For a second consecutive week, Tuesday night in the SEC offers only a sampling, an appetizer, a little taste of basketball action. The Feb. 10 slate of games features just 2 contests — Vanderbilt at Auburn, and Arkansas at LSU.
I am currently riding a 6-pick hot streak in this column, so let’s take a look at some DFS angles to attack from these 2 games and keep the fire going.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 SEC DFS predictions
Below are 3 DFS picks from pair of Tuesday night games in the SEC. All of them can be found inside one of the best apps for daily fantasy sports on the market — Underdog. New users can hit the banner below each player pick and our SDS sign-up bonus will be applied to your account.
Vanderbilt F Tyler Nickel higher than 1.5 blocks + steals at Auburn
Auburn gets a quarter of its points at the free-throw line this season. That’s one of the 20 highest rates of any team in Division I basketball, per KenPom. The Tigers have a middling 3-point rate (178th in attempts) and a bad conversion rate on those shots (235th). Vanderbilt’s defense is holding teams under 30% for the season from beyond the arc and does an excellent job taking away the corner stuff. Auburn’s points are going to come from inside the arc and, more specifically, down close to the basket. With that kind of approach, it’s not surprise that Auburn routinely gets a ton of shots blocked — nearly 11% of its attempts this season, which ranks 283rd nationally.
Though he plays on the wing for most of his minutes, Nickel is pretty disruptive on defense, with strong steals and blocks (“stocks”) numbers for the year. He has at least 2 stocks in 5 of his last 8 games. During that stretch, Nickel has a 3-block game and a 3-steal game.
Via Underdog
Auburn F Keyshawn Hall higher than 21.5 points vs. Vanderbilt
As stated above, the expectation here should be that Auburn will be going inside to attack Vandy’s defense and force its way to the foul line. Vanderbilt goes after blocks and steals with fervor, and it fouls quite a bit. The Commodores rank outside the top 300 nationally for free throws yielded, per KenPom. Keyshawn Hall, Auburn’s leading scorer at 21 a game this season, averages nearly 9 foul shots a game and shoots 86% from the line. Hall’s a strong 3-point shooter (39.6%), but he should be able to get to his spots against Vandy inside the arc.
Hall shoots 58% at the rim this season, per Hoop Explorer. More than 50% of his shot attempts come from below the elbows. Vandy gives up 64% shooting at the rim (above the national average), 52% shooting from the left block (well above the national average), and 42% from the right block (above the national average). Hall has scored at least 24 in 3 of his last 4, a stretch that features 9.3 foul attempts per game and a 38% clip from 3. I like his chances to clear this number in a game that should be pretty high-scoring.
Via Underdog
Arkansas G Darius Acuff Jr. higher than 1.5 turnovers at LSU
The freshman guard for Arkansas has been a bona fide star this season, but any time I see a player with a workload like Darius Acuff Jr. and a turnover number this low in a road game, it’s going to have my attention. Acuff averages 2 per game this year, which is pretty impressive when you consider he has one of the highest usage rates of any player in the league (27.2%). Still, he has multiple turnovers in 15 of his 23 games, and he averages 34 minutes per contest. He sat for just 3 combined minutes in the Razorbacks’ last 2 games. Though LSU has been horrible at forcing turnovers this season — 300th in forced turnover rate, per KenPom — I’m playing the percentages. Acuff had 2 giveaways in the first meeting with the Tigers on Jan. 24.
Via Underdog
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
