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DFS picks: Top Underdog plays for Round 1 at the SEC Tournament

Published: Mar 12, 2025 · 10:00 AM EDT

The SEC Tournament is finally here.

The slate tips off in Nashville on Wednesday afternoon with Round 1 action. South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Vanderbilt, LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Georgia are the teams who will be on the floor on Day 1.

SEC Tournament DFS picks for March 12

Below are 4 DFS picks for Wednesday that can be found on Underdog Fantasy. If you’re new to Underdog, here’s Saturday Down South’s exclusive Underdog Fantasy promo code (SDS) that will help you earn up to $1,000 in bonus cash when you sign up!

Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas: Higher than 11.5 points

Zvonimir Ivisic does have a tendency to run hot-or-cold, but he’s been Arkansas’s most-efficient scorer this season overall. Over his last 9 games, Ivisic is averaging 14.3 points per per night and has scored 12 or more in 6 of those contests.

Arkansas was embarrassed by this South Carolina team just a couple of weeks ago in Columbia. The Razorbacks were still adjusting to playing without Adou Thiero in that game, but they’ve looked much better since then. With the Gamecocks drawing dead on their season, I like Ivisic to get some easy offense in this matchup. South Carolina’s defense is bad at the rim and beyond the arc, which are the 2 areas where Ivisic gets his points.

Tre Johnson, Texas: Higher than 2.5 made 3-pointers

Tre Johnson is due. The sensational freshman guard went 0-for-14 from the field in Texas’s loss to Oklahoma in the regular season finale. That included an 0-for-4 mark from 3-point range as well. That was a highly-uncharacteristic performance for Johnson, who has played his way into becoming a potential top-10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft over the last few weeks.

The Longhorns are now in win-or-go-home mode and I expect Johnson will respond. He averages 2.4 makes per game from beyond the arc in conference play. Over his last 10 games, Johnson is shooting 43% from 3-point range with more than 3 makes per night over that span. He’s drained at least a trio of 3-pointers in 6 of those 9 contests. He’ll also be playing a Vanderbilt team who doesn’t have much to play for and is dead-last in the conference in 3-point percentage defense (39.5).

Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State: Higher than 2.5 steals

Cameron Matthews averaged 2.4 steals per game during the regular season in SEC play and was recently named to the league’s all-defense team. He’s recorded 3 or more steals in 3 of his last 6 games as well. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the country with a steal rate of nearly 5%, per KenPom.

In the SEC Tournament, Matthews will face an LSU team that was 14th in offensive steal rate this season in league play. The Tigers also have virtually nothing to play for this week in Nashville after going just 3-14 in SEC games this season. I think Matthews will cause a lot of problems for LSU’s offense in this game.

Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma: Lower than 18.5 points

Jeremiah Fears has (somewhat) figured out the SEC since going through a midseason slump. The freshman guard has scored in double-figures in 7 straight games and is averaging 19.9 points per game over that span. However, this looks like a bad matchup for Fears.

Fears gets most of his points in the paint and at the free throw line — 2 areas where the Bulldogs excel. Georgia is top-10 in the country in defensive block rate this season and finished 5th in the SEC in 2-point defense during the regular season. UGA is also 4th in the SEC in free throw rate defense this season. Finally, there’s this: When these teams met back on Jan. 11, Fears was limited to just 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting. He also turned the ball over 4 times in an OU loss. Fears should be better than that in the rematch, but I think getting to 19 points is a stretch.

Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.