Good morning Bucketheads! We have another daytime tournament coming to us from DraftKings and this time it is $1,000 to first! It’s a small tourney with just three games, but they look like good ones. Before we have finished our morning coffee or tea, Miami and Florida collide in a ACC-SEC showdown to open the slate.
Then, at 1:30cst, #17 Villanova takes on undefeated Mississippi State. We will then wrap things upon with Missouri State versus Saint Joseph’s after the Gators and Canes conclude. That game features contradicting styles and a few value plays. Overall this should be a fun way to start our Friday!
Miami v. Florida
Miami and Florida meet in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic this morning, both teams coming off underwhelming wins in the their tourney openers. Vegas has the Gators as slight favorites and the over under sits at 132.
UF will have the edge in this one in the paint as the Hurricanes are not a good rebounding team. In the tourney opener Kerry Blackshear (F, 8500) had two first half fouls and was ejected after a flagrant 2 in the second half disappointing his DFS owners. Fouls will always be the great equalizer, but you can’t play scared. I am all on board with Blackshear again today.
Keyontae Johnson (F, 5700) was playable at that price even if he didn’t just have 44 DK in Blackshear’s absence. He is a hard-nosed player which should see little resistance.
On the perimeter for the Gators no guard is over 5400. Noah Locke (4200) is the cheapest of the three regulars and played 37 minutes yesterday. Tre Mann (4300) missed yesterday with a concussion, we’ll monitor his status this morning. If he misses time again …
Rounding out the guards are Andrew Nembhard (5400) and Scottie Lewis (5100). Both are fine options who have solid floors.
Miami’s top 4 players are all guards and they are going to try and turn you over while they take care of the ball. Chis Lykes (6300) was a DFS darling a year ago, but has struggled this season, and struggled yesterday. Somehow his price is up $600 versus a better defense so… there is that.
Kameron McGusty (G, 6800) and Dejan Vasiljevic (G, 6400) are the wings you want if playing Hurricanes. DV is 44% from deep on 34 attempts this year, while McGusty has had 17+ real points in three straight.
The last backcourt member is Harold Beverly (5500) who is a usage and shot monster that is directly cutting into Lykes numbers. I can’t recommend him.
We discussed their thin front court, and I am not recommending Rodney Miller (5100) or Sam Waardenburg (4600) to anyone.
#17 Villanova v. Mississippi State
I couldn’t be more impressed with what I saw from Villanova yesterday. True, they rolled up a lesser opponent, but that is what you are supposed to do.
Nova is currently 12th in the nation in assist to field goal ratio and 2nd in the nation in points off of 3PT FGs. That makes for an entertaining brand of basketball.
Three Wildcats are shooting over 50% from deep. Saddiq Bey (F, 7500), Justin Moore (G, 4900) and Cole Swider (F, 6900). Swider was yesterdays heat check hitting 6/11 3s for a game high 26 points. Right behind him was PG Collin Gillespie (6200) who had 31.3 DK on some fine shooting of his own – 4/6 from beyond the arc.
Adding to the perimeter log jam is also the returning Bryan Antoine (G, 3000) who is min price. He played 19 minutes in his season debut and hit 5x.
After the shooters we look at Jermaine Samuels (7600) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (7800) at the forward spots. They’ll have their hands full with MSU’s Reggie Perry (F, 8800) so probably staying away from them.
Robinson-Earl was actually a starter next to Perry in the FIBA U19 World Championships this summer so the two have some familiarity.
If Mississippi State wants to have a chance in this one Perry will need to have a monster. He is capable, but has really been more consistent this year than a slate smasher.
This means the guards Robert Woodard II (8300) and Tyson Carter (7700) will need to have big games. Neither were spectacular yesterday but Carter did grab an uncharacteristic 11 boards. The guard who did shine was Iverson Molinar (5300), but you know that because you listened to our pod and played him yesterday, right?
Molinar had 21-2-5 prompting a Jon Rothstien tweet (that’s J-O-N) saying we all needed to get on board.
I like Molinar again today just like the aforementioned Rothstien likes leaves on the ground and threes from downtown.
Finally from this one, Abdul Ado (F, 5000) starts and will give you 27 muscle minutes in the paint and DJ Stewart (G, 4500) is a freshman they like whose length may be needed versus stretchy Villanova.
Missouri State v. Saint Joseph’s
It’s a battle of opposing styles in Charleston, where Missouri St. plays at the 338th tempo in the nation vs. St. Joe’s run and gun style, leading to the 10th fastest tempo in nation. On the 3-game slate, we’ll definitely want a strong piece of this game.
For those that listened to the podcast yesterday, you heard James plug Tulio Da Silva (F, 5000). He rewarded our listeners with 34 DK points and a beastly 17 rebounds. DK rewarded him with a $100 price cut, so he looks #strong. James also plugged Lamont West (F, 4800) as a value play and he came thru with 5x. His price only jumped $300, so I like the former West Virginia Mountaineer as a safe 4x+ option. Run it back Bucketheads!!
Keandre Cook (G, 7400) is a heck of a player and despite a rough game from the field, I have no problems giving him another shot today in a pace up game. He should lead the team in usage and will play 35+ minutes. His price is a bit high, but on the 3 game slate we gotta spend somewhere.
Everyone loves a deep cut, so let’s finish off with Gaige Prim (F, 3600). Prim returned from injury vs. Xavier and played 13 minutes. Last night, he played 23 minutes and took an astounding 15 shots. He’s sitting at 43% shot percentage, so the 6’8 big is a legit black hole down low.
St. Joes will face another tough defensive team tonight, but not nearly as bad as Florida. Ryan Daly (G, 9200) is hotter than Carson Daly was when he was hosting Total Request Live on MTV. If that doesn’t give you a hint at how old we are, now you know. #oldAF Daly had 25 and 10 vs. an elite Florida D, so even though his price is super high, he’s got all the usage needed to still hit 4x.
As Byrd mentioned on the pod, Lorenzo Edwards (F, 7000) had bust written all over him against Florida. He ended up with 14 DK points and while his price dropped $500, I still can’t push him here. Mark me down as a LorenzNo. Taylor Funk (F, 5200) has at least 20 DK points in 4 straight and plays over 30 minutes/game. I’m fully down with you getting Funky on the short slate.
Rahmir Moore (G, 4700) is an option if you are stuck on price. He’s playing 25 min/game and while his usage isn’t great, he’s been incredibly efficient. On a personal note, we’d just like to say thank you to our Bucketheads. You guys and gals are legit amazing, and we truly appreciate your interest and engagement. We love being part of the CBB community and want to see our Bucketheads at the top of every tourney. Virtual high five!! #5gifs #1gameoverview #record
