College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 12/14/20

College basketball season is finally here, and we have a three-game slate today.

March Madness is a ways off at this point, 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 slate, which locks at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers ($8,100) - The Wooden Award watchlist candidate has become the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' leader. He rarely leaves the court and is posting a team-best 29.3% usage rate, per KenPom. With Geo Baker still sidelined, Harper Jr. should continue to put up monster numbers. He's recorded at least 32.8 FanDuel points in all four games this season.

McKinley Wright IV ($7,600) - With Tyler Bey no longer around, Wright IV has predictably ascended into the Colorado Buffaloes' best player. The senior plays nearly the entire game has a solid 23.0% usage rate and is incredibly efficient shooting the ball (62.5 effective foal goal percentage). He also has a strong assist rate (34.2% per KenPom) to top it all off. The matchup with the Northern Colorado Bears is intriguing as the Bears are 207th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Koby McEwen, Marquette ($6,600) - McEwen is leading all Marquette Golden Eagles with a 119.0 offensive rating, per KenPom. He also leads the Golden Eagles in minutes played (30.2 minutes per game) and scoring (15.3 points per game). Throw in a pace-up game with Creighton and McEwen looks like a nice play. Marquette is 184th in KenPom's tempo rankings while Creighton is 80th.

Mitch Ballack, Creighton ($5,800) - The sharpshooter has struggled mightily with his shot this season as he's knocking down only 38.9% of his field goal attempts, after shooting above 42.1% in his first years at Creighton. As a result, his salary has cratered. Take advantage of his low salary while you can, it's only a matter of time before the senior regains his form. Fellow guards, Denzel Mahoney ($7,000) and Marcus Zegarowski ($7,500) are also worth consideration.

Daylen Kountz, Northern Colorado ($3,000) - The matchup is difficult but rostering Kountz will allow you to roster almost anybody you want on Monday night. The junior guard is averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks/steals in 25.0 minutes. He won't be overwhelmed in an obvious step up in competition as Northern Colorado takes on Colorado (Colorado ranks 30th in KenPom's defensive rankings). Kountz transferred from Colorado to Northern Colorado after last season. Backcourt mate, Bodie Hume ($6,100), is averaging an impressive 22.5 points and 10.0 rebounds this season. He's worth consideration, albeit significantly more expensive than Kountz.

Forwards

Donta Scott, Maryland ($6,800) - Scott has been the lone bright spot for the Maryland Terrapins this season. The sophomore is posting an impressive 151.8 offensive rating, per KenPom. He's also a force on the defensive end of the court. Scott's 7.0 rebounds per game and 1.0 blocks per game leads the Terrapins. He's also averaging 11.6 points (third on the team), 1.2 assists, and 0.6 steals in 24.2 minutes.

Jeriah Horne, Colorado ($6,300) - Horne leads the Buffaloes with a strong 27.4% usage rate per KenPom and he's also posting impressive rebounding rates. The senior is coming off a double-double against the Tennessee Volunteers in his last outing. He should have no issues dominating an inferior Northern Colorado squad on Monday night.

Christian Bishop, Creighton ($6,200) - The Creighton center is averaging 1.22 FanDuel points per minute. At that production rate, Bishop should pay off his salary in 20.3 minutes of action. He's logged 21-plus minutes in Creighton's two competitive games this season.

Dawson Garcia, Marquette ($5,800) - The freshman was a four-star prospect in the 2020 class. Garcia plays the second most minutes and is the second leading scorer amongst the Golden Eagles. Garcia is averaging 12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.0 blocks/steals in 29.3 minutes. He may be forced into monster minutes if frontcourt mate, Theo John, continues to rack up fouls (recorded four fouls in three out of the last four games).

Kur Jockuch ($4,100) - The salary doesn't appear to have taken Northern Colorado's first two games into account. Jockuch is averaging 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks/steals in 27.5 minutes. As noted above, the matchup with Colorado is rough. However, Jockuch's expected increase in minutes should offset any inefficiency concerns. He's tied with Bodie Hume for the team lead in minutes played this season.

Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her 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.