will most likely only use him in game stacks on this slate.
Preferred Plays: Dort, Cheatham, Massinburg, Harris
OREGON vs WISCONSIN
This game is going to be bypassed by nearly everybody and it makes sense. It has a projected total of just over 116 points which doesn’t lend itself to attractive DFS options. Oregon is coming off of an impressive run to the Pac12 title so they do have some momentum. The problem is the guys that are priced up are ones that are going to struggle against the Badger defense. I think for GPP purposes you can grab a share of White or Wooten and consider using a few shares of Okoro for punt purposes. Wisconsin can be beaten around the rim and they are not a very good rebounding team.
Oregon gives up a high % of made 2’s and they do send teams to the FT line somewhat frequently. This leads me to think that Happ is an interesting GPP play that will be almost unowned on this slate. I can see Reuvers and Iverson as GPP plays but they aren’t ones that excite me in any way.
Preferred Plays: NONE
WASHINGTON vs UTAH ST
This is a game that has a couple of really solid defenses and should be played on the slower side. With that said, guys like Nowell and Crisp make very strong GPP plays against a zone defense. The best way to attack Utah St is from the perimeter so these two could certainly have big games.
Utah St has a guy in Queta who could cause a ton of problems down low even though he has foul issues of his own. I think he makes a very solid GPP play in this spot. Brito is capable of randomly going off so he should be considered for GPPs while Porter and Bean make very interesting GPP punt plays.
Preferred Plays: Crisp, Bean
NORTH DAKOTA ST vs DUKE
This game should be a route from the get-go and that makes me want to look elsewhere. I do believe that we can use Ward and Shahid in this spot and I think they both go overlooked. Nobody else on NDSU is on my list of possible plays for any formats. Ward looked really solid the other night against NCC so I do like his upside.
The HUGE question is what do we do with Duke in this spot? They should win this game by 40+ so do they rest guys or do they let them play and get back to being sharp as a unit? Most of the starters should see 28-32 minutes in this one with the last 6 minutes or so being the bench guys. I don’t think we can afford to pay up for Williamson or Barrett on a slate that lacks must play value. I do have tournament interest in Jones, Reddish, and DeLaurier.
Preferred Plays: Ward, Reddish, DeLaurier
GEORGIA ST vs HOUSTON
Surprisingly, I do have an interest in a handful of guys from Georgia St in this one. Houston has an elite D so I am a bit worried but they can be beaten by three-pointers and guys who get to the FT line. Simonds is too expensive for me in this game but guys like Kane Williams, Thomas, and Wilson interest me as shooters and guys who get to the FT line. Benlevi might be an excellent GPP play as he will go virtually unowned and has big double-double upside.
Georgia St allows teams to shoot a TON of 3’s so that plays into the strength of Houston. Davis Jr, Brooks, and Hinton love to fire away from the outside while Jarreau is solid enough while offering us assist upside. The bigs from Houston just never excite me so I am going to stick to the shooters. I think this game is an excellent game stack option.
Preferred Plays: Williams, Benlevi, Davis Jr, Hinton
LIBERTY vs MISSISSIPPI ST
This is another game that I think could be stacked profitably. I really like Scottie James‘ game and while the price is going to make it tough, I think he is somebody we need shares of in GPPs. He has shooters around him and that is something that could cause problems for MSU. Homesly, Cabbil, and Pacheco-Ortiz are the guys around him that can get hot from three. I really think it makes sense to pair James with one of these guys to benefit from the kick-out threes.
For MSU, I think we need to look at using Perry or Holman as Liberty has given up big games to post players from the Power-6 conferences this season. I consider Perry to be the better player but Holman has been playing pretty well. Carter is definitely in play now that he has gotten a slight price drop while Peters makes sense as a GPP play with upside. This is also a spot where Woodard could see more minutes should MSU go a little smaller.
Preferred Plays: James, Pacheco-Ortiz, Carter, Perry
IONA vs UNC
This game is going to be extremely popular so we have to make sure we get exposure to this one as it could approach 170-175 total points scores. Iona has a few guys that are in play even with McGill being priced too high for my liking. Agee and Gist are my preferred plays and they make sense in all formats. Crawford and Perez are slightly behind them but still very strong plays in this game.
I have a ton of interest in 5 guys on UNC as this team should approach 100 points in this game. My preferred plays are White and Maye against a team that runs zone around half of the time and is undersized. Johnson is slightly behind White and Maye but does offer similar upside. Williams is a GPP dart play because of his ability to knock down threes, while I think Little is an excellent GPP play in a spot where I could see him getting more minutes.
Preferred Plays: Agee, Gist, White, Maye, Little
UCF vs VCU
This game is a no thank you for me. If we hear that M. Evans is 100% good-to-go for VCU then I will want exposure at his price point due to his upside. Other than that, nobody stands out as somebody we have to get into our lineups.
Preferred Plays: NONE
OHIO ST vs IOWA ST
For Ohio St, I think it starts with K.Wesson in this spot. We know that Iowa St gives up a ton of rebounds and lacks real size down low. He has a huge advantage, the problem is that he commits a ton of fouls. I prefer to use CJ Jackson over Wesson because I expect him to be on the floor for nearly 40 minutes. We can attack ISU from the perimeter with shooters. Woods is somebody that will garner ownership and its tough to argue with the way he has been playing. I worry about him because he doesn’t necessarily shoot it very effectively.
We always want to find a way to get ISU exposure and I think we do that with guys like Shayok, Wigginton, and Jacobson. Guys like Weiler-Babb and Horton-Tucker are definitely in play but are not guys I am trying to jam into any lineups. It can be tough to predict who on ISU gets it done but we do know that a couple of them are going to have a strong game.
Preferred Plays: Jackson, Wigginton
ST LOUIS vs VIRGINIA TECH
This game frustrates me as I feel like we need to get exposure but nobody appears to be in a smash spot. Virginia Tech gives up a TON of three-point attempts, the problem is that STL does not shoot the 3 well at all. Isabell is probably the best option to attack VT with and should be used in GPPs. Goodwin has GPP upside and will probably go overlooked. Foreman could be considered as a GPP dart option.
VT gets a bit muddied with the return of Robinson. We have not heard how many minutes he will see so we have to guess at what this does to the team. The best way to attack STL is from the 3 and with FTs, which happens to be where VT excels. I think the return of Robinson actually helps Alexander-Walker and allows him to play freely off of the ball. I think that Blackshear and Hill are still in play for GPPs but they lose their cash game safety. Guys like Outlaw and Bede probably lose their appeal with Robinson’s return.
Preferred Plays: Isabell, Goodwin, Alexander-Walker
Make sure you tune in to the slack channel to get my updates as news comes out! We will be discussing CBB all afternoon and evening long. I will be updating my Coaches-Notes throughout the day. We will discuss what injuries we need to monitor and what they mean to our construction. I will also be posting my cores for each site in slack!