The night slate has more games than the main slate, so don't go to bed early! We have some great action later in the evening starting with Minnesota in Iowa City. North Carolina heads to Winston-Salem to take on Wake. Arizona is in Stillwater to face the Pokes. Missouri heads down to Austin to take on the Longhorns.
It's Forks Up in Morgantown with the Sun Devils in town. Creighton heads to Chicago to take on DePaul. Louisville is in Dallas to take on SMU. Wisconsin is out in Pauley Pavillion to face UCLA. Washington heads down to Eugene to go Duck hunting. We end this in Boulder with BYU heading to town.
This article will provide you with my daily fantasy college basketball lineup picks on DraftKings on 1/21/25, starting at 9 p.m. EST. I’ll give multiple player suggestions at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option at the salary scale's high, middle, and lower levels. Good luck, RotoBallers.
Today's DraftKings Guards - CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Javon Small, West Virginia ($10K)
Javon Small is the best PLAYER in the country. Not just PG.
The guy has LED West Virginia to victories over THREE top-FIVE teams, and four ranked wins.
He’s done that by averaging these numbers in those ranked wins:
21.3 PPG
5.3 APG
7 RPG
1.8 SPG— Matt Thornsbury (@MThornsbury) January 20, 2025
It has been a long time since I have seen any player put up 50 DraftKings points on Iowa State. It just doesn't happen! Small scored 27 points on an elite defense while picking up seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. If he can do that against the Cyclones, he can do it against anyone. No joke.
Steven Ashworth, Creighton ($9.2K)
Steven Ashworth will pull up from anywhere ? @BluejayMBB
(via @CBBonFOX)pic.twitter.com/q5QBmhQ941
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 18, 2025
This slate is guard-heavy, but there is enough value to use two guards if you want. It's hard to say no to Ashworth with his usage level. He has played at least 36 minutes in all but one game (he played 34 against UNLV) since November 30.
Ashworth has at least 30 DraftKings points in every game since December 1. That includes games against Kansas, Marquette, Alabama, Villanova, and Connecticut. We can trust him against anyone at this point.
Jaden Bradley, Arizona ($6.8K)
Arizona needs a selective guard like Bradley since Caleb Love will shoot anything inside of half-court. Bradley is a bit of a steadying force for the Wildcats. He doesn't just rely on points like Love does. He's a good passer and good rebounder, along with a good defender. Bradley is just...good. He doesn't excel at anything, but he's good at everything.
Ty-Laur Johnson, Wake Forest ($5.1K)
Johnson took over as the starter on New Year's Eve. He has between 19 and 25 DraftKings points in every game since. Johnson is the high-energy guy that Wake needed in their lineup. He's not much of a scorer, but he's a good passer and an excellent defender. That's why he is so consistent in DFS.
Also consider: Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest ($9.4K); Chucky Hepburn, Louisville ($8.8K); Ian Jackson, North Carolina ($7.7K); Caleb Grill, Missouri ($7.2K); CJ Gunn, DePaul ($6.4K); Reyne Smith, Louisville ($5.8K); Trevin Knell, BYU ($5.1K); Dylan Andrews, UCLA ($3.9K)
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Today's DraftKings Forwards - CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton ($9.6K)
Big Man = BIG EAST Player of the Week ?
Ryan Kalkbrenner averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists in the last two wins against UConn and Providence.
He shot 56.5% from the field (13-23) and was 8-10 from the free throw line. pic.twitter.com/QVPUqwvfs5
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) January 20, 2025
Kalkbrenner has at least 16 points and nine rebounds in every game since Creighton's winter break (December 21-30). He also has 19 blocks in those five games. Kalkbrenner was struggling heading into that break but has put up the numbers expected of him lately.
Matt Cross, SMU ($7.9K)
We get a nice little discount on Cross today. Hampered by foul trouble against Virginia and only playing 23 minutes in the blowout win over Miami, Cross has only played 47 minutes over the last two games. He's going to be well-rested against a guard-oriented Louisville team. This is a nice matchup for Cross.
Bangot Dak, Colorado ($5.9K)
Dak's second straight start didn't go as well as the first, but he still put up 27.25 DraftKings points against a solid Oklahoma State team. BYU will be more of a struggle up front, but after seeing what Dak did to Cincinnati, I'm not worried...especially in this price range.
Tobe Awaka, Arizona ($4.7K)
The Tennessee transfer has had a rough go of it lately, but he played a season-high 26 minutes against Texas Tech in the last outing, racking up 14 rebounds. Awaka's production was getting better before that game. I don't know if we can trust him, but I'm tentatively optimistic. He has the talent. We saw that last year at Tennessee.
Also consider: Dawson Garcia, Minnesota ($9.8K); Jamiya Neal, Creighton ($8.4K); Basheer Jihad, Arizona State ($7.1K); James Scott, Louisville ($6.5K); Henri Veesaar, Arizona ($5.6K); Troy D'Amico, DePaul ($4.9K); Brandon Angel, Oregon ($4.3K)
