Daily Fantasy College Basketball 2015: DraftKings Strategy for March 26

College Basketball has been whittled down to 16 teams. By Sunday night, it'll be down to four.

According to KenPom.com, five of the eight teams playing Thursday are ranked in the top 10 and zero are ranked below 26th. So, at the very least, fans in Cleveland and Los Angeles should see some competitive games.

And daily fantasy players won't be overwhelmed by this smallish four-game slate chock-full of talented teams and familiar faces.

Studs	Opp.	Price		Studs	Opp.	Price
Fred VanVleet	vs. ND	$8,700		Andrew Harrison	vs. WV	$5,900
T.J. McConnell	vs. Xav	$7,900		Devin Booker	vs. WV	$4,700
Ron Baker	vs. ND	$7,700		Tyler Ulis	vs. WV	$4,600
Pat Connaughton	vs. Wich	$6,800		Evan Wessel	vs. ND	$4,100

T.J. McConnell ($7,800) vs. Xavier

Arizona's matchup with Ohio State last Saturday was supposed to highlight the two phenomenal freshman: Stanley Johnson and D'Angelo Russell. The two combined to go 4-of-31 from the field.

Not great.

What was great was McConnell's complete floor game. The senior transfer scored 19 points.

Tyler Ulis ($4,600) vs. West Virginia

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has quietly gone away from the mocked "platoon" strategy as the season has progressed. Lately, backup point guard Tyler Ulis has been getting more playing time. The little guy is averaging over 31 minutes per game over his last seven outings.

The freshman point guard has been smart with the rock with his expanded role. In his last 10 games, Ulis has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.8-1. 

Ulis is generally regarded as the Wildcats' best ball-handler. They'll have to depend on him to break West Virginia's press. Per KenPom.com, the Mountaineers lead the country in both steals and turnovers created per possession. 

If Kentucky is able to thwart West Virginia's press, it should get a lot of easy buckets in an uptempo game. Ulis is the favorite to lead the team in assists.

Studs	Opp.	Price		Studs	Opp.	Price
Frank Kaminsky	vs. UNC	$9,900		Trey Lyles	vs. WV	$5,500
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson	vs. Xav	$7,600		Darius Carter	vs. ND	$4,800
Stanley Johnson	vs. Xav	$7,500		Isaiah Hicks	vs. Wisc	$4,300
Nigel Hayes	vs. UNC	$7,300
Sam Dekker	vs. UNC	$6,800
Karl-Anthony Towns	vs. WV	$6,700

Frank Kaminsky ($9,900) vs. North Carolina

Bleacher Report

I waffled for a while on whether to include Frank the Tank on the list of smart plays. The fact is, his sky-high price puts a ton of pressure on the rest of the lineup. 

But ultimately, I couldn't leave the front-runner for National Player of the Year out when the script for this game is begging Kaminsky to go nuts. There are three factors that swayed my opinion:

1) North Carolina plays at the 12th-fastest pace in the country. Wisconsin, which normally moves at a glacial pace, should see some uptick in possessions. 

2) North Carolina rolls out a stout defense (50th nationwide,) but the Tar Heels foul a lot. Kaminsky has the ball in his hands all the time for Wisconsin and should live at the line if he can establish position in the paint.

3) According to CNN's Rachel Nichols, North Carolina coach Roy Williams confirmed that starting center Kennedy Meeks will be a game-time decision. Meeks went down hard in the round of 32, so his minutes in this game should be limited if he does play. If Meeks sits, Kaminsky and his patented old-man low-post game will baffle the  energetic but over-eager backup center, Isaiah Hicks.

If you can't afford Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes is an excellent option at $7,300. Hayes doesn't have the high floor or the upside that Kaminsky offers, but he should thrive in this matchup with the Tar Heels.

He's also already provided two reminders as to why we freaking love amateur sports! The first was when he was given Kobe Bryant's locker for Wisconsin's games at Staples Center. The second was embarrassing:

Nigel has gotten to the free-throw line more than any other Badger over the past three games. He also leads Wisconsin in minutes, averaging nearly 33 minutes per game over the course of the season. 

Draft info courtesy of DraftKings.

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