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Today's DraftKings NCAA Tournament DFS lineup picks for college basketball on 3/17/22. Mike Marteny's CBB daily fantasy advice for 2022 March Madness.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my Irish friends, and to those that are only Irish for a day. We know who you are! More importantly, this is another National holiday: the first day of the NCAA Tournament! We know you are involved in dozens if not hundreds of groups already, but if you would like to match wits with the RotoBaller writers, we have a group for you to join here.
All 16 games are in this monster and most of them are good. You've filled out every bracket from here to eternity, so you already know which 32 teams are playing. There will be upsets. There will be blowouts. This will be an all-day tilt for DFS players. The first things I look for on a slate like this is matchups, then pricing. Some star of a mid-major is going to blow this up at a mid-range price. We have to try to find those players.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks for DraftKings on 3/17/22 starting at 12:15 pm Eastern. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
DraftKings DFS Guards - NCAA Tournament
Jacob Gilyard, Richmond ($8,200)
I'm not too interested in the pay-ups at guard. Some of them have their moments, but none really check the boxes like Gilyard. He's a great defender and good scorer in an environment that could produce a first-round upset. Gilyard came back for this specific reason: to make a NCAA Tournament run. Iowa is a good team, but Gilyard is capable of carrying Richmond here even in a loss. He racked up 147.75 DraftKings points in the four games of the A-10 tournament, so he's coming in hot.
Tevin Brown, Murray State ($7,900)
Brown carried the Racers in the Ohio Valley Tournament, putting up 87 DraftKings points in the two games. San Francisco is a very tough team, but they don't have the one guy that carries the team like Brown does for the Racers. Brown finished the season strong after a mid-February swoon. You know Brown and the Racers want a crack at Kentucky in the second round to try to prove they are the best team in the state. How's that for motivation?
Ben Shungu, Vermont ($7,000)
The Catamounts ran roughshod through the American East Tournament to the surprise of absolutely no one. They are one of the more live dogs on day 1 of the tournament thanks to Shungu. He racked up 40.25 DraftKings points against the only Power 5 team the Catamounts played this year (Maryland). Maryland is not Arkansas, but the Hogs can and will give up their share of points. Vermont needs a big game from Shungu to hang around, and the price is right to take a shot on him in GPP formats. He hasn't been under 25 DraftKings points in over a month. The last time he didn't hit that mark in a game that wasn't a blowout win was in early December against Providence.
Ali Ali, Akron ($5,000)
I like the Zips, but this is a rough matchup for them. Still, Ali starts and averaged 14.2 points per game this year. He hasn't been held under double figures in over a month and scored 17 on a pretty good Ohio State team earlier this year. The risk with Ali is that he doesn't do much aside from scoring. The price is low enough to take the chance since Akron is going to have to score to have any chance in this one.
Remy Martin, Kansas ($4,400)
Martin was a star at Arizona State last year, but injuries have kept him from really having an impact with the Jayhawks this year. That changed in the Big 12(10) Tournament. Martin played big and important minutes – the minutes that were previously going to Dajuan Harris – when needed against TCU and Texas Tech. Martin put up 48.25 DraftKings points in 45 minutes in the semis and finals of the Big 12(10) Tournament. I'm riding the hot hand. I thought Martin would have an impact from the beginning. That didn't come to fruition, but he may have a big impact when it counts the most.
Also consider: JD Notae, Arkansas ($8,400); Baylor Scheierman, South Dakota State ($7,600); TyTy Washington, Kentucky ($6,900); Khalil Shabazz, San Francisco ($6,700); Eli Brooks, Michigan ($6,500); Joe Bryant, Norfolk State ($5,300); PJ Henry, Texas Southern ($4,700); Charlie Easley, South Dakota State ($4,000); Davion Mintz, Kentucky ($3,500)
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DraftKings DFS Forwards - NCAA Tournament
Keegan Murray, Iowa ($10,100)
This is one of the few times that you wont see Tshiebwe as my favorite play. St. Peter's wont be able to handle him, but that game will more than likely be well in hand by shortly after halftime, which means less time for Tshiebwe to make an impact. Sure, there's a chance that he goes nuts and breaks the slate, but I'll take my chances that he doesn't do that in his 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, Murray should be needed the entire game against a strong Richmond team. The Spiders are going to have major issues trying to stop Murray. He might have the highest ceiling of any player in action today.
Armando Bacot, North Carolina ($9,500)
Bacot is a tough matchup for any team. He's a walking double-double threat that can play outside or inside. The last team to hold Bacot under 30 DraftKings points was Pitt a month ago and that was mostly Bacot's own doing due to foul trouble. Marquette isn't a particularly strong team up front, which means Bacot could be in for a big game here.
Jaime Jaquez, UCLA ($7,800)
Jaquez has caught fire at the right time. He has 202.75 DraftKings points over the last five games. Arizona was the only team able to cool him off from the floor in that span, but he made up for it by hauling in ten boards. Jaquez is going to be a big time problem for Akron in this game. Even better, I like Akron to hang around for most of the game, which should only increase the output for Jaquez. He shone bright in the tournament last year. Can UCLA make another run this year? If they do, Jaquez will be a big reason why.
Enrique Freeman, Akron ($6,000)
Freeman caught fire in the MAC Tournament. He only missed four shots from the field (he missed two free throws!) in the three games and topped 28 DraftKings points in each of those games. The Zips are going to need Freeman's newfound accuracy to hang around with a very good UCLA team. Still, Freeman is a double-double waiting to happen and comes at a nice discount due to the strength of the opponent. That makes him an ideal GPP target.
Anton Watson, Gonzaga ($4,000)
If you believe like most do that Gonzaga is going to run off with this, it makes sense to take a chance on a bench guy like Watson. He's a solid bench scorer and a very good rebounder, so his floor should be strong. The only thing that might work against this is that Watson is usually first or second off the bench for the Bulldogs. They could save him and limit his minutes as well.
Also consider: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana ($9,000);Adama Sanogo, Connecticut ($8,100); Ryan Davis, Vermont ($7,700); Eliel Nsoseme, Georgia State ($6,800); Jalen Thomas, Georgia State ($5,900); Justin Minaya, Providence ($5,500); John Fulkerson, Tennessee ($4,800); Mikal Dawson, Akron ($4,100)
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