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Free college basketball DFS picks and lineup advice for tonight's games on DraftKings. Mike's expert NCAA DFS projections and sleepers help you build winning lineups for December 22, 2025.
This is the last big-time college basketball slate that we have before Christmas, so Happy Holidays to all of you! I will still be around on X or in the RotoBaller Discord to answer any questions about college basketball or college football. If not, our next scheduled article is for December 29, when most teams return from the holiday break in earnest. There are some big names in action tonight with BYU, Kansas, Arizona, and North Carolina in action, just to name a few.
We'll provide you with the core pieces to build a cash or GPP lineup. Then, we'll have some value plays to make it all fit. For you Ricky Bobby types, we'll give you guys who have a great ceiling with a low floor because, "if you ain't first, you're last."
Here are my picks for the CBB DFS slate on Monday, December 22, with the main slate starting at 6 p.m. EST on DraftKings.
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Today's Main Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks
Best Matchups:
- Arizona vs. Bethune-Cookman
- Virginia Guards vs. American
- BYU Guards vs. Eastern Washington
- North Carolina vs. East Carolina
- Missouri Forwards vs. Illinois
Core DFS Plays
AJ Dybantsa, BYU ($10.3K)
In last 30 yrs, only one DI player has had, over his full career (same span or not),
a 4-gm span w/ 90+ pts
a 4-gm span w/ 30+ reb
a 4-gm span w/ 20+ ast
a 4-gm span w/ 60% FG on 60+ FGA
a 4-gm span w/ 0 fouls in 100+ minThat man is AJ Dybantsa. He did it all the last 4 games. pic.twitter.com/jvIri00KJH
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) December 17, 2025
Once again, we have the pick of super freshmen on this slate. Kansas's Darryn Peterson is still questionable, but Dybantsa and Caleb Wilson have outplayed him anyway. If you had asked me last week who the best freshman was this year, I probably would have said Wilson.
I may have to change that pick. Dybantsa has been otherworldly for the last couple of weeks. In five December games, Dybantsa has 246.9 DraftKings points. That's nearly 50 DK points per game. His low mark in that stretch was 43.2 against Cal Baptist when he only played 28 minutes.
Henri Veesaar, North Carolina ($9.1K)
It may seem strange to have Veesaar as a core play and not Wilson, but Veesaar's production hasn't been far off from Wilson's lately, and his price is $1.4K lower. We can do a lot with that $1.4K.
Veesaar has scored in double figures in every game for his new team and has posted six double-doubles in 12 games. Add in Veesaar's underrated passing chops, and you have a player who is a lock for 30 DK points and has scored over 40 in three of the last four games.
Chance Mallory, Virginia ($7.4K)
Mallory has between 23 and 33 DraftKings points in every game this season. Close games, blowouts, wins, losses, and everything in between. Mallory is as consistent as they come. He's a cash player's dream, and he doesn't even rely on scoring to hit his value.
Mallory has 11 assists and 11 steals in the last two games. That raises the ceiling a little more. He hasn't topped 33 yet, but his last two games have been very close.
Value DFS Plays
Dallin Hall, Virginia ($5K)
Hall has been very passive as the point guard for the Wahoos so far, but that changed against Maryland. Hall dumped in 20 points on the Terrapins while reaching his highest assist total since November 11.
Maybe it was a turning point for Hall. Maybe not. For this price, I'm willing to find out. Hall was priced around $7K for the first two weeks of the season. The talent is there.
Will Hornseth, Northern Iowa ($4.6K)
Hornseth has been stuffing the stat sheet lately, which is part of the reason I'm looking at him against St. Mary's. The Gaels play slowly and limit scoring. We need a guy who can get his fantasy points elsewhere in a game like this.
Hornseth is that guy. He has 18 rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and two blocks over the last three games. The scoring is secondary.
Trent Sisley, Indiana ($3.9K)
The Hoosiers are still trying to figure out their team. Sisley is a high-energy rebounder off the bench who will take the occasional shot if he likes it. He's not going to break a slate anytime soon, but he has hit double figures in DK points in nine of 12 games. That's solid for this price.
Slate-Breaking DFS Plays
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina ($10.5K)
Caleb Wilson is way too much to handle at the collegiate level, with some making references to him looking like baby Giannis, an important factor in any Wilson evaluation will be whether he can carry this kind of physical dominance over to the NBA level.
— Point Made: Scouting & Film Room (@PointMadeLiam) December 16, 2025
Dybantsa has outplayed just about everyone in December, but it's not like Wilson has been bad. I'll give Wilson the chance at a bit higher ceiling because of the matchup, but the real reason to play Wilson is because of ownership.
On paper, BYU's matchup is a dream, and everyone knows what Dybantsa has been doing. Wilson's matchup is almost as good, and his ceiling is still a bit higher. If Wilson gets close to that ceiling, he'll outscore Dybantsa at about 10% of the ownership.
Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana ($9.5K)
Wilkerson is the only player to have a 40-point game against a Power 5 opponent so far this season. He dumped 44 points on Penn State in the blowout win two weeks ago. He put up 655 DK points in that game.
That is the definition of a ceiling game for Wilkerson, but it is worth noting that his second-best game of the season has come since that explosion against Penn State. We're not getting 60 out of Wilkerson again, but he could be in the 40s.
Robert Wright III, BYU ($8.5K)
Wright hasn't been that consistent as a scorer, which leaves him as a GPP-only option. We've seen him clear 50 DK points once already this season, and he has topped 40 a couple of other times. We've also seen him in the teens once and in the twenties four times.
The good news is that one of those 40 DK point games has come during Dybantsa's hot streak. It was against a similarly overmatched Pacific team. Wright has played at least 28 minutes in every game, so even in easy wins, he's still out there picking up stats.
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DFS Stacking Options
Virginia vs. American
On this slate, I prefer to use one or two of the high-end options. Stacking a relatively inexpensive Virginia team in a great matchup allows me to do that.
Mallory is a must-play, and Johann Grunloh is close. However, if I use both, I can't use Dybantsa. I'll be opting for Mallory with Hall and Ugonna Onyenso. Jacari White is another great option that costs under $5K. Don't be afraid to use multiple value plays from Virginia.
Also consider:
- Kansas (if Peterson is out)
- BYU
- Illinois (GPP only)
