College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 2/27/19

College basketball season is in full tilt.

March Madness is still roughly a month away, but you can get in all the college hoops hype by playing daily contests at FanDuel today. If you've played NBA DFS before, it's quite simple: pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards and one utility spot you can use for either position. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

Where scoring differs from NBA is in the blocks and steals categories, with each worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in daily NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST and consists of 11 games. Three top-10 teams are in play, including 10th-ranked Marquette visiting Villanova tonight.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Carsen Edwards, Purdue ($8,500): At home hosting Illinois, the Purdue Boilermakers are favored by 13 points in a game with a 148.5 over/under, placing them second on the slate with a 80.75 implied total. vs. Illinois. That's 4.15 points above their season average 7.85 above their average output in conference play, which bodes well for their top scorer. Averaging 23.4 points a game, Edwards uses 37.1% of his team's offensive possessions, ranking fourth in the nation in that category. He has struggled in recent games, though, having scored 20 points just once in the last three games and averaging 20.1 FanDuel points in that span. Two of those were on the road, and Edwards will return home tonight, where he's shooting 5.6% better from the floor and 4.6% better from three. His 34.6-point average would be enough for 4.07 points per $1,000 at this price tag.

Phil Booth, Villanova ($7,900): It appears that as Phil Booth goes as do the Wildcats. After winning 10 straight games to start the calendar year, 'Nova has now dropped three of four and three straight on the road. In those four, Booth has scored more than 20 twice, but he's also tallied 14 or fewer in the other two while shooting 38.8% from the floor across all four. He went 7-for-30 from three and turned the ball over more times than he assisted on a bucket. For the year, though, the experienced guard is knocking down 43.6% from the field and 36.6% from three en route to 18.4 points a game. Along with his peripherals, he's at 28.4 FanDuel points a game and has very often hit 30 or more when his shot's on. His opponent, Marquette, is a respectable 43rd in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com, yet they 5.4 more possessions than Villanova and, as a result, allow 71.0 points per game to Big East opponents. Booth should be able to get back on track in this spot.

James Akinjo, Georgetown ($6,400): Georgetown is atop the 22 teams on the FanDuel slate, sporting an 81.25 implied total at home against DePaul. They are five-point favorites, and the 157.5 over/under is also the single highest of the night. In fact, it's the only one over 150 combined points. And the reason they're getting a large portion of that is the Demons' lackluster defense, which ranks 168th in efficiency en route to 77.6 opponent points per game in Big East play. Individually, Akinjo's numbers have been down a bit, as the freshman has struggled to a 28.7% shooting clip in conference, including 25.9% in his last four. During that span, he's been held below 20 FanDuel points three times, though despite that his average still sits at 22.8 FanDuel points a game. The assist upside has been there, too -- he has 17 over the last two -- as it has throughout the year. Akinjo has tallied seven or more assists eight times, totaling 28.9 FanDuel points per game in those. Look for more of that on his home floor tonight.

Lamonte Turner, Tennessee ($5,400): Also among the obvious top-five teams by implied total, the Tennessee Volunteers are just 4.5-point road favorites over Mississippi. But their 76.25 total is as attractive as any, especially for a Vols team that's failed to reach 75 points in four of their last six. They're due to bounce back closer to their 83.6 average, and the Rebels will likely aid in that, allowing 72.5 points in SEC play. Turner has been a mainstay in the starting lineup for the past nine games, averaging 33.4 minutes a game and turning 9.6 field goal attempts into 11.8 points and 22.7 FanDuel points. That average alone is above his salary implied output of 21.6. Lock in Turner as a key value play here.

Jase Febres, Texas ($4,700): Usually we want to target the high total teams, but the Texas Longhorns are likely to be without starting guard Kerwin Roach (suspension) for another game. His absence has opened up 29.9 minutes, 11.5 shots and 26.6% of the team's offensive plays. Febres made a start in his place last game and impressed with 15 points (26.5 FanDuel points) against a good Oklahoma defense. Baylor's defense is 58th, and Texas' total is under 65 given the spread and total. Still, Febres is a prime punt play alongside the high-priced Edwards.

Forwards

Jessie Govan, Georgetown ($7,800): Pairing Akinjo and Govan could prove very lucrative this evening. As Akinjo operates in an assist-heavy play-making role, Govan has a 25.2% usage for the year, which jumps to 27.1% through 14 conference games. He also grabs 13.6% of rebounds -- 19.8% on the defensive end -- and averages a team-high 13.1 field goal attempts. He averages 32.1 FanDuel points across all games and 33.6 at Capital One Arena. Starting with Govan, this is a very stackable game for DFS purposes.

Paul Reed, DePaul ($6,800): Opposite Govan and the Hoyas, Reed is the go-to among DePaul forwards. He possesses a 21.5% usage rate and rips down 24.4% of available defensive rebounds, bringing his total rate to 18.2% -- the highest on the team by a wide margin. However, like others, Reed is a buy-low guy here. He has a total of 21.8 FanDuel points over his last two games -- 3.1 below his per-game production for the year. In his latest, though, he was limited to 19 minutes. He was regularly playing -- at the very least -- 27-plus minutes and has logged, on average, 25.5 a game (28.2 in Big East games). He's used all this opportunity to surpass 30 FanDuel points eight times this season, and a head-to-head with an uptempo Georgetown team (20th in adjusted tempo) only serves to raise that sky-high ceiling.

Saddiq Bey, Villanova ($6,300): Doubling down on Villanova isn't a bad idea. Their 73.75 total is right around their season average and more than they've scored in any of their last three games. They have also enjoyed the comfort of their own area, where they average 75.5 points and 77.4 against Big East foes there. Bey, who started the year as a bench player, has seemed to progress throughout, now playing 35.2 minutes over the last six. In that time, he's averaged 10.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 blocks-plus-steals (24.6 FanDuel points). He requires 25.2 for four-times value, so a close higher-paced game should help get him over that threshold tonight.

Tariq Owens, Texas Tech ($5,300): While we are completely fading the Oklahoma State Cowboys on the road at Texas Tech, the usually low-scoring Red Raiders aren't without intrigue. The oddsmakers have them at 72.75 points -- 0.55 above their season average and 2.85 above their average against Big 12 teams only. It's a product of OK-State's 138th-ranked defense, which shouldn't present too big of an issue for Owens. The 6'10" big played a mere 17 minutes last game, but he's been rather productive in conference play. Not only did he yield 25.9 FanDuel points last time against the Cowboys, but he's putting up 21.6 FanDuel points in 26.4 minutes against all Big 12 foes. Absent foul trouble, he should see 27 to 33 minutes in the Tech frontcourt, making him an option in all formats.

Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BRO14THEKID. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.