This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
Conference tournament week treats us to a rare five-game early slate (three on FanDuel) that tips off with a FSU/Syracuse matchup at noon EST. DraftKings is rewarding us daytime players with a $2k top prize in the $10 Big Jame contest.
Top Players
Alondes Williams, G, Wake Forest ($9,400 DK, $8,400 FD)
I wrote this column in reverse, picking the values first, and it was clear early that there were enough viable value plays to slot in the most expensive player. Coming of ACC Player of the Year honors, Williams brings a more-than-reasonable floor with a legitimate 50-point ceiling. He also went off in a matchup against BC earlier this year, putting up 40.8 on DK in what was a 30-point blowout. He's also the only rotation player on the slate with a usage rate over 30 percent. What's not to like?
Buddy Boeheim, G, Syracuse ($8,400 DK, $8,100 FD)
I know it sounds strange, but I'm not actually in love with Boeheim here. Because of all the available value on the early slate, however, I'm simply slotting in the player with one of the higher ceilings. Syracuse probably needs a miracle run to make this year's dance, but that's exactly what the Boeheim family does. This is also a FSU team that has been ravaged by injuries since holding Boeheim in check earlier this season, so I'm not too married to the results from December and January. He also plays more minutes than anyone else on the slate, in addition to having the third-highest usage rate (among starters).
Middle Tier
Jacob Young, G, Oregon ($6,100 DK)
With Will Richardson ruled out for the Pac-12 tournament due to illness, Young will be tasked with manning point guard for the Ducks. He gets a matchup against a dreadful Oregon State team that has won just three games all season and registers an effective FG percentage defense in the bottom 20 of all 357 Division I programs. Young put up 21 in the regular season finale in the absence of Richardson, and should score well again with the Ducks projected to flirt with 80 points.
RayQuan Evans, G, Florida State ($6,000 DK, $6,800 FD)
Evans was the mis-price of the entire slate last game, but despite a $1400 increase, the senior guard still isn't cost prohibitive to use. In fact, with games of 32.8 and 29.8 DK points in his last two, there's still value here. Evans has handled Syracuse well this season too. His first matchup saw 23.8 DK points, but that came in a return from injury in the only game he's came off the bench all year. The Seminoles beat the Orange in a road matchup later in the year, where Evans started and logged 30.8 DK Points.
Value Plays
Dallas Walton, F, Wake Forest ($4,900 DK, $7,500 FD)
Walton is still priced at only $4,900 despite recording 38.5 and 37.0 DK points in his last two games. It's clear DraftKings hasn't quite had time to adjust to that second game, which was played Thursday afternoon. BC does have respectable interior defense, but that's not enough to take me off Walton given the price. Oddsmakers haven't released the data necessary for implied totals at the time of this posting, but KenPom projects the Demon Deacons to put up 76, which should put them among the day's leaders.
Jaiden Delaire, F, Stanford ($4,600 DK, $4,900 FD)
Perhaps Stanford not being in the slate a ton has led to a mis-price, as Delaire has back-to-back games with exactly 22.0 DK points -- one of which occurred against top-seeded Arizona and the other against this same opponent (ASU). Delaire has started the last 10 games and sports the second-highest usage rate on the team, and with this possibly being his last year (or last game) with the program, he'll hopefully want to finish on a high note. ASU has better defensive marks than one would guess, but the price tag here makes this play too good to pass up. Still, if you don't trust Delaire, you can't go wrong with usage leader Spencer Jones at just $5,500 DK/$6,000 FD, either.
Bonus: The X-factor on Tuesday's early slate might be FSU guard Caleb Mills, who returned off the bench last Saturday to put up 24.8 DK points in just 18 minutes. The downside is that Mills left for the locker room late, though apparently the injury wasn't considered serious. This is a player with slate-breaking potential at just $4,800 DK (I'm less exited about the $5,800 FD price). You'll probably want some exposure if you can obtain early assurance that he's healthy. Be sure to follow @RotoWireCBB for all the latest injury news.
