DFS picks: Best Big Ten plays for Saturday, Feb. 15
The Big Ten basketball season is heating up as we hit the 3rd Saturday in February and conference tournament action quickly approaching!
With 7 games left in the regular season, there are 6 teams within 2.5 games of the conference lead, and Saturday’s action should provide some separation — or tightening — to the standings. In particular, Wisconsin and Purdue play a top-20 matchup in West Lafayette while Michigan State hits Champaign to try and get back on track against a hungry Illinois team.
Those 2 games present the intriguing DFS options for fans to take advantage of this weekend, and fans can use either Sleeper or Underdog to take part in the offerings. Let’s dive into 3 picks especially worth monitoring.
Braden Smith lower than 1.5 3-pointers made (Via Underdog)
Braden Smith is one of the best all-around players in the Big Ten, and Purdue’s star point guard could be on his way to grabbing the league’s Player of the Year honors. He’s also a career 40% 3-point shooter, so that might make this pick a bit of a head-scratcher.
In reality, Smith has 2 games in his last 3 outings with 4+ made 3-pointers. The catch? Those were road games against Iowa and Michigan, and he’s been otherwise stagnant from 3-point range in recent B1G play.
The last time Smith made a 3-pointer at home was actually on Jan. 21 in a loss to Ohio State. Since then, Smith has completed 3 home games without a bucket from deep, going 0-for-10 in that stretch. (The Boilermakers are still 3-0 in those games, for what it’s worth.)
The pick here also allows for Smith to make 1 3-pointer and the lower than to hit. He has 7 games in B1G play with less than 2 made 3-pointers, and Wisconsin is holding opponents to 32% shooting from 3-point range.
John Tonje over 17.5 points (Via Underdog)
John Tonje is one of the best scorers in the B1G for Wisconsin, coming in at 7th in the league at 18.6 points per game. The number from Underdog is below his average for the year, and he’s on the kind of streak that gives a lot of confidence in Tonje going over vs. the Boilermakers.
In 6 games since failing to register a point vs. USC, Tonje is averaging 23 points per game and has just 1 game below 17.5 points. That was his 15 points in a win over Indiana.
Another good news for that stretch? Tonje has 4 road games with at least 22 points, and Saturday’s game comes in West Lafayette.
Add in the fact that things will not come easy against No. 7. Purdue, and the Badgers are going to need Tonje to come up with his usual output — and then some — to keep this one close all the way. That type of usage and the run he’s on will give Tonje plenty of opportunities to get to 18+ points.
Kasparas Jakucionis over 26.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists (Via Sleeper)
Let’s file this under a revenge game, because if you look at Kasparas Jakucionis’s numbers from his first game against Michigan State, you’re going to back off the number. That’s because Jakucionis was limited to 3 points and 3 assists while being saddled with foul trouble in the first matchup vs. the Spartans.
Jakucionis does have a couple of recent duds based purely on his individual numbers, but his last 2 games have been fantastic with 24 points vs. Minnesota and UCLA. MSU is also reeling a bit and having its own issues, and that could open the door further on Saturday.
Another point to monitor here: Star Illinois big man Tomislav Ivisic was held out of practice due to ankle swelling on Thursday. He was expected to return to practice on Friday and should be good to go, but if he’s not 100%, the duties for Jakucionis only magnify.
