RADIO
It's another big Saturday in the college basketball universe. We have 27 games across three slates. It starts and noon and likely won't be done until after midnight. It's a nice, big tilt-fest just like college football!
The early slate is the largest with 10 games. We have nine in the afternoon, and the eight-game nightcap will take us to the finish line.
Here are my picks across all CBB DFS slates on Saturday, February 22 with the main slate starting at noon Eastern on DraftKings. The afternoon slate gets started at 3:30 p.m. with the late slate locking at 8 Eastern. The times changed a little bit for this slate.
Today's Main Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
Tennessee guards vs. Texas A&M
Louisville wings vs. Florida State
Pitt frontcourt vs. Notre Dame
Washington frontcourt vs. Penn State
Core Pieces:
John Tonje, Wisconsin ($9.8K)
John Tonje in 2024-25 (26 gms):
• 19.6 PPG
• 48.5% FG
• 41.4% 3PT
• 91.0% FTIf this holds, Tonje will be ONLY the 22nd D-I MBB player ever to avg. 18+ PPG w/ a 48+ FG/40+ 3PT/90+ FT split.
And the FIRST high-major player to do since 2017-18 (Markus Howard, MU).
Bucket… pic.twitter.com/lHdmI5Wi4H
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 20, 2025
Tonje has scored at least 20 points in all but one game since his scoreless disaster against USC on January 18. We can trust him in most matchups now. He has scored over 40 DraftKings points in each of the last two games and has a great matchup with Oregon today.
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State ($6.6K)
Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones have both been ruled out of this game already. I don't usually run anyone against Houston, but Lipsey is the only proven guard for the Cyclones going against a great defensive team. He's going to have the ball in his hands a lot in this one.
Nolan Winter, Wisconsin ($5.2K)
Winter has proven to be a valuable piece off of the Wisconsin bench. He has at least 17 DraftKings points in six of the last seven games. This is a really good matchup against Oregon and Winter plays whether Oregon is way ahead or not. He's a strong core play on the cheap today.
Value Pieces:
Dishon Jackson, Iowa State ($4.6K)
Jackson is averaging 17.1 DraftKings points per game over his last eight contests. He should get even more court time today with the absences of Jones and Gilbert. There's quite a bit of upside on Jackson even in a tough matchup.
Joseph Yesufu, West Virginia ($4.4K)
The Mountaineers needed a spark off the bench. That has been Yesufu in February. He has at least 11 DraftKings points in seven straight games and has played more than 20 minutes in all but one of those.
Claudell Harris Jr., Mississippi State ($4.3K)
Harris hasn't been under 10 DraftKings points since November 29 and has topped 20 in nine of those games. That's a strong floor and a higher upside than most value plays, not to mention a good matchup against a tanking Oklahoma team.
Nate Heise, Iowa State ($3.6K)
We'll slip in a bonus play here since Iowa State is going to need key minutes as starters from players who usually come off the bench. Heise is one of those guys. He has played well at times in about 18 minutes per game off the bench. I like the potential in Heise if he tallies 28-30 minutes.
Slate-Breaking Potential:
JT Toppin, Texas Tech ($10.4K)
JT Toppin was unreal tonight in @TexasTechMBB's thrilling win ?
His 41 points are the most scored by ANYONE in the @Big12Conference this season ? pic.twitter.com/FXXZPr0jOv
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 13, 2025
That's the ceiling we're chasing with Toppin. He scored 70.75 DraftKings points in that game and 59.5 in the following game. Toppin once again dominated against TCU, scoring 32.25 DraftKings points in just 25 minutes. He has a high ceiling in every game, but the floor isn't as consistent as we would like.
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest ($9.5K)
Sallis may not be the risk that he usually is. He has scored over 30 DraftKings points in four straight games. Still, he was under 30 in four straight before this current streak. You never know when he's going to go cold again, but I would be surprised if it's against the Pack.
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M ($7.3K)
Taylor is one of the hardest DFS players to use because he's so inconsistent, but it's not often (or ever) that you find a guy with a 50+ ceiling in this price range. He's the perfect GPP target.
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Today's Afternoon Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
Alabama guards vs. Kentucky
Kentucky guards vs. Alabama
Kansas vs. Oklahoma State
North Carolina wings vs. Virginia
Washington vs. Iowa
Core Pieces:
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas ($9.6K)
I still feel that the Hunter Dickinson experiment at Kansas is mostly a dud. However, he has between 29 and 41 DraftKings points in every game since the January 15 thrashing at the hands of Iowa State. At least Dickinson is consistent. Many aren't.
Matt Cross, SMU ($8.2K)
Virginia is the only team to hold Cross under 24 DraftKings points since November 15. He's a warrior who always comes through for us in DFS. We're not going to make this complicated. Cross has a consistently solid floor with an upside in the 40s.
Kario Oquendo, SMU (6K)
It took Oquendo a while to get accustomed to the new faces in Dallas, but he is heating up at the right time. Oquendo is averaging 16.4 points over his last five games while hauling down 3.6 rebounds. He's consistently in the mid-20s, which is very good for the price.
Value Pieces:
Arturo Dean, Oklahoma State ($5K)
The Texas Tech game seems to be the exception, not the rule. Dean has at least 20 DraftKings points in five of the last six games with the Tech game serving as the outlier.
Aden Holloway, Alabama ($4.7K)
Holloway has double figures in DraftKings points in every game since December 18. He has even cleared 30 a couple of times during that stretch. I would like more consistency, but Holloway's price is finally low enough to make him an intriguing value play.
Drew Thelwell, Iowa ($4.5K)
Thelwell missed two games with a bum ankle, then was a bum in his return against Oregon this week. Reports are that he has looked better this week. If that's true, Thelwell has a lot of potential at this price.
Slate-Breaking Potential:
Johni Broome, Auburn ($10.8K)
Johni Broome has the best statistical output per possession according to @EvanMiya’s BPR Rankings…WITHOUT adjusting for strength of opponent.
Kenpom SOS:
Auburn: 1st
Duke: 58thWhen adjusted for opponent strength:
Johni Broome: 10.12
Braden Smith: 9.00
Cooper Flagg: 8.55 https://t.co/1O3iEFC31X pic.twitter.com/EUgDIwqcw7— Taylor Korn (@TaylorKornTNR) February 21, 2025
Broome has the highest ceiling on the slate and his floor is still in the mid-30s. This is a great matchup against Georgia today. The only thing that might stop him is a blowout.
RJ Davis, North Carolina ($8.7K)
Davis has at least 48 DraftKings points in three games so far this season. He has a puncher's chance to get there in any game now with Carolina running him at the point for much of the game. The shot volume is still there. The only difference is that Davis will get a half-dozen assists along with his points.
Ian Jackson, North Carolina ($5.9K)
Jackson's minutes and production have fluctuated wildly since the return of Elliot Cadeau. That's because Cadeau has been just as inconsistent as Jackson. Jackson has outplayed Cadeau in both of the last two games. This is a trend worth watching, especially with Jackson's price significantly lower than Cadeau's.
Today's Late Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
Stanford guards vs. California
Butler vs. DePaul
San Diego State guards vs. Utah State
DePaul guards vs. Butler
Core Pieces:
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina ($10.2K)
Perhaps a bright spot in a dark USC men's basketball season: Collin Murray-Boyles is one of just two players nationally averaging at least 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He's also got the sixth-best qualifying FG% among players in major conferences.
— Kevin Miller (@kevinbmiller52) February 12, 2025
Turnovers were an issue early on, but CMB has shelved those issues. He has at least 30 DraftKings points in all but two games in the last month. He has topped 35 in seven of the last nine and nine of the 12 games since January 13.
Mason Falslev, Utah State ($8.6K)
Falslev has at least 35 DraftKings points in four straight games and seven of the 10 games since he put up 37.5 in the first meeting against San Diego State at the end of December. Falslev has one of the highest ceilings on this entire slate.
Magoon Gwath, San Diego State ($7K)
Gwath is already the best rim protector in college basketball, but he is just now getting comfortable on offense. Gwath has 97 points, 57 rebounds, and 22 blocks in the last seven games. Look out world, we have another budding freshman star in a class full of them.
Value Pieces:
Deyton Albury, Utah State ($4.6K)
Albury is averaging 23 DraftKings points per game over the last six games. The minutes may not be as consistent as we like, but the output has been.
Jayson Kent, Texas ($4.4K)
Kent has played 55 minutes over the last two games and put up 55.25 DraftKings points. Texas hasn't gotten the most out of their guards (aside from Tre Johnson). Kent may not have taken a starting job for Texas, but he's playing more than two of the five starters.
Billy Richmond III, Arkansas ($4.1K)
Richmond has 66.75 DraftKings points in the last four games, playing at least 18 minutes in all of them. Richmond has been a force off the bench lately in a role that Arkansas really needed.
Slate-Breaking Potential:
Cooper Flagg, Duke ($10.5K)
This is a tougher defensive matchup for Flagg, but the lack of a blowout may actually be a good thing. Flagg hasn't always hit value in blowouts. In fact, more often than not, he misses the mark. This shouldn't be a blowout, giving Flagg that coveted extra upside against a tough Illinois team.
Augustas Marciulionis, St. Mary's ($9.2K)
Marciulionis had a rough game against Gonzaga in the first meeting on February 1 but has at least 37 DraftKings points in each of the five games since. There is some risk here, but that reward is so very tempting.
Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas ($8.8K)
Ivisic racked up 40.5 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Missouri. Since that game, Ivisic has at least 35 DraftKings points in four of the eight games and cleared 30 in two more. He has good upside to go with a suddenly solid floor.
