Draftkings NCAA Basketball Picks: Dayton vs. Cincinnati 12/20/24

Later today, the NCAA presents Draftkings basketball fans with a regular season matchup featuring the Dayton Flyers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Let’s take a look at this game from a Draftkings perspective.

Before we dive into the Dayton Flyers vs. Cincinnati Bengals game let’s review the rules for Draftkings single game showdown contest.

Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules

You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.

The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.

*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.

Here are my Draftkings picks for this evening’s Dayton Flyers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats matchup.

Draftkings NCAA College Basketball Showdown Picks

Captain-Malachi Smith, Guard, Dayton Flyers $9,200

Malachi Smith is a standout guard for the Dayton Flyers, known for his versatility, resilience, and leadership on the basketball court. With that in mind, what do the statistics say about Smith’s performance in 2024? To answer this question, let’s examine his game data from the 2024 NCAA regular season.

In the 12 games that guard Malachi Smith has played for the Dayton Flyers in the 2024 NCAA regular season, Smith is averaging 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.1 steals a game.

More recently, in the Dayton Flyers convincing 86-62 win over Lehigh University two weeks ago, Malachi Smith compiled 17 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and one steal. Smith shot 5 for 8 from the field, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc, and made 4 of 7 free throws in the Dayton Flyers victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

Examining the data just presented more closely, in the Dayton Flyers win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Malachi Smith accumulated a robust 39.1 Draftkings points.

As I noted in the rules section above, selecting the correct player at the captain position for a Draftkings NCAA showdown lineup is absolutely vital if you hope to win a large field GPP (guaranteed prize pool) DFS contest.

In my view, Malachi Smith is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in this evening’s NCAA regular season game. For that specific reason, I am rolling with Dayton guard Malachi Smith at the captain position for this one game Draftkings NCAA Showdown contest.

Flex Plays

Posh Alexander, Guard, Dayton Flyers $4,800

In addition to forward Malachi Smith, guard Posh Alexander has been a key contributor to the Dayton Flyers success this season.

In the 12 games that guard Posh Alexander has played for the Dayton Flyers in the 2024 NCAA regular season, Posh Alexander is averaging a respectable 17.1 Draftkings points a game.

In conclusion, I fully expect Dayton Flyers guard Posh Alexander to continue his quality play on the basketball court in this evening’s game versus the Michigan Wolverines.

Additional flex plays I like to perform well in this game (Draftkings price noted): Jizzle James, Guard (Cincinnati Bearcats) $7,800: Aziz Bandaogo, Guard (Cincinnati Bearcats) $7,400.