The midweek slate in the SEC features 5 games on Tuesday night and 2 more on Wednesday night. A top-25 battle between No. 20 Arkansas and No. 15 Vanderbilt in Fayetteville headlines the docket, but most of the action figures to be entertaining.
Let’s take a look at some DFS angles to attack from Tuesday night’s run of games.
Tuesday, Jan. 20 SEC DFS predictions
Below are 3 DFS picks from the Tuesday night slate of 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.
Arkansas G Darius Acuff Jr. higher than 26.5 points+assists vs. Vanderbilt
To knock off a Vanderbilt team that has lost only twice all season, Arkansas will need to supply its star guard with some help. The Razorbacks have lost 2 of their last 3, but Acuff has averaged 19 points per game with 20 combined assists during that span. Acuff hasn’t shot it well from the field over his last 4 games (44% FG, 29% 3P) but he has still managed to stuff the box score.
Acuff is a high-usage player, and there should be a ton of possessions in this game to go around. Bart Torvik projects an 89-87 game. Arkansas is top-20 nationally in tempo, according to KenPom, and Vanderbilt is top-40. The key number: Vandy ranks 326th in the country in free throw rate allowed to its opponents. Teams get a ton of foul shots against the Commodores.
That fits nicely with what Acuff wants to do. He averages 5.5 free throw attempts per 40 minutes this season and has 5 games with at least 7 attempts. He’s an 81% foul shooter, too.
Acuff has cleared 26.5 points+assists in 6 of his last 9 games.
Via Underdog
Auburn G Keyshawn Hall higher than 1.5 3-pointers made at Ole Miss
The Ole Miss defense hasn’t been great this season, but the Rebels have especially struggled on that end of the floor since conference play began. Per KenPom, Ole Miss is 12th in the league in effective field goal rate allowed, 13th in defensive rebounding rate, and 14th in defensive efficiency.
In conference action, the other side’s leading scorer got theirs. Oklahoma’s Xzayvier Brown scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 from 3). Acuff scored 26 points with 11 made free throws when Arkansas played the Rebels in Oxford. Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell had 20 on 7-of-9 shooting. Georgia’s Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 32 points with 6 made 3s and 8 made free throws in an overtime game.
After scoring 32 in back-to-back games for Auburn, Keyshawn Hall has come crashing back to earth over his last 2. He managed 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting in last week’s loss to Mizzou, then he was held in single digits (8 points) for the first time all season against South Carolina.
Four personal fouls and 2-of-7 shooting were to blame for the season-worst 14 minutes Hall saw against the Gamecocks. He hasn’t hit a triple since Jan. 10, going 0-for-3 in each of his last 2 games. If Hall is going to bust his slump, it’ll be against this Ole Miss defense.
Opponents are shooting 35% from 3 against the Rebels in conference play, and they’re getting a ton of looks. Ole Miss opponents get roughly 42% of their shot attempts from beyond the arc this season. They also average a 57% assist rate, one of the highest in the country. Hall should get some catch-and-shoot opportunities.
Via Underdog
Oklahoma forward Mohamed Wague higher than 6.5 rebounds at South Carolina
Two of the SEC’s cellar dwellers meet in Columbia to break someone’s funk. Oklahoma and South Carolina are both 1-4 to open league play. South Carolina won at LSU, but it has lost to Vandy by 12, Arkansas by 34, and Auburn by 4. Oklahoma has lost 4 straight, with only 1 of them being close, and that game saw the Sooners blow an 11-point halftime lead at home.
Both offenses struggle mightily. Oklahoma was good in out-of-conference play on that end, but the Sooners are 15th in the league in effective field goal rate since SEC play opened and they’re 13th in turnover percentage. They don’t get to the free throw line and they’re a terrible 2-point shooting team. If the 3s aren’t falling, OU isn’t scoring. South Carolina is dead last in offensive efficiency in the SEC. The Gamecocks can’t hit the 3, can’t get to the foul line, and can’t rebound their misses.
Though both sides play at slower tempos, there should be a ton of misses for everyone to bring in. Mohamed Wague, a 6-10 senior forward from the Bronx, averages 12.8 rebounds per 40 this season. He has at least 5 offensive rebounds in 3 of his last 5 games, and at least 3 offensive boards in 7 of his last 9.
South Carolina does not force turnovers and it doesn’t block shots, but it also doesn’t give up many 3-point opportunities. That means inside shots will be aplenty for the Sooners, which will give Wague an opportunity to dominate the glass.
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.
