CBB Grind Down: Thursday, January 8th
Glean insight from one of the game’s best, Varncass, as he lists picks he’ll actually be targeting in his tournament games below, along with detailed analysis and reasoning.
Thursday, January 8th
A nice break from the major slates, we only have 8 games tonight before Friday gives us a day off. It is always nice to have the Friday off to prepare for the Saturday slate, and if you are a frequenter of the column here, be sure to check out GrindersLive at 8pm tomorrow (Friday the 9th), as Justin V and I will be doing a CBB Grinders Live show. Anyways, here goes tonight’s games with a lot of the higher tempo games saved for the end of the day.
Michigan State at Iowa
| Michigan State | Iowa | |||||||
| Vegas Total | 131 | Fast Break Pts/Gm | 11.00 | Vegas Total | 131 | Fast Break Pts/Gm | 9.00 | |
| Vegas Sprd | 1 | Paint Pts/Gm | 25.20 | Vegas Sprd | -1 | Paint Pts/Gm | 28.18 | |
| Team Proj. | 65 | Opponent TOs/GM | 12.64 | Team Proj. | 66 | Opponent TOs/GM | 13.00 | |
| Ast/TO Ratio | 142% | Field Goal % | 50.40% | Ast/TO Ratio | 128% | Field Goal % | 42.00% | |
MSU
Primary Plays
Denzel Valentine – Trice is coming off the bench now, which detracts from his value a bit on FanDuel, especially because he is more expensive than Valentine. Valentine is the cheapest of the MSU big 3 and has arguably the biggest upside with all of the categories that he provides in. I like his matchup against the Iowa perimeter, as he is just plain bigger and stronger than Oglesby or Jok.
Secondary Plays
Branden Dawson – As Dawson gets healthier and healthier, his salary should continue to increase, as he is a double-double machine. I would expect him to average 15 and 10 while healthy, and be one of the highest floor guys. The problem is, he still has his brace on and has not been his best lately. His price keeps him from a primary play.
Iowa
Primary Plays
Aaron White – Uthoff has been great for Iowa lately, but I am fading him today. This game could be very low scoring and Michigan State’s perimeter defense is on point recently. Most of the teams score inside on MSU and do not take outside shots as they cannot get clean looks, so the onus is going to fall on White to score in this one.
Secondary Plays
Gabe Olaseni – Olaseni continues to come off the bench and continues to be a better player than Woodbury. His $5,600 price point on FanDuel is nice here as he has not shown us the steals and the blocks recently that he has the potential to. He is a solid cheap play who could cause problems on the MSU interior for Schilling and Costello.
Continue Reading: FanDuel CBB Grind Down & DraftKings CBB Grind Down
Take Your Game to the Next Level!
RotoGrinders College Basketball Incentives give you access to Varncass’ expert insight with daily customized FanDuel and DraftKings Expert Picks, plus you get an Injury Alert hub that updates with player news as the day proceeds, leading to finding some of the best value plays.
Buy CBB Incentives Now!
