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DFS picks: Top Underdog plays for Tuesday’s college basketball slate (Jan. 28)
The Tuesday college basketball slate features a handful of high-profile games in the SEC, ACC and other high-major conferences.
The slate is headlined by a top-25 matchup between Tennessee and Kentucky that could ultimately have NCAA Tournament seeding implications. There are also a few games that could impact the bubble including Texas A&M–Oklahoma and North Carolina-Pitt.
Best DFS picks for Tuesday, Jan. 28
Below are 4 picks for the Tuesday night slate that can be found on Underdog Fantasy. If you’re new to Underdog, be sure to use our exclusive Underdog promo code SDS to earn up to $1,000 in bonus cash when you sign up.
Tennessee center Felix Okpara higher than 8.5 points
Kentucky has conceded a defensive rating of 116.0 or worse in 6 of its last 9 games against power-conference competition. Since Jan. 3, Kentucky’s adjusted defensive rating ranks 153rd nationally, per BartTorvik. That’s something to note when looking at possible picks for this game against the Vols. Teams aren’t even loading up on points from 3-point range against UK — instead opposing offenses have been gashing the Wildcats from the free throw line and on 2-point shots. The Wildcats have allowed SEC teams to shoot 58.5% from 2-point range so far this season, which is dead last in the league.
With that in mind, I’ll take Felix Okpara to go higher than 8.5 points in this matchup. He’s averaging 8.6 in SEC play and has been efficient with his opportunities so far this season. I think Tennessee will be able to create a bunch of easy scoring opportunities for him when you consider how porous the Kentucky defense has been in recent weeks.
Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps lower than 14.5 points
Zhuric Phelps torched Oklahoma the last time these teams met earlier this month. He scored 34 points and made 6 3-pointers in a massive comeback win over the Sooners in Norman. However, there’s a big difference between that matchup and this one: Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor was not healthy for the first meeting. Taylor is back in the lineup and will likely use up a large number of possessions. He has a usage rate of 27.5% in the 4 SEC games he’s played in so far this season.
While Phelps has feasted on volume during games that Taylor missed (over 24 attempts per game in SEC contests without Taylor), he hasn’t been as integral to the offense in recent games. He’s averaging just 12.5 shot attempts per game in SEC play when Taylor plays. Phelps is also a pretty inefficient player overall, outside of that one strong night in Norman. He’s shooting 38% from the field this season and only 29% from deep. He’s only made 11 3-pointers in 7 SEC games this season, with 6 of those coming in 1 contest against Oklahoma. Meanwhile, OU’s defense has been top-50 nationally since Jan. 11, according to BartTorvik.
North Carolina guard Ian Jackson higher than 21.5 points + rebounds + assists
It’s been a really tough stretch for the Tar Heels over the past couple of weeks. But freshman Ian Jackson has been a bright spot overall since the midway point of the season. Since entering the starting lineup on Dec. 29, Jackson is averaging a very-efficient 18.6 points per game. His athleticism has also translated to him being a good rebounder at north of 4 rebounds per contest over that span. He’s not much of a passer yet, but he does average 1.3 assists per game in ACC play as well. He’s been by far North Carolina’s most-efficient perimeter player this season with a true shooting percentage of 60%. As such, he’s been trusted more and more as the season has gone on and now owns a usage rate of 24.1% against ACC competition, which is the highest on the team.
I like Jackson’s points + rebounds + assists projection in this spot because Pitt has not rebounded the ball at all in ACC play. The Panthers are dead last in defensive rebounding rate since the start of conference action, which is something the Tar Heels should look to exploit with Jackson. Carolina usually doesn’t play more than 1 big at a time, so it asks guards like Jackson to chip in on the boards. There should be plenty of opportunity for Jackson in all facets against Pitt.
Notre Dame guard Markus Burton lower than 22.5 points
Markus Burton seems to be the rare player who is better on the road than he is at home — particularly from beyond the arc. Burton is shooting 40% from 3-point range this season, but he’s making just over 31% of his long-range attempts at home this season. You could toss that out as small sample size theatre, but he was also around that same percentage over his entire freshman campaign in South Bend. In his entire career, Burton scored 23 points or more in just 9 of 45 games. In those 9 games, he’s shot 19-of-44 (43.2%) from 3-point range. Additionally, only 2 of those games have come at home against a power-conference opponent.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.