Studs
Nick Rakocevic, F, USC (DK: 8,800, FD: N/A)
There is a good reason Nick Rakocevic is the most expensive player on the slate. The big man is coming off back-to-back double-doubles and tallied an impressive 27 points and 16 rebounds against South Dakota State. That was good for 62.5 fantasy points on DraftKings. The Trojans will go up against a decent Pepperdine team, but this is a Pepperdine team that will score plenty of points too. The Waves average nearly 79 points per game so far this season. They could reach that number against the Trojans and still lose by ten.
Filip Petrusev, F, Gonzaga (DK: 7,600, FD: 7,900)
Filip Petrusev has been extremely consistent this season, tallying at least 29.5 DK fantasy points in each game so far this campaign. He played a season high 30 minutes against Texas A&M even those the Bulldogs easily won 79-49. That was still the toughest game the Bulldogs have played this season, but hopefully Petrusev will get close to that 30 minute mark again against Texas-Arlington. It will be a blowout though, so that number could easily sink closer to 20. But when he is on the floor, Gonzaga will be able to feed their big man who will make easy work of the UTA defense.
Bargains
Charles Manning Jr., G, LSU (DK: 4,800, FD: 4,600)
Charles Manning is coming off his best game of the season when he tallied 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal against Nicholls in 28 minutes of action. Manning has not taken too many shots though, which is a concern. Teammate Trendon Watford (DK: 4,900, FD: 4,400) is at a similar price and will likely take more shots. The potential concern with Watford is his turnovers. He has committed 13 in the last two games.
Isaiah Moss, G, Kansas (DK: 5,200, FD: 4,800)
Isaiah Moss missed Kansas’ first game with a hamstring injury. He came off the bench in game two and played 25 minutes, but never really found his footing, tallying 8 points and 3 rebounds. Against Monmouth on Friday Moss only played 15 minutes in the 112-57 blowout victory. But in those 15 minutes he tallied 21 points. Moss could still see his minutes limited assuming Kansas will not need him to beat East Tennessee State, but he could play a lot more too and either way he is not a bad deal at this price.
Jonah Mathews, G, USC (DK: 4,900, FD: N/A)
Jonah Mathews finally showed us some good fantasy basketball last game against Nevada. Mathews is going to take quite a few shots, but his fantasy production is often tied to those shots falling. If he is having an off shooting night, Mathews can easily disappear. But against Nevada he added 5 rebounds and 4 assists to his stat sheet. Mathews did not shoot well in that game, but the Trojans are back at the friendly confines against Pepperdine, so expect him to score a dozen or more points and, hopefully, continue to add some rebounds and assists as well. In a high scoring game like this, he is worth the risk.
Avoid
Anthony Lamb, F, Vermont (DK: 8,000, FD: 7,800)
Anthony Lamb should be well-known to all college basketball fans, but this is a game to avoid him. Lamb has had an amazing career at Vermont and his senior year could be his best yet. He did score 23 points with 13 rebounds against St. John’s last game, but Virginia is not St. John’s. The over/under in this game is a mere 114 and the Cavaliers are clear favorites too. That means paying this much for Lamb is a bit much.
