College Basketball Daily Fantasy Picks Tonight - Best Lineups and Sleepers for DraftKings (12/9/25)

December 9, 2025

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 9, 2025.

It's a small but mighty night of college basketball DFS on DraftKings. BYU, Michigan, Villanova, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Connecticut, and USC all take the court. With only seven games, you know that we have some great matchups.

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. And 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 across all CBB DFS slates on Tuesday, December 9, with the main slate starting at 6:30 p.m. EST on DraftKings.

Today's Main Slate DraftKings CBB DFS Lineup Picks

Best Matchups:

• USC vs. San Diego
• Clemson guards vs. BYU
• Connecticut forwards vs. Florida
• Ohio State frontcourt vs. Illinois

Core DFS Plays

Chad Baker-Mazara, USC ($9.5K)

Baker-Mazara's floor is a little bit lower than Yaxel Lendeborg's, but Michigan is likely to win in another blowout. That severely limits Lendeborg's ceiling. Lendeborg's floor may be a little more stable than Baker-Mazara's, but the lower price pushes me towards him.

The USC offense runs through the Auburn transfer. Baker-Mazara has been a much better scorer this year, and his peripherals are still top-notch. He has at least 24 DraftKings points in every game this season. He has been over 30 DK points in three straight games.

Bruce Thornton, Ohio State ($8.9K)

Just like last year, the offense runs through Thornton. Unlike last year, Thornton has expanded his game. Last year, he was a shooter and little else. This year, Thornton has posted back-to-back double-doubles. One was in points and assists. The other was in points and rebounds.

This is not a good matchup against Illinois, but Thornton's floor has been very good this year, thanks to his big peripheral numbers. Don't expect big numbers out of Thornton, but he will likely come in with low ownership and is a solid leverage play.

Alex Condon, Florida ($7.4K)

Condon has four double-doubles in the seven games that he has played this year. He even posted an 8-8-8 (points, rebounds, assists) stat line in a different game. That means Condon produces all over the board. That makes him a great cash game option.

Florida has a lot of different pieces that produce. The fact that Condon doesn't need the points to hit his value makes him a strong foundation player in any lineup.

Value DFS Plays

Jahmere Tripp, Rhode Island ($4.8K)

Tripp has at least 23 DK points in four straight games and has scored over 22 DK points in all but one game this season. I have no idea why he is priced this low, but never look a gift horse in the mouth. Lock in Tripp and don't ask questions.

Dillon Hunter, Clemson ($4.6K)

Hunter is mostly a scorer, but that's not a bad thing. He's playing nearly 30 minutes per game over the last two weeks. Hunter has scored in double figures in three of those four games.

Clemson is going to need the scoring to keep up with BYU's potent offense. Expect Hunter to thrive in this environment once again.

Braylon Mullins, Connecticut ($3.8K)

Mullins missed the first six games of his collegiate career due to an ankle injury, but he has been a nice piece off the UConn bench over the last three games. He only played 10 minutes in his first game, but he played 23 minutes against Kansas and 17 against East Texas A&M.

That suggests that Mullins is going to be a bigger part of the guard rotation going forward. He has scored in double figures in each of the last two games. He could explode at any time, and he's not priced like it.

Slate-Breaking DFS Plays

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan ($10.2K)

Yaxel Lendeborg's shot maps at Michigan and UAB are already vastly different. Part of it is a different role. Part of it is a tweaked approach.

Lendeborg attempted 84 midrange jumpers in 36 games as the driver of UAB's offense. Just three so far this year in eight games. pic.twitter.com/ab2tXQI9xq

— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) December 8, 2025

That chart above highlights why Lendeborg is no longer a boom-or-bust play. Last year at UAB, Lendeborg had a higher ceiling than all but a half-dozen players. His floor was in the high teens.

This year, Lendeborg is still a great rebounder, but his shot selection has turned him into a star -- both in real life and in DFS. He's shooting an astronomical 87.1% on two-point shots.

His newfound efficiency is a direct product of the Michigan offense. It thrives on efficiency, and Lendeborg has embraced that approach. The Wolverines have won four straight games by at least 30 points. Lendeborg has at least 30 DK points in all of those games despite the blowout nature.

Robert Wright III, BYU ($8.3K)

Freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa gets most of the attention, but Wright -- who himself was a freshman phenom at Baylor last year -- has been the engine making this offense go.

Wright has two double-doubles in the last four games. He is an elite passer, but his scoring is way up this year (16.9 points per game compared to 11.5 last year with Baylor). Wright has a better floor than most players in this range, and his ceiling is over 50. He's suitable in all formats.

Larry Johnson, McNeese State ($6.9K)

Larry Johnson (Creighton ➡️ McNeese) might be the BOUNCIEST player in college basketball this season.

Early season stats:

22.6 points
3.4 rebounds
73% FG

Check out his 🎥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xC4HfylTvV

— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) November 24, 2025

Johnson is electric off the bench for McNeese State. He is averaging 17.8 points per game in just 19.8 minutes per game. That's where the risk lies, but when Johnson's in the game, he is there for one reason.

He has scored in double figures in all but one game this year. He dumped in 30 points in 18 minutes in a game earlier this year. He dumped in 25 points in just 15 minutes in another game.

There is always risk involved when using a player who doesn't start, but Johnson's ceiling is very high despite the limited minutes.

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DFS Stacking Options

USC vs. San Diego

Basketball, unlike football and hockey, isn't always great to stack all five starters. There are exceptions, but it usually will not maximize your output. For example, this USC offense has run through three different players with Maryland transfer Rodney Rice out.

Rice may make his return from a shoulder injury tonight. How will that affect the USC offense? Baker-Mazara does enough in all facets of the game to retain value, but Jacob Cofie doesn't.

If Rice plays, I'll use Rice with Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar. If Rice is out, Cofie can be added. I would consider Jerry Easter II in GPPs if Rice is out. He has played 75 minutes in the last two games with Rice out. Easter is one of the best bargains on the slate if Rice remains out.

Rice has practiced over the last two days, so it seems likely that he will return. This is a tricky space since this is the late game on the slate. There is a good chance that we won't have confirmation before the rest of the games tip off.

Also consider:

• McNeese State
• Michigan (GPP only)

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