We are literally one day away from March! However, until we get there, we still have a slate of regular season conference games to play. February 28th has one of the better college hoops schedules that we’ve had this year. We’ve got a handful of power schools, a couple of mid-majors, and a few low-majors mixed in. Also, we’ve found three plays that you’ll want to use in your Underdog Fantasy college basketball entry for tonight’s action.
Keep in mind that playing all three legs of our plays in Underdog Fantasy could win you 6X your money on a single entry. Let’s dig into tonight’s plays and remember to let it ride!
Underdog Fantasy College Basketball Picks February 28
Matt Dewoskin Underdog Fantasy College Basketball Pick Em Record (Est 11/4/2024)
All Pick Em Selections: 163-137-3
Perfect 3-0 Pick Em Entries: 19-82
Nick Martinelli Higher Than 6.5 Rebounds
Iowa pays a visit to Evanston, IN for a match up with Northwestern. The Hawkeyes enter this game allowing opponents to grab 36.9 rebounds per game this year. That’s 295th in the nation. Northwestern big man Nick Martinelli should fill up the rebounds column on the stat sheet tonight.
Martinelli comes into this match up averaging 6.0 rebounds per game this year. He’s gone higher than 6.5 rebounds in four straight conference home games. Martinelli did play against Iowa on December 3rd, and he was limited to only five boards. However, the Hawkeyes had a healthy Owen Freeman, and Northwestern had a healthy Brooks Barnhizer. Freeman was there to push Northwestern bigs around, and Barnhizer soaked up 10 boards. Neither will play on Friday.
Martinelli has seen improvement in his rebounds totals since Barnhizer went down, and this is a great spot for him. Iowa is capable of missing shots on the road, and Marinelli is one of the few guys down low to grab rebounds here. You’ll want to pick Martinelli to go higher than 6.5 rebounds in your Underdog Fantasy college basketball entry for February 28th.
Dedan Thomas Jr. Higher Than 4.5 Assists
Nevada makes the trip to Las Vegas for a game against UNLV. The Wolfpack has allowed opponents to average 14.2 assists per game this year. That’s 258th in the nation this year. Runnin’ Rebels point guard Dedan Thomas, Jr. should have no problem clearing 4.5 assists tonight.
Thomas enters this match up averaging 4.8 assists per game at home this year. He’s gone higher than 4.5 assists in five of his last seven games. That stretch of games included a game against Nevada in Reno. Thomas dished out six assists against the Wolfpack in that match up.
Thomas is the key distributor for the Rebels offense. He should log more than 35 minutes and have a ton of opportunities to hook up his teammates. This is one of the safest plays on the board, and should be included in your Underdog Fantasy college basketball entry.
Eric Dailey Jr. Higher than 10.5 Points
UCLA stops by Mackey Arena for a match up with Purdue tonight. The Boilermakers allow opponents to shoot 56.8% on two-point shots this year. That’s 338th in the nation. Interior defense has been a struggle for the Boilermakers. Let’s roll with UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. to score on the inside and go higher than 10.5 points.
Dailey comes into this game averaging 10.5 points on the road this year. He’s gone higher than 10.5 points in three of his last five conference road games. Dailey also shoots 58.3% on two-point shots on the road this year. UCLA should feed Dailey as often as possible.
Aday Mara’s points total is at 6.5. Going higher on Mara’s points projection was almost the play here. It’s also an option, but he’s just getting over an illness and may not get the playing time needed to go higher than 6.5 points. If you’re feeling ambitious, roll with Mara to get to seven points. However, Dailey is the safer option, and we know he’s going to get a full workload tonight. Lock up Dailey to go higher than 10.5 points in your Underdog Fantasy college basketball entry tonight.
The College Basketball Experience
For more analysis on every college basketball game for the 2024-25 season, make sure you tune into The College Basketball Experience. Colby Dant, Moneyline Mac, and Noah Bieniek talk about each game on the entire slate. Listen for input on ATS and moneyline college basketball picks every night!
