DFS picks: Best Big Ten plays for Saturday, Feb. 22
Big Ten basketball is just about ready for another packed conference weekend. Across Saturday, 4 games will be played, including a rare nonconference battle late in the season with plenty of DFS action involved.
While Saturday’s primetime battle between Illinois and Duke was shaping up to be must-see TV, the health of Brad Underwood’s squad has put a damper on the overall nature of the game. Plenty of talent and NBA lottery picks will be in action, but the Blue Devils will be tough to beat.
Within the Big Ten slate, Oregon and Wisconsin get the day started with the Ducks trying to quiet down the Badgers. It’s not an easy task, particularly in Madison, with a 5-game winning streak for Greg Gard’s squad.
Now, without further delay, here are some of the best DFS picks for Feb. 22:
Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad — Higher than 14.5 points (Via Underdog)
Jackson Shelstad has been a major piece for the Ducks in their inaugural Big Ten season, leading Oregon with 13.3 points per game. He’s also elevated his shooting from 3-point range from his freshman numbers, hitting at 38.5% from deep this year.
However, Shelstad is coming off one of his worst games of the season, failing to record a field goal while finishing 0-for-7 — 0-for-5 from deep — at Iowa. Playing at Wisconsin on Saturday doesn’t make things any better with the Badgers benefitting from elite guard play out of John Tonje, Max Klesmit and John Blackwell.
This pick does take into account Shelstad probably wanting to get over his dude vs. the Hawkeyes in a big way. But he was averaging 20.2 points in his 5 previous games, including some magnificent performances against elite B1G teams in Michigan and Michigan State.
The Badgers are rolling with a 5-game winning streak and have a clear edge at home, but that plays into the pick. Oregon will need to maximize Shelstad’s potential to keep up in this one.
Iowa‘s Payton Sandfort — Higher than 2.5 3-pointers made (Via Underdog)
Payton Sandfort has stepped up in the wake of Owen Freeman’s injury, leading the Hawkeyes in scoring 3 of the last 4 games. Now, he gets a home game vs. Washington and a favorable number here in terms of 3-point shooting.
Since Big Ten play resumed on Jan. 3, Sandfort is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers in every game. The number is even better if you isolate it to Iowa’s home games.
At home, Sandfort is averaging 3.14 made 3-pointers since the calendar flipped to 2025. He has just 1 home game below the 2.5 number since the start of February, and that came against Wisconsin.
Washington is not the same caliber of team as the Badgers, so look for Sandfort to try and light it up early on Saturday.
Illinois’s Kasparas Jakucionis — Less than 4.5 assists (Via Sleeper)
Kasparas Jakucionis has been one of the more versatile players in the entire country, but his overall numbers have dropped during a rough stretch for Illinois.
It’s not all related to pure performance. Fellow freshman star Tomislav Ivisic has been battling through various ailments, and the entire Illini squad has been battling a nasty virus this week, leading the team to skip postgame handshakes vs. Wisconsin.
Illinois is going up against Duke, and that means the Blue Devils have plenty of talent to throw at Jakucionis on defense. And even if the Illini were not experiencing a wave of issues in terms of health in the locker room, recent performances for Jakucionis should have plenty of people doubting him reaching 5 assists on Saturday.
In fact, the last time Jakucionis had more than 4 assists came with 7 on Feb. 2 in a game against Ohio State. Since then, Jakucionis has averaged 2.2 assists and 3.6 turnovers in all competitions.
With the Illini sliding and Jakucionis struggling, take any lower or less than number you can find on his performance vs. Duke.
