NCAA Basketball isn’t wagered on by the majority of sports bettors until March Madness rolls around, but there is a long season before March Madness that can be very profitable if you follow the action closely. Most college basketball games will have odds posted at the major US online sportsbooks, but most of the European sportsbooks don’t provide odds on most games other than March Madness.
» Betting on College Basketball
Many people that start betting on college basketball are a bit confused by the massive moneyline odds and point spreads. NCAA basketball is very hard to wager on unless you follow the sport because of the insane odds and spreads. The main issue is that there is a huge different between the calibre of the top teams and bottom teams in NCAA basketball.
» NCAA Basketball Moneyline Bets
- Duke Blue Devils -300 vs. Boston College Eagles +280
Normally you won’t want to wager on the moneyline unless it’s going to be a very close game or if you want to bet on a dog with some nice value. Underdogs win fairly often in college basketball and you can pick up some nice value by betting on the moneyline when picking underdogs rather than the point spread. Analyzing moneyline bets is really simple and you just need to look at the (-) or (+) sign in front of the odds. In the college basketball moneyline bet above the Blue Devils are favoured to win by quite a bit. To win $100 profit on Duke you’d need to wager $300 whereas if you bet the same $300 on Boston College you’d win $840 profit.
» NCAA Basketball Point Spread Bets
- Duke Blue Devils -10.5 vs. Boston College Eagles +10.5
To keep the amount of juice low in college basketball most people bet on the point spread. You need to decide whether you want to bet on the favourite to win by a predetermined amount of points or if you want to bet on the underdog not to lose by a certain amount of points. In the college basketball point spread bet above the Blue Devils need to win by at least -10.5 points while the Eagles can lose by +10.5 points. Most of the time the odds will be around -110 on both teams, so you never need to risk much juice when betting on point spreads in NCAA basketball.
» NCAA Basketball Over/Under Bets
- Duke Blue Devils vs. Boston College Eagles – Over 135.5 / Under 135.5
In NCAA basketball teams play two 20 minute halves and you need to determine whether or not both teams will score over or under the total posted by bookmakers. College basketball point totals are always smaller than NBA point totals, so you can’t even compare the two together. In college basketball a lot of teams simply can’t shoot and in some cases score, so it’s vital you do your research on both teams before placing a bet on the over/under, so there aren’t any surprises.
» NCAA Basketball Parlays
If for some reason you want to bet on the moneyline of a heavy favourite or you just want to try and win a lot of money from a small amount, you should look at college basketball parlays. You need to bet on at least 2 unique bets on a parlay, but every time you add a new outcome the payout increases. It’s important to not bet too many games on a parlay or you’re never going to make a profit, as you’ll lose too many of them.
» NCAA Basketball Futures Bets
Every year at the beginning of the NCAA basketball season sportsbooks release odds on futures bets such as picking which team will win a certain division or picking which team will win the March Madness Final. Every year there are lots of futures bets to bet on, but you need to be willing to have some of your bankroll tied up for several months at a time.
» NCAA Basketball Prop Bets
College basketball won’t have too many prop bets on most games, but during important games and March Madness there will be a much better selection of prop bets. An example of a prop bet would be betting on a player to score over/under 20.5 points or betting on which team you think will win the opening tip-off.