Just because we think our followers are awesome, Byrd and I decided to knock out this day slate that tips at 11 CST. This isn’t a promise that all day slates will be covered the rest of this week and next, but since capacity was there, we wanted to be here for you! Upon review this one is not the sexiest 3-gamer, but its action and that is what are Bucketheads live for – the action.
This slate features two Big South quarterfinal matchups and #5 San Diego State taking on Air Force in Vegas to open up the Mountain West Conference Tournament. As expected the Aztecs are massive favorites, while the Big South games are a little tighter and should be fast paced with limited defense. Good luck if you are playing the slate! Let us know how you did!
South Carolina Upstate @ Winthrop
The #2 seeded Winthrop takes on #7 seeded USC-Upstate in the quarter finals of the Big South Tournament. The Spartans earned a win in the tourney’s opening round 69-59 over High Point Tuesday.
Both of these teams play with pace and the two schools accumulated 172 total points in their last meeting exactly one week ago. The Eagles took that game down 90-82.
Spartan Freshman Tommy Bruner (G, 5800) leads the team in shot share and usage with gaudy numbers over 26% on each. He’s a bit of a rollercoaster, but I don’t see how you can’t gamble on him at that price. Everette Hammond (G, 7400) is their most expensive player and a lot more consistent. He is coming off back to back 36+ DK game, but was a non-factor in the first meeting due to foul trouble.
Nevin Zick (F, 6600) is your classic small school big who can get you a 30 DK double double on a given night. Dalvin White (G, 4600) looks like a GPP option on the cheap. He has a 7x and 5.5x in two of his last 3.
For Winthrop, they are 17-3 in their last 20 games, their only major win was on the road at Saint Mary’s, so winning the Big South is their only ticket to the dance. They are led by a three man attack featuring guards Hunter Hale (7300) and Chandler Vaudrin (6700) while Josh Ferguson (F, 6800) is their primary post option.
All three look to be priced appropriately and safe in cash games. Vaudrin is a triple double threat who had an odd stat line of 8-8-15 his last time out. Hale and Fergusson supply the points.
The Eagles do utilize a deep bench, so I am not going to sift through their next 6 guys that are priced between $4200 and $5400. The game flow fits if you want to take a roll of the dice but consider them in GPPs only.
North Carolina Asheville @ Gardner-Webb
The second quarterfinal of the Big South Tournament features two 15-15 teams. UNC-Asheville is the #6 seeded advanced to this game with a 72-68 win over Campbell in the opening round. Gardner-Webb is the #3 seed and was last year’s NCAA tournament representative.
Most everyone is gone from last year’s Runnin’ Bulldogs team, and pre-season conference player of the year Jose Perez (G/F, 8000) left the team in February for personal reasons. Since his departure Gardner-Webb has gone 6-2.
Nate Johnson (G, 7200) and Jaheam Cornwall (G, 7100) have picked up most of the scoring void left by Perez. Johnson is in better form so play him of the two. Eric Jamison Jr. always goes down smooth and should be safe in a cash game.
Christian Turner (G, 5700) is a GPP option at guard and Ludovic Dufeal (F, 5100) is a shot blocking machine that can score 20 DK without getting a hoop.
UNC Asheville is the team that wants to run despite being just the Bulldogs and not the Runnin’ Bulldogs like Gardner-Webb. They play at the 47th fastest tempo in the nation and average almost 76 points per game.
They are not a very deep team relying on 5-guys, all of whom are sophomores. Guards LJ Thorpe (6900), DeVon Baker (6600), Lavar Batts Jr. (6500), and Tajion Jones (5900) all have a 20% shot share when on the floor.
Each guard brings their own unique flair to the team. Working in reverse, Jones is hitting 44% from 3 while Batts Jr. brings steal upside, DeVon shoots the most, while Thorpe has the highest usage. I’ll take the chucker.
Coty Jude (F, 5500) is the loan post worth playing and the last of the 5 sophomores. He’s not a big rebounder, but he does provide some nice interior offense. Jude’s not my dude today.
Air Force @ #5 San Diego St.
Air Force is 320th in defensive efficiency and 348th defensively in effective FG%. The primary reason is because they give up more 3-point attempts and 3-point makes than all but one team in the nation. SDSU dropped 89 points on them back in early Feb., so feel free to get you some Aztec heat in the desert in Las Vegas.
For Air Force, Lavelle Scottie (F, 7500) has a 31% shot share, can shoot the 3 at 6’7, and has at least 30 DK in 3 straight. He had 16 points and 13 boards vs. SDSU earlier this year, so he’s viable in all formats. Ryan Swan (F, 7000) has the 2nd highest usage on the team. He had foul trouble in their first matchup and doesn’t have the ceiling of Scottie, so I’d find the extra $500 and upgrade.
AJ Walker (G, 6000) dropped a 40 burger in the first round of the MWC tourney, but that was a bit of an anomaly. SDSU’s only real weakness on D is the 3-ball and Walker is shooting 40% from behind the arc, so he’s a tourney option on the short slate. Caleb Morris (G, 5000) and Sid Tomes (G, 4900) are more in the 3-4x range and haven’t shown much ceiling, but they do play plenty of minutes. The Falcon’s only real shot in this one is to let it fly from deep, but at least they have some experience flying so… #stretch #badjokealert
Malachi Flynn (G, 8400) is the price king, but he’s not that expensive for the best player on the best team on the slate. I’d expect massive ownership, but rightfully so as Flynn has been a star this season.
Matt Mitchell (F, 6400) has shown 30+ DK upside this season and finished with 29 DK points in the first matchup vs. AF this season. He’s very affordable, so I expect high ownership on him as well. Yanni Wetzell (F, 6300) will be on the floor a ton and will be a contrarian option to his teammate Mitchell.
KJ Feagin (G, 5300) has 4x in back to back and again, will be a very popular option on the 3 game slate. Like Wetzell, Jordan Schakel (G, 5200) will be the contrarian pivot option to his teammate Feagin. As the most familiar team on the slate and with reasonable price points, I expect heavy ownership from the Aztecs this afternoon.
