FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/27/22

March Madness is a ways away, but you can get into college hoops today by playing daily contests at FanDuel.

If you've played NBA DFS before, college basketball DFS is similar. You pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards, and one utility spot. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap, and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

The scoring settings differ from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is worth two FanDuel points, rather than the three you get in NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, let's attack today's main slate. All betting lines come from NCAAB odds.

Guards

Jaden Ivey, Purdue ($7,600) - Ivey is expected to play tonight after sitting Purdue's last game, and he'll be suiting up in the DFS game of the night. Purdue is a 2.5-point favorite at Iowa, and the total is a slate-best (by 17.5 points) 157.0 points. The Hawkeyes (52nd in adjusted tempo, per KenPom) are a huge pace-up matchup for Purdue (220th), and Iowa is just 93rd in adjusted defense. Ivey can thrive in an up-and-down affair. He's got a 27.1% usage rate for the year -- according to Sports-Reference -- and averages 16.7 points, 5.0 boards, 2.9 assists and 1.7 combined blocks/steals.

Sasha Stefanovic, Purdue ($6,500) - Stefanovic does nearly all of his work from beyond the arc, with 6.6 of his 8.4 shots per game coming from three-point land. That makes him a volatile dude to roster. That's apparent in his last four FanDuel outputs, which read: 29.9, 10.6, 32.6 and 17.1 points. He can land on the high end of his outcomes in said matchup with Iowa. Stefanovic has logged at least 34 minutes in five of the last six contests, and he likely won't be as popular as some of this game's big-name studs.

Boogie Ellis, USC ($5,200) - Iowa and Purdue own the slate's top two implied totals. After that, it's USC sporting a juicy 75.50-point implied total as 11.0-point home favorites versus Stanford. Ellis is a low-salary piece of the Trojans, and he carries a 22.1% usage rate that ranks second on the team. He's coming off a dud of 6.4 FanDuel points in just 20 minutes in a blowout win over Arizona State. Prior to that, he'd seen at least 25 minutes in every game and had posted at least 21.5 FanDuel points in three of his past four.

Joe Toussaint, Iowa ($5,000) - If it wasn't clear already, I'm super into the Iowa-Purdue game. Like I said above, the total is 17.5 points higher than any other game's over/under, and with just five games on the slate, I am going to be overweight on it. Toussaint gets us a piece of the action at a lower salary, and I want to save salary at guard in order to have cap room for a loaded forward position. Toussaint has played at least 20 minutes in four straight, and Purdue checks in just 66th in adjusted defense.

Forwards

Keegan Murray, Iowa ($8.400) - The top end of the forward pool is full of quality options. Murray is my favorite of the bunch -- and favorite play on the slate overall -- at home versus Purdue. As I just mentioned, the Boilers are not as sturdy as usual on the defensive end (66th). Murray can smash tonight. He's averaging 40.7 FanDuel points per game for the campaign and has recorded at least 32.5 FanDuel points in eight of his last nine games, including outbursts of 53.1 and 56.5 in that time. I'm all in.

E.J. Liddell, Ohio State ($8,200) - Liddell is another high-end forward who can feast. Ohio State is a 6.5-point favorite with a 72.50-point implied total for a road bout with Minnesota. With averages of 19.4 points and 7.3 rebounds, Liddell is the clear top dog for the Buckeyes, and his 32.8% usage rate paces the team's regulars by 10.6 percentage points. He should have his way with the Golden Gophers, who are 103rd in adjusted defense.

Trevion Williams, Purdue ($7,000) - I lean Williams over Zach Edey ($8,300) for two reasons. One is the salary. The other is I could see Edey having a little trouble keeping up in what should be a fast-paced game at Carver-Hawkeye. As a freshman a year ago, Edey played only 11 minutes and took just two shots in Purdue's lone meeting with Iowa. Williams' output is tough to pin down on a nightly basis, but if you get him on the right night, he can be a huge difference-maker. He's got seven games of 30-plus FanDuel points, including a spike outing of 58.9 FanDuel points.

Evan Battey, Colorado ($5,000) - Battey is a serviceable midrange pick. Colorado is playing at Washington, and the 2.5-point spread in that game is one of just three games on the slate with a spread closer than 11.5 points. While the upside is lacking, Battey is unlikely to faceplant as he's produced at least 15.3 FanDuel points in five straight while getting at least 27 minutes in four of those games. ... Elsewhere, if Jamison Battle ($7,700) has to sit again for Minnesota, Treyton Thompson ($4,400) becomes a more appealing value target. Justin Ahrens ($3,600) has played at least 22 minutes in 12 straight for OSU and is a viable dart throw.