This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
DraftKings is offering a similar slate Wednesday to what we saw the day prior; a nine-game contest with a $2,000 first-place prize. We're void of marquee matchups, but unlike Tuesday when spreads where massive across the board, we have a handful of games that are expected to be competitive in nature. There's also some wide disparity in point totals, highlighted by UTSA-Little Rock's 165 point total and lowlighted by Weber State-Nevada's mark of 133.5. Two other tames sit below 140 points and two are at 150 or greater, so we largely know where we want to target.
Top Players
Johni Broome, F, Auburn ($8,300)
There are some top-priced options from second-tier schools Wednesday that make for intriguing plays, and they could come with lower usage because we're simply unfamiliar with their game. Little Rock's Jaylen Crocker-Johnson highlights those options for me. But I want to build stably at the top here, and Broome really fits that bill. He's been priced as high as $9,600, and in two of his last three games, he's returned at least 5.2x at this discount. UNCA has a talented big in Drew Pember, who can stretch defenses, so it will be interesting to see if Broome matches up with him defensively. If he does, fouls can be a concern. Still, I look for Broome to be motivated to prove to be the better big, and for the Tigers to play through him offensively, as his 33.4 percent usage rate of late suggests.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, F, Creighton ($8,200)
I love San Francisco's Jonathan Mogbo, but he's so expensive and in a game with much less pace. For $1,600 cheaper, we can take a shot at similar upside in Kalkbrenner. Building around any of the three top Blue Jays is usually a successful starting point, and Kalkbrenner happens to be the cheapest -- a tremendous discount from the $9,600 tag he had earlier in the year. UNLV ranks 219th defensively, and we know Creighton flirts with 80 points nightly. There's some risk in inconsistent minutes, but I find that to be mitigated by the size the Rebels have. Kalkbrenner will be needed to defend Kalib Boone and/or Isaiah Cottrell.
Middle Tier
Adama Bal, G, Santa Clara ($6,100)
The Arizona transfer appears to be coming into his own, averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals across his last five, taking 11 shots nightly. Three of those games came against bigger fish in Oregon, Cal and Ohio State. He's shooting under 50 percent in that span, but is also getting to the foul line five times nightly and converting nearly 95 percent of the freebies. We've got a high 150.5 point game total and a tight spread, so it's a clear game to invest in, and Bal is fairly priced as the Broncos emerging go-to option.
Carlton Linguard, F, Texas-San Antonio ($6,100)
Linguard's game logs are all over the place, but he's averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks over his last three, most recently moving back into the starting lineup. He's a 7-footer that can stretch the floor, taking over three 3-pointers nightly and connecting at a 42.9 percent clip. Little Rock checks in 87th in tempo and 330th in defensive efficiency, leaving the Roadrunners with nearly an 80-point implied total. And they don't have anyone over 6-foot-8 in their rotation.
Bargain Options
Stefan Todorovic, F, San Francisco ($3,800)
As this column evolved, I found ample guys I was interested in in the $6,000-$8,500 range, and want to use as many of them as possible. As such, I'm willing to take some punt plays below $4,000 to squeeze them in. It's not easy, as those priced there can be in spots for opportunity, but are largely in bad matchups. Seattle ranks 86th in defensive efficiency, and with the Dons at 28th in that category and 294th in tempo, we're getting no boost at all in the matchup. But Todorovic has started two straight, averaging 9.5 points and 2.0 rebounds. No upside whatsoever, but if we can squeeze out even 11 DKP, we'll be okay if we don't miss on our spending elsewhere. FIU's Javaunte Hawkins and UNLV's Jackie Johnson are also under consideration.
Josh Banks, G, UNC-Asheville ($3,000)
We know the Bulldogs are going to get blown out here, and they come with an implied total of only 64.5 points. Banks is locked in as a starter, is minimum priced, and he's a volume shooter, averaging 9.5 attempts nightly while hoisting 21 in his last two games and a massive 25 shots in a prior game. The only games he's played under 20 minutes have been blowouts against lower division schools. He posted 22.5 DKP in 24 minutes in UNCA's only prior game against a Power 5 school. That may not repeat here, as Auburn ranks 16th in defensive efficiency. But it doesn't need to. If he knocks down just three shots, we've already got a 2x return, though we certainly expect marginally better results.
