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The college basketball slate on Friday is loaded with important matchups across multiple leagues.
The action is headlined by Duke vs. North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals, but the SEC Tournament also has an intriguing slate of games on Friday.
Best DFS picks for Friday, March 14
Below are 3 picks for Friday that can be found on Underdog Fantasy. If you’re new to Underdog, be sure to use our exclusive Underdog Fantasy promo code SDS to earn up to $1,000 in bonus cash when you join!
Chad Baker-Mazara higher than 1.5 3-pointers made
Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara averaged 1.6 made 3-pointers per game during SEC play, but I really like this matchup for him. Ole Miss is one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to conceding 3-point attempts, and we’ve seen that bear out in its first 2 meetings vs. Auburn this season.
In the first matchup against the Rebels, Baker-Mazara went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. In the rematch, he was 4-for-5. There’s no question Baker-Mazara was running hot from an efficiency standpoint in those games, but I’m more encouraged by the attempts. He only got up 4 3-point attempts per game on average during the regular season but easily eclipsed that in both games vs. Ole Miss. He’s a 39% 3-point shooter this season who should get plenty of opportunity to shoot it against Ole Miss, so I like him to make at least 2.
Dylan Cardwell higher than 10.5 points + rebounds + assists
Dylan Cardwell is averaging about 11 points + rebounds + assists per game during SEC play. His minutes are a bit inconsistent, but he strikes me as a strong matchup vs. this Ole Miss team. He’s Auburn’s best offensive rebounder and the Rebels are terrible on the glass. He’s also good as a defensive rebounder, albeit not as prolific as Johni Broome.
In Auburn’s first meeting against Ole Miss this season, Cardwell played 25 minutes and put up 10 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. In the 2nd matchup, Cardwell played just 14 minutes and didn’t record a single rebound. So it’s a bit of a mixed bag, although I’ll note the 2nd game was more-or-less over halfway through the 1st half when Auburn jumped out to a 29-12 lead. I think Cardwell will play more minutes in this meeting and should have the opportunity to get to the magic number here.
Kon Knueppel higher than 18.5 points
Kon Knueppel will shoulder a heavy load on Friday against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Cooper Flagg is expected to miss this game with an ankle injury he suffered on Thursday, meaning there’s a lot of production that will have to be replaced in his absence. Flagg takes over 13 field goal attempts and nearly 6 free throws per game during conference play.
On Thursday against Georgia Tech, it was Knueppel who stepped up without Flagg there. He scored 22 points on 8 shots in the 2nd half alone, getting to the foul line 13 times. He also led Duke with 5 assists and 5 boards after halftime. This number is quite a bit higher than this average, but in this case, I don’t care. His role is going to look significantly different without Flagg in the lineup. He’s also been on a shooting hot streak recently as he’s scored at least 17 points in 5 of his last 7 games — and that was with Flagg in the lineup. I think Knueppel comes through in a big way in this spot for Duke.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
