NCAAB

FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 1/31/22

Matt Hiatt Jan 31st, 2022
Paolo Banchero and the Duke Blue Devils are in a fantastic spot on Monday night. Who else should we consider targeting?

College basketball is in the midst of conference play, and we have a four-game slate today.

March Madness is only two months 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.

Scoring differs from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

James Akinjo, Baylor ($7,000) - The Baylor Bears' floor general has been an effective two-way player this season. Akinjo is posting a 25.5% usage rate (leads team), 31.2% assist rate (leads team), and a 4.1% steal rate (second-best on the team). He may be less popular than usual since his last three box scores have been less than stellar. I will note that Akinjo has made only six out of his 27 field goal attempts over the last three games. I'm expecting Akinjo to break out soon; his true shooting percentage is 51.2% this season.

Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame ($6,500) - Goodwin leads the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in scoring this season (15.4 points per game). He is also logging heavy minutes (leads team with an average of 34.5 minutes per game). The junior is also an effective rebounder (4.8 rebounds per game). KenPom has Notre Dame projected to score 69 points on Monday night. If Notre Dame meets that projection, there's a good chance Goodwin played a leading role.

Jeremy Roach, Duke ($5,300) - Roach has excelled with Trevor Keels sidelined. In three games without Keels, Roach is averaging 22.9 FanDuel points per game. His stellar play is likely to continue as the Duke Blue Devils take on Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have struggled on the defensive end of the court this season. They are ranked 109th in defensive efficiency. Note, there is a chance Trevor Keels returns for this game, and if he does return, he is a solid play instead. I'd rather play Keels than Roach if that scenario presents itself. Fortunately, this is the first game of the slate so we should know if Keels is playing or not by the 7 p.m. EST lock.

Mike Miles Jr., TCU ($5,100) - Miles Jr. will likely be very popular after his 38.6 FanDuel points performance against the Louisiana State Fighting Tigers. He plays a ton of minutes and soaks up a ton of usage. The sophomore leads the Texas Christian Horned Frogs with a 27.6% usage rate. He has logged 31-plus minutes in six straight games. Miles Jr. is significantly under-salaried for his current role.

Jordan Goldwire, Oklahoma ($4,900) - When Goldwire asserts himself offensively, he can stuff the stat sheet. Moreover, Goldwire is one of the few players under $5,000 that can top 30 FanDuel points. He leads the Oklahoma Sooners with an assist rate of 23.6% and a steal rate of 3.2%. Additionally, he is averaging 10.4 points per game over the last five games.

Forwards

Paolo Banchero, Duke ($8,500) - Banchero has lived up to his five-star hype for the Duke Blue Devils. The freshman's rates are off the charts across the board. He leads Duke in usage rate (27.5%), shot rate (26.6%; percentage of the team's shots by the player when the player is on the floor), and defensive rebounding rate (21.2%). Banchero is the safest play on the board; he has tallied 30-plus FanDuel points in an eye-opening nine straight games.

Keegan Murray, Iowa ($8,300) - Murray has uncharacteristically struggled with his shot in each of the last three games. He has posted a field goal percentage of 36.4%, 33.3%, and 35.7% during that time span. That is noticeably lower than his seasonal average of 56.5%. The matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions represents a bounce-back spot. The Nittany Lions are allowing an effective field goal percentage of 48.9% to opponents. I like Murray's chances of busting out of his shooting slump on Monday night.

Mark Williams, Duke ($7,200) - Big Mike is the classic tournament play. The Duke center can rack up fantasy points in a hurry (1.24 FanDuel points per minute), but he is a high-variance play because his playing time fluctuates from game to game. Williams could really post a monster box score against Notre Dame's small frontcourt. Lastly, the sophomore has cleared 30 FanDuel points in five out of the last eight games. I think he could fly under the radar because I'm expecting Keegan Murray and Paolo Banchero to be two of the most popular players on this slate.

Nate Laszewski, Notre Dame ($5,400) - Laszewski's salary is on the rise, but he is still under-salaried. The Irish forward is averaging an impressive 28.3 FanDuel points over the last four games. The matchup with Duke is difficult, but it's also a pace-up spot for Notre Dame. Notre Dame ranks 269th in adjusted tempo while Duke checks in at 134th. I also like Laszewski's teammate, Paul Atkinson Jr. ($5,600) as a fine mid-tier option.

Seth Lundy, Penn State ($4,900) - Lundy has struggled to score the ball since the calendar turned to 2022. The senior's field goal percentage has been under 30% in four straight games. He is in a "get-right" spot against the fast-paced and defensively-inconsistent Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa ranks 98th in defensive efficiency and 58th in adjusted tempo. Lundy is averaging 13.2 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Those marks are second and third best amongst the Nittany Lions, respectively. If you need even more salary relief, Lundy's teammate, Greg Lee ($4,400), is also a good option. Lee has a solid floor since the forward has recorded at least 12 FanDuel points in six consecutive games.


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.