Saturday NCAA Tournament Picks, Predictions for CBB DFS & PrizePicks - 3/22

This is March! After 32 games that stretched from early Thursday morning to late Friday night, the NCAA Tournament field is down to 32 teams, each needing just three more wins to reach the national championship in San Antonio.

From Cinderellas like Bennett Stirtz and Drake to powerhouses like Duke, we have you covered with the insight you’ll need to cook up your CBB PrizePicks lineups.

With the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament just a few hours away, let’s take a look at some of the biggest matchups and top CBB DFS picks of the day on PrizePicks.

Bracket already busted? No worries — you can still cash in on the NCAA Tournament on PrizePicks. Just pick more or less on player stats such as points, rebounds, or combos. The more players you pick, the more you can win — up to 1000x. If you’re new to PrizePicks, you can claim $50 instantly after playing your first $5 Lineup.

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College Basketball DFS Cheat Sheet for Saturday

Here’s a look at some of the CBB DFS picks and player projections to target in Saturday’s college basketball games for March 22 on PrizePicks. 

Saturday CBB Games to Target

• No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 9 Creighton: Preview & Pick
• No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Gonzaga: Preview & Pick

CBB DFS Picks Today for PrizePicks

• McNeese St. F Christian Shumate — 11.0 Points
• Drake G Bennett Stirtz — 17.5 Points
• ‍BYU G Egor Demin — 9.0 Points & 11.5 Points (Demon)‍
• Tennessee G Zakai Zeigler — 9.5 Points (Goblin)

Saturday CBB DFS Picks & Game Previews for PrizePicks

Here are the top games to target for CBB DFS fantasy production today, Saturday, March 22.

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 9 Creighton: Preview, Pick

Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
How to Watch: TBS

No. 1 overall seed Auburn (29-5) takes on No. 9 seed Creighton (25-10) in an intriguing round of 32 game in Lexington, Ky.

With depth, tons of experience and one of the nation’s strongest résumés, Auburn has been a force all season long. Led by senior forward and Naismith Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome, the Tigers dominated an SEC that sent 14 teams to the tournament. Auburn struggled late in the season, losing three of its last four games, and faced a tough first half against 16-seed Alabama State before pulling away for an 83-63 win.

Creighton, led by senior big man Ryan Kalkbrenner, has been a consistent tournament performer, reaching the second weekend in three of its last four appearances. While the Bluejays have a short bench, they minimize opponent free-throw opportunities (lowest opponent free-throw rate in the country, KenPom) and convert high-percentage shots (second in the nation in two-point field goal percentage).

Here are a few key stats to help you make your DFS picks for Saturday’s tournament showdown on PrizePicks:

• Auburn forward Johni Broome has been a Swiss Army Knife for Auburn this season. The senior leads the Tigers in points (18.7), rebounds (10.6), assists (3.1) and blocks (2.2) per game. KenPom ranks him as the nation's second rated player behind Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
• Broome is projected to match up with Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner in the post. Kalkbrenner is a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and earned his third consecutive nomination for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for the country’s best defensive player.
• Kalkbrenner leads the Big East in blocked shots per game (2.7), rebounds per game (8.7) and field goal percentage (65.7%). His 19.2 points per game rank second in the conference.
• With the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner patrolling the paint, Creighton limits opponents inside, allowing just 46.1% shooting on two-point attempts (16th in the nation).
• KenPom projects this game to be among the highest-scoring games of the day, estimating a total of 152 points.

CBB PrizePicks Pick: Auburn C Johni Broome — 20.5 Points

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 8 Gonzaga: Preview, Pick

Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
How to Watch: TNT

No. 1 seed Houston (31-4) looks to extend the nation’s longest winning streak against No. 9 seed Gonzaga (26-8) in one of the most compelling second-round matchups.

Gonzaga, despite limited marquee wins this season, secured a eight seed after winning the West Coast Conference Tournament and posting strong team metrics. The Bulldogs, led by seniors Graham Ike (17.0 points, 7.4 rebounds per game) and Ryan Nembhard (Division I-leading 9.8 assists per game), are looking to secure their 10th consecutive Round of 16 appearance. 

While these Bulldogs might not have the bite of Mark Few’s most dominant teams, they will be locked in against one of the nation’s top programs.

Houston has been a wagon all season long. Under coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars have earned five consecutive trips to the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament while winning at least 30 games in each of the last three seasons. 

Their winning formula remains the same — suffocating defense, methodical but efficient offense and relentless rebounding. In addition to key pieces L.J. Cryer and J’Wan Roberts, Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan (11.6 PPG, 43.5 3P%) has emerged as a key contributor for the Cougars. Houston dominated No. 16 seed SIUE 78-40 despite some second-half shooting struggles.

Here are a few key stats to help you make your DFS picks for Saturday’s potential classic on PrizePicks:

• Gonzaga G Ryan Nembhard leads the nation with 9.8 assists per game while averaging 10.8 points.
• Nembhard has seven or more assists in 17 of 20 games this calendar year and has played well against high-major competition, including 10 assists vs. 3-seed Kentucky and eight vs. 7-seed UCLA.
• Houston’s defense forces opponents into the country’s ninth-longest average length of possessions (nearly 19 seconds per possession).
• The Cougars also play at a slow pace on offense, ranking 359th out of 364 teams in tempo (KenPom). If Houston establishes itself early, possessions — and points — could come at a premium in this game.
• By contrast, Gonzaga likes to get out and run with its 44th-fastest offense, per KenPom. The Bulldogs rank 7th in KenPom offensive efficiency.

CBB PrizePicks Pick: Gonzaga G Ryan Nembhard — 6.5 Assists (Goblin)

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CBB DFS Picks Today for PrizePicks

Here are four CBB DFS picks to use in your PrizePicks CBB Lineups for today, Saturday, March 22.

McNeese St. F Christian Shumate — 10.5 Points

• No. 12 seed McNeese faces No. 4 seed Purdue at 12:10 p.m. ET on CBS today.
• McNeese F Christian Shumate is averaging 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
• Shumate is fresh off of a 13 point game in which he shot 5 of 6 in the paint in the first-round upset over No. 5 Clemson.
• Purdue struggles to defend the paint, allowing opponents to shoot 56.3% from the field — one of the 15 highest conversion rates in the country.
• McNeese is shooting better than 53% from 2-point range, well above the national average of 51%.

Drake G Bennett Stirtz — 17.5 Points

• No. 11 seed Drake hopes to continue its Cinderella run when it takes on No. 3 Texas Tech at 6:10 p.m. ET on TNT tonight.
• Division II transfer Bennett Stirtz is averaging 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game for Drake. 
• Stirtz is shooting 39.7% from 3-point range while playing the most minutes per game in the country.
• The Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year is the only Division I player this season with 500 points, 180 rebounds and 70 steals.
• Despite Drake playing at the slowest tempo in the country, Stirtz has continued to stuff the stat sheet. The potential NBA Draft pick has scored 20 or more points in 11 of his last 14 games.

BYU G Egor Demin — 9.0 Points or 11.5 Points (Demon)

• No. 6 seed BYU battles No. 3 seed Wisconsin at 7:45 p.m. ET on CBS tonight.
• BYU freshman Egor Demin averages 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists.
• Demin has topped nine points in four of his last six games. He scored 15 points — including 3-of-7 from 3-point range — in Thursday’s first round win over VCU.
• Wisconsin’s 3-point defense has been a weakness; 33% of points allowed come from beyond the arc (107th highest nationally). The Badgers have also struggled to guard longer, athletic players. Demin is a 6-foot-9 projected NBA draft pick.
• In this matchup of top 15 offenses, KenPom projects a total of 155 total points, one of the highest scoring totals of the day.

Zakai Zeigler — 9.5 Points (Goblin) & 19.5 Pts+Asts

• No. 2 seed Tennessee takes on No. 7 seed UCLA at 9:40 p.m. ET on TBS tonight.
• Tennessee G Zakai Zeigler is averaging 13.7 points and 7.5 assists this season. The senior scored 12 points and dished out 12 assists and zero turnovers in the Volunteers’ Round of 64 win over No. 15 seed Wofford.
• Zeigler has scored double-digit points in 21 of his last 24 games and 28 of 34 games this season.
• Per KenPom, 34.9% of opponent’s points against UCLA come from 3-point range, which is top 65 in the country.

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Get Real Money NCAA Tournament Action on PrizePicks

With all-day college basketball on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, there are tons CBB DFS picks to consider for your PrizePicks Lineups. As teams fight to make the Round of 16, you could be cashing in on the action.

PrizePicks is the best way to get in on the real money CBB action and get paid for your college basketball takes, all the way to the National Championship. 

Just pick More or Less on at least two CBB player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks — the more you pick, the more you stand to win. Use the players above to build your Lineups around, or use a 6-Pick Lineup to reach up to 1000x payouts.

With PrizePicks, you can build a Lineup of your CBB picks, however you want — from points to rebounds to combo stats, there’s endless ways to cash in on college basketball conference tournaments.

Check out the Playbook for more college basketball picks all the way through the National Championship game.