We are eight games away from solidifying the Sweet 16. From a glass-half-empty perspective, that means there are only 23 games left in the college basketball season before we crown a National Championship. But the glass-half-full view is that we have an entire day of jaw-dropping action to look forward to on Sunday, featuring some of the best teams in the country. We’re doing our part to spread out the action, sifting through the player pick’ems that leave DFS players with the most valuable edges.
This article will discuss 2-5 of my favorite pick’ems from DFS sites like PrizePicks. Check out our PrizePicks referral code for more details.
Don’t forget to leverage our simulations tool from our projections team to identify where the biggest edges are.
March Madness PrizePicks Predictions Today
Ryan Langborg Lower 13.5 Points
The Northwestern Wildcats will have their hands full in the Round of 32, trying to slow down the defending National Champion UConn Huskies. UConn remains the preeminent powerhouse in the NCAA ranks, trotting out one of the most imposing defenses in the nation. Consequently, it would be wise to reign in expectations for Ryan Langborg.
Langborg has been a secondary contributor for Northwestern this season. His 12.7 points per game ranks third on the team, while his 43.4% shooting percentage puts him eighth among all players with at least 10 games played. Surely, those modest production numbers will take a hit against the Huskies.
Anticipated regression compounds those concerns. Langbrog is coming off a career-best 27-point effort in the opening round, a game in which he shot 11-for-19 from the field. As expected, that was also Langborg’s highest-volume effort of the season and a substantial deviation from what we typically expect from him. In the six games prior, Langborg was averaging almost half that total, coming in at 10.2 shots per game.
Langborg’s outlook on Sunday is analogous to the Wildcats as a whole. Northwestern will be severely outmatched, precipitating an anticipated decrease in virtually all of their metrics. Included in that is Langborg’s predicted regression, in which we expect him to fall below 13.5 points.
Joseph Girard III Lower 6.5 Rebounds + Assists
The Clemson Tigers face one of the most obstructed paths to the Sweet 16, needing to get past the Baylor Bears on Sunday. Few teams have been able to keep pace with the offensively superior Bears, but Clemson will have to do their best to try. As a result, Joseph Girard III’s scoring duties may take him away from fulfilling his rebounding and assists projection.
Girard has been an integral part of the Tigers’ offensive attack. His 15.4 points per game ranks second on the team, with most of his shot attempts coming from distance. The senior has attempted seven or more three-pointers in four straight games, representing 71.4% of his shot attempts over that stretch.
The heavier scoring workload has taken Girard away from some of his peripheral obligations. The Tigers guard has just 13 assists over his past seven outings, eclipsing three just once over that stretch. Likewise, rebounds have been an afterthought for Girard, as he’s totaled 18 over the same seven-game sample, recording four or fewer in six of seven.
Evidently, rebounds and assists are not the priority for Girard. He’s exceeded 6.5 just twice over his last seven outings, combining to average just 4.4 per game. With Clemson projected to play from behind from the outset, Girard will be asked to make it rain while neglecting rebounds and assists. That leaves bettors with an advantage in backing him to fall lower than 6.5 rebounds + assists.
Darion Trammell Lower 13.5 Points + Assists
San Diego State Aztecs guard Darion Trammell captivated the hearts of Americans en route to last year’s National Championship. The California native was the emotional leader on the court, reserving his best efforts for when it mattered most. However, the now senior guard has been a tertiary contributor at best in 2024, and his ceiling is minimized again in Round 2.
Trammell attempted just four shots in Friday’s win over the UAB Blazers, knocking down a lone three-pointer and free throw to end the day with four points. Moreover, he added just two assists for a paltry six rebounds + assists.
The more concerning trend is that this isn’t just a one-off for Trammell. The Aztecs guard has been held to seven or fewer points in all but three of his last 10, averaging a minuscule 6.4 points per game. It’s not like his supporting stats are painting a more reliable trend, either. Trammell has been limited to a cumulative 49 assists and 30 rebounds across the same sample.
Recent performances support that Trammell is a candidate to fall beneath many of his projections on Sunday. The Yale Bulldogs’ unsuspecting defense will also play a role in Trammell falling below many of his individual benchmarks. Our most prominent advantage comes in backing Trammell to come in beneath 13.5 points + assists.
Wade Taylor IV Lower 17.5 Points
Thirty-five games into the season and nobody has been able to crack the Houston Cougars defensive shell. The Texas A&M Aggies will be the latest team to try and break through, but as the spread and the total imply, that appears unlikely. One player who could suffer the most on Sunday is Aggies’ top-scorer Wade Taylor IV.
Taylor has been the go-to scorer for Texas A&M and the ask has been amplified over the latter part of the campaign. Since the start of the conference tournaments, Taylor is averaging 16.7 shots per game, translating that to 13.9 points; however, his recent surge in scoring has put Taylor on the fast track with regression.
The Aggies guard was sensational in the Round of 64, dropping 25 points versus the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Sadly, that was his lowest point total over his last three games and an indicator of the downward trajectory that’s expected against Houston.
Taylor went 8-for-14 from the floor, including an absurd 7-for-10 from beyond the arc. The 70% shooting percentage from three-point land and 57.1% overall shooting percentage are well ahead of the normal range, implying that Sunday’s contest is an inevitable flat spot.
Those concerns are perpetuated by the Cougars’ elite defense. No team allows fewer points than Houston, and they rank tops in the nation in adjusted efficiency. Further, only five players have recorded more than ten points over Houston’s previous five contests.
Natural regression and the Cougars’ elite defense both support that Taylor falls short of his points projection in the Round of 32.
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