With two teams remaining and one million dollar “Shining Moment” at stake (since we never got the song this year), The Basketball Tournament has arrived to the Championship stage where the ice-veined Cinderella squad, 22-seeded Sideline Cancer, has a date with a four-seeded Golden Eagles team who has gone quietly as a premier top team every step of the way.
I wish this were at least a best-of-three in order to soak up as much of this amazing matchup as much as we can for every outlet of enjoyment, but “beggars can’t be choosers” so they say, alas we’ll have to relish in this one final Elam Ending (that I hope comes down to exactly that) to decide it all for TBT 2020.
For we Daily Fantasy Degens here at SGP, a Championship Showdown slate is very much something we take seriously, and by that I mean we play every damn one if we can. And live sports are hard to come by these days, so let’s take the Tuesday evening to enjoy this one Elam for all the marbles, and a moment to relish in what’s to come in the weeks ahead for the NBA (which we will be covering as well of course).
Looking for NBA action, check out these NBA restart odds.
High/Mid
Eric Thompson, Sideline Cancer
Forward/Center ($9,800 DK/$25 FD)
As the Cinderella keeps on dancing, Eric Thompson just keeps on rebounding and racking up the fantasy points. Averaging 33.5 DraftKings Fantasy Points per game throughout The Basketball Tournament, Thompson has taken the reins at center and dominated the post for Sideline Cancer despite a sidelined Diamond Stone.
Outside the TBT, Thompson has cleaned up the boards in the Israeli Basketball League, most recently with Hapoel Eilat in 2019-20, averaging nearly a double-double for his 21 games played (11.57 PPG, 9.29 RPG) and watching it transpire seamlessly to TBT.
He hasn’t had a game this tournament under 10 rebounds, and just two games ago posted an insane 18 rebounds (along with four points, three blocks, and two assists) that chipped towards 35 DKFP against a stacked Boeheim’s Army roster.
Golden Eagles are formidable in all certainty, but they trail Sideline Cancer in rebounds per game by a mile, as Eric Thompson has anchored a near 13 rebound differential per game in favor of Sideline Cancer by comparison. If the underdog story is to be fulfilled to its entirety, Eric Thompson’s rebounding ability will be critical in their contention for the TBT Championship.
Jamil Wilson, Golden Eagles
Forward ($9,600 DK, $28 FD)
The Golden Eagles of Marquette alumni have played a very convincing three games of The Basketball Tournament following their opening round bye, and the multi-threat capabilities of Jamil Wilson have been a prominent catalyst in doing so en route to the TBT Championship Game.
Averaging 33.9 DKFP (and 32.89 FanDuel Fantasy Points), Wilson has been shooting like a mad man from three-point land, hitting 41% from downtown (9-22 3PM) and carrying a 19.7 Effective Field Goal percentage. Wilson’s rebounding prowess has been keen as well, pulling down an average of seven boards per game in The Basketball Tournament and as many as 11 rebounds against Team CP3.
Firing off a game-high 23 points in the Golden Eagles most recent 79-70 victory over team Red Scare in the semifinals, Jamil Wilson matched his series average seven rebounds and led his Marquette crew to the TBT title game, and 38.75 DKFP to his DraftKings fantasy investors. Should Golden Eagles reign supreme on Tuesday evening, Wilson will be an evident contributor and is especially an excellent cash game play due to his utmost consistency.
Maurice Creek, Sideline Cancer
Guard ($7,800 DK/$20 FD)
While Marcus Keene is every bit as worthy of roster attention in regards to Daily Fantasy, Maurice Creek comes with a very similar DFS ceiling and at a slight discount (perhaps due to the attention on Keene’s sterling performances).
As Creek has been averaging 27 DraftKings Fantasy Points per game (and 25.82 FDFP), he’s accomplished this with double-digit points per game in all four outings, including a series-high for him of 22 points against Boeheim’s Army, very much the favorite against Sideline Cancer at the time.
At the same time, Maurice Creek smashed for 35.5 DKFP in that game with the accessory of eight rebounds to boot, and proved that he can not only come in clutch on the court but also in consideration of daily fantasy rosters. Averaging one steal per game through the tournament comes as an added bonus as well.
Mid/Low
Darius Johnson-Odom, Golden Eagles
Guard ($7,400 DK/$17 FD)
In a similar parallel between Creek/Keene in regards to price differential, Darius Johnson-Odom comes at a considerable price drop from court mate Dwight Buycks (whom I still hold in high roster consideration), while providing fantasy scoring that is only shy of Buycks by 4.7 DKFP per game.
Through the Golden Eagles’ three-game stride, Johnson-Odom has been draining the deep ball to the tune of 55%; matching the exact same rate of Buycks’ 3PM%. The one downside is that he’s a shooter first (and second, and third…) and brings little in the form of accompanying stats beyond raw points.
The upside to what Darius Johnson-Odom brings to the table is that aforementioned 3PM% is quite relevant in regards to what their opponent has been susceptible to through the tourney. While the shots didn’t necessarily fall for the previous opposition of Sideline Cancer, they allowed an average of 30 three-point attempts per game through four games played, paving an opportunity for Johnson-Odom to find success in the TBT finale.
Jamel Artis, Sideline Cancer
Forward ($5,400 DK/$13 FD)
His on-court contributions haven’t exactly mirrored his tenure at Pitt, but Jamel Artis has provided well-rounded supporting stats where it counts for Sideline Cancer through the tournament, and has come of much value to daily fantasy rosters at a very affordable asking price.
Jamel Artis hasn’t shown the scoring dominance in TBT as he did during college, where he averaged 18.2 points per game and a 27.2% usage rate his senior year (although I like to keep that ceiling in mind). Yet Artis has dished out 1.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game, while garnering 16.1 DKFP per game (14.52 FDFP) in his efforts.
He may not be an obvious primary threat for team Sideline Cancer, but Jamel Artis brings salary relief to DFS rosters in tandem with accompanied fantasy points via several support role stat categories.
Bargain
Maurice Acker, Golden Eagles
Guard ($4,000 DK/$12 FD)
With so much top and mid-tier talent providing the bulk of production, the Bargain Bin is a tad thin at the very bottom, but there’s still value to be found. Given his three-point precision, Maurice Acker has been just that for the price point he’s trotted in.
Averaging a very passable 12.8 DKFP per game (12.43 FDFPPG), Maurice Acker has been zeroed in on the deep ball when it’s there for him, hitting 56% of his shots from three-point range while averaging 1.7 assists per game in his serviceable 22 minute average playing time.
Much like Jamel Artis in relevance to fantasy purposes, Maurice Acker isn’t a hidden ball-mongering ace by any means but allows for incredible roster flexibility while keeping productivity intact.
