After a week-long hiatus, Fantasy Alarm is BACK with DFS CBB picks, strategy and slate breakdowns! Friday’s College Basketball slate is filled with potential tournament teams, a few nationally ranked programs and tons of DFS studs and value plays all-around.

DraftKings has a 6-game slate starting at 7 pm ET while FanDuel’s contests include just two of those matchups, both at 8 ET - Austin Peay vs. Arkansas & Louisiana-Monroe vs. LSU. In this playbook, we’re just outlining strategies for the DK slate because it simply requires more attention with more teams to focus on.

With a particular use of KenPom’s advanced ratings, we’ll point out the teams to target as a whole based on implied team totals, usage and salaries for notable players and favorable matchups. Then, as always, we’ll break down the guards and forwards to prioritize in your DFS lineups tonight.

If you have any questions or comments on tonight’s slate or anything college basketball-related, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @dan_servodidio or in the Fantasy Alarm CBB chat room.

Teams To Target

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (H) vs. Loyola Maryland - 7 pm ET (DK Only)

EAST CAROLINA (H) vs. North Carolina A&T - 7 pm ET (DK Only)

ARKANSAS (H) vs. Austin Peay - 8 pm ET (DK & FD)

Guards

Jarrett Culver - TT ($9,200 DK Only) - Culver is far and away the best guard on this slate - and is unsurprisingly priced like it. Normally top-tier, nationally ranked programs don’t have one guy who does it all when he’s on the floor, but Culver is that guy for the Red Raiders. His usage is one of the highest in the country and he’s hit 39 DK points in six of the last 10 games. For how much Culver handles the ball and takes shots - he took 21 against Duke!! - his floor may be the highest of the slate.

Markell Johnson - NCST ($6,900 DK Only) - Despite a serious dud last game out, Johnson’s price continues to rise. In cash games it’s tough to pay up for him, but in tournaments - it could be worth it if Johnson has another 3-point barrage like he did two games ago vs. Auburn when he went 5-for-8 from deep en route to 46 DK points. Loyola-Maryland is one of the worst overall defensive teams in the country and is especially poor at defending the 3-point line - 327th of 353 rated teams, per KenPom.

Jalen Harris - ARK ($6,700 DK / $7,200 FD) - Harris doesn’t score a ton for Arkansas, but he still claims a massive usage rate around the ball as the starting point guard. As the top ball-handler for the Razorbacks, he owns a team-leading 75.1% minutes share and one of the best assist rates in the nation. Over the last 10 games, Harris has 10+ assists in four games - making it a real possible he 4 or 5x’s his salary if he’s dishing it out like he can.

Michael Ertel - ULM ($5,800 DK / $5,800 FD) - For a reasonable price, Ertel provides a nice consistency for cash games. Ertel plays the largest share of minutes on Louisiana-Monroe (86.2%) and is averaging 25.8 fantasy points over the last three games. ULM has played enough tough competition this season that they won’t just roll over to LSU on the road. Ertel will need to make the most of his minutes and should put up double-digit shot attempts to return value here.

Zach Glotta - PEAY ($5,600 DK / $5,200 FD) - Austin Peay is slightly overmatched on the road vs. Arkansas, but Glotta can still return value in this game. He’s playing starter-level minutes at the 2-guard position and 88% of his shots this season have come from 3-point range. Glotta will have games where he struggles from deep - like an 0-4 performance last time out vs. Liberty - but he’ll also have games where he hits five or six of his 3-pointers and would easily 5x his salary. He has hit at least five 3-pointers in four of the last seven games - so there’s that.

Shawn Williams - ECU ($5,400 DK Only) - Williams has taken over a defined role for the Pirates since joining the team’s starting rotation late in November - spread the floor as a decent-enough 3-point shooter to open space in the paint for Gardner and LeDay to go to work.When Williams is taking (and hitting) his shots from deep, though, he can easily 5x his salary. He may have to do just that in another close game for ECU. It also helps that Williams has played 34 or more minutes in all but one game since joining the team Nov. 21.

Braxton Beverly - NCST ($4,000 DK Only) - Every time NC State is on the slate, Beverly remains an attractive value play at guard. Despite a pair of impressive games vs. Auburn and Penn State earlier this month, his price has dropped back down because of a dud performance last game out. Still, he’s playing a ton of minutes as a starter and only needs 15-20 points to return value at this salary - something he can easily do especially against a lesser opponent in Loyola-Maryland.

Isaiah Hart - LY-MD ($3,900 DK Only) - Loyola-Maryland may be very overmatched in this game, but don’t count out Hart to put up his share of stats and return value at this price. Andrew Kostecka ($9,000) and Brent Holcombe ($6,500) are the main cogs on offense, but Hart is playing starter-level minutes at point guard and has actually reached 20 or more DK points in three of the last five games. At this cheap salary, you only need 15-20 points to hit value - plus rostering Hart will allow you to pay up elsewhere.

Other Guards to Consider:

Tremont Waters - LSU ($7,800 DK / $7,500 FD)

Matt Mooney - TT ($6,400 DK Only)

Chuck Champion - LY-MD ($6,200 DK Only)

Quavius Copeland - NCA&T ($5,700 DK Only)

Forwards

Daniel Gafford - ARK ($9,400 DK / $8,500 FD) - Gafford has been a beats down low for Arkansas all season long. He’s a double-double waiting to happen and will provide 2-3 blocks and a steal on a nightly basis. Austin Peay has a couple talented bigs but they just don’t have the size to deal with the 6-11 Gafford in the paint. Expect an easy 35-40 fantasy points from him tonight - with the potential to smash and put up close to 50.

Jayden Gardner - ECU ($8,500 DK Only) - You’ll have to pay up for him, but Gardner could be the safest play on the slate tonight. In a game that could stay tight throughout, the freshman will take full advantage of the heavy usage he gets when he’s on the floor - a team-leading 73.5% of the minutes at the 4 and 5 positions. NC A&T is a poor rebounding team, giving Gardner a good chance at his fourth double-double in seven games and real upside for 50 fantasy points - a mark he’s hit three times in the past 10 games.

Seth LeDay - ECU ($7,700 DK Only) - As mentioned above with Gardner, NC A&T is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country - 351st out of 353 rated teams to be exact, per KenPom. LeDay will benefit from this a ton with the chance for some putbacks and 8-10 boards as ECU runs at a semi-fast tempo (77th in the country). Despite the favorable matchup, expect LeDay to be on the floor for 30+ minutes either way, because the Pirates have trouble putting away bad teams - and even have lost three times to teams as mediocre as they are.

Norense Odiase - TT ($4,500 DK Only) - Against teams with two quality bigs - like UT Rio Grande Valley - Odiase sees more playing time than usual at the 5 alongside Tariq Owens. Expect 20-25 minutes and 15-20 DK points from Odiase again tonight - if he stays out of foul trouble, that is. Rio Grande Valley is a poor rebounding team, giving Odiase a shot at his first double-double of the season.

Other Forwards to Consider:

Travis Munnings - ULM ($8,000 DK / $7,600 FD)

Naz Reid - LSU ($6,800 DK / $6,400 FD)

Tariq Owens - TT ($6,000 DK Only)

Ibrahim Sylla - NCA&T ($4,900 DK Only)

Wyatt Walker - NCST ($4,100 DK Only)

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Shawn Williams, ECU ($5,400)

G: Jarrett Culver, TT ($9,200)

G: Jalen Harris, ARK ($6,700)

F: Jayden Gardner, ECU ($8,500)

F: Seth LeDay, ECU ($7,700)

F: Norense Odiase, TT ($4,500)

U: Braxton Beverly, NCST ($4,000)

U: Isaiah Hart, LY-MD ($3,900)