Welcome to Brian’s CBB slate breakdown. In this article, I will share a few of my top plays on the slate, and discuss who you should target in cash and gpp contests. If you would like to gain access to our CBB core plays, final thoughts, and premium discord, click here.
Guards
David Duke (Providence) vs. Marquette
There are not many players in CBB that play almost every single minute in every game, but Duke is one of those guys. He is averaging 41 minutes per game this year (obviously this includes a few OT games), if you take out the OT games he is still averaging 36 minutes per game. Duke leads Providence with a 28% usage rate and a 27% shot rate. Marquette is not a very good defensive team, and will struggle with a talent like Duke. I love his upside, and he is about as safe of a play you will get with the amount of minutes and usage he gets on a nightly basis.
Joe Girard (Syracuse) vs. UNC
UNC’s defense has shown some promising signs of improvement, however, Girard plays big minutes for Syracuse and is one of their top offensive threats. He is shooting over 35% from 3 this year, and offers a little production in rebounding and assist. If you are going to attack this UNC team, it is through guard play. UNC is one of the worst teams in defending the 3, so Girard comes with some upside if he is knocking down his 3pt shot.
DJ Steward (Duke) vs. Virginia Tech
Steward has played extremely well over Duke’s last three games, and has a very good opportunity to keep his good play going tonight vs. a VT team that does not defend all to well. VT is a slower-paced team, but Duke will push the pace here and make this an up-tempo game. Steward has averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds over his last three games. He has also had 15 FGA in each of his past two games. Steward has a touch more upside if Johnson is ruled out once again today. I see Steward as more of a cash game play then a GPP today.
Others to consider: J. Roach (DUKE), C. Love (UNC); B. Boston (UK); T. Mann (UF); M. Trice (WIS); C. Cunningham (OKST); M. Garrett (KU); D. Mintz (UK); *T. Clarke (UK) GTD
Forwards
Olivier Sarr & Keion Brooks (Kentucky) vs. Alabama
This UK/Alabama game has the highest total on the entire slate, and one that we will want to target tonight. Sarr has such a high ceiling due to his elite shot blocking ability. He is always a threat for a double/double, and just a game ago scored 24 real points. In this matchup, at his price he comes with safety and plenty of upside. Keion Brooks is another Wildcat that has my attention. He made his debut in UK’s last game vs. Florida. He ended up playing 25 minutes, scoring 12 points, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assist. He should continue to see his minutes increase each night, and at $5,200 he is a solid value option tonight.
David McCormack (Kansas) vs. Oklahoma State
McCormack finds himself in a very favorable matchup here vs. OKST. OKST is a very poor rebounding team. The main issue that usually limits McCormack’s upside is the amount of playing time he sees. He has had a few games this year where he has barely played 15 minutes, however over the last 4 games he has played over 23 minutes in 3 of the 4. When he gets over 20 minutes of run, he typically returns a very positive result. He is priced below 6k, and has 40 pt upside in this matchup.
Day’Ron Sharpe & Garrison Brooks (UNC) vs. Syracuse
Sharpe has been nothing short of dominant over UNC’s last two games. Over that span, he has scored 37 points and pulled in 25 rebounds. Syracuse is not a very good rebounding team, giving Sharpe a very high likely hood of getting 10+ rebounds. Sharpe is a very good offensive rebounder, and vs. a team that allows a high percentage of offensive rebounds, he is likely to grab those boards and get easy baskets off of them. I love Sharpe today on both sites, especially on FD where is he is a lock for me. Brooks is the other UNC big I want to keep targeting. Brooks is a much better player than what he has shown this year. While he has not been bad this year, he has still not reached the production he had last year. This is in large part due to the emergence of Sharpe. However, Brooks has typically thrived vs. this Syracuse zone defense in the past, and is able to knock down the mid range jumper from the elbow with ease, and should see that opportunity here. He will also be able to get the ball at the top of the key and find Sharpe down low for some easy baskets, giving him a nice chance to pick up some assist. UNC bigs are always in play for me on any slate they are on, especially vs. this Syracuse zone.
Others to consider: Q. Guerrier (SYR); J. Wilson (KAN); N. Watson (Prov); D. Garcia (MARQ); H. Dickinson (MICH); K. Aluma (VT); *J. Johnson (DUKE) GTD
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