How to Bet on NCAA College Basketball Games
Bet on NCAA College Basketball Games
Major League Baseball comes with off days that can limit your betting options to just a handful of games. The same is true of NBA and NHL betting, and at least a couple of days a week where the schedule is light. And obviously, NFL and college football betting comes with a large number of off days before the peak wagering of the weekend.
Standing out from these major American team sports is college basketball, and its 32 Division I conferences, and more than 350 universities that claim a team. With so many teams and so many games and stretching from the months of October to April, there really is no fuller schedule on the sports betting calendar than the one provided by NCAA hoops.
College Basketball Season Structure
When betting on college football, you are at best treated to 60 games a week that see a point spread from a bookmaker. The NFL is considerably less. But once the college basketball season tips off in October, each of the 350-plus teams will be playing at least twice a week. It is impossible to have that many games each week and not find at least a half-dozen games that come with favorable point spreads.
College basketball also treats us to big events all throughout the season. There are multiple early seasons tournaments that pit some of the best teams in the country against each other. The same thing happens over the holidays.
Then conference schedules kick into high gear by January, followed by the conference tournaments and the automatic NCAA Tournament bids that are at stake in early March, leading to a full month in sports so great that it gets its own trademarked moniker, March Madness.
Three weeks of tournament action, crazy buzzer-beaters, Cinderella stories, the Final Four the first weekend of April, the cutting down of the nets by the National Champion, and the playing of “One Shining Moment” closes out the six-month college basketball betting party.
Types of Single-Game College Basketball Bets
As with other sports, there are a number of different types of wagers you can place on college basketball.
The most popular type of college basketball bet is a point spread bet. It’s how the 2021 National Champion Baylor Bears can play the Big 12’s last-place team, Iowa State, and we can see betting action for both sides. You would never bet on Iowa State to win straight up over Baylor. But with a point spread in play, you might take the Cyclones.
When betting on the favorite, in this example, Baylor, the favorite must win by the amount of the point spread. Let’s say they are favored to win by 8 points – the average margin of victory for Baylor in its two games with Iowa State. If Baylor wins the game by 9, you win your bet. But let’s say you place your wager on ISU. If Baylor only wins the game by 7 points, a bet on the Cyclones is a winner. A win by 8, and the bet pushes.
Some things to note about college basketball point spreads, and especially in a case like this where the teams are so unevenly matched. The bookmaker is not making a prediction on the outcome. Their sole purpose in setting a point spread is to try and stimulate an equal amount of wagering on both sides. That’s also the reason the spread might change. If too many bets are coming on one side over the other, the bookmaker will adjust the line to incentivize more bets for the other side.
Also known as an over/under bet, this is similar to a point spread bet in that a certain number of points scored in the game dictate whether or not you win your bet. The big difference is that you aren’t betting a team but rather on a total score.
Sticking with Baylor and Iowa State as our example, when the two teams met at the end of February 2021, the total points scored was 149. The totals line set up by bookmakers prior to the game was 147.5, meaning that if you bet the over, your bet was a winner. If you took the under on 147.5, your bet was a loser.
Sometimes you just don’t have a good feeling about one team over another. However, you do like the game to be full of offense or a half-court defensive battle where points are at a premium. For situations like this, a totals bet is perfect.
There was a time, many years ago and before point spreads had been created, that all bets were placed with odds, also known as the moneyline. There were no point spreads to cover – only higher payouts for underdogs and lower payouts for underdogs.
You can still place these kinds of bets, and a lot of savvy bettors do. It’s a great way to turn an upset victory into a big payday or take easy money on a heavy favorite.
Once again, looking at the Baylor-Iowa State game that took place in late February, right before Baylor made its run to the national championship, the moneyline for that game read like this:
- Iowa State (+1200)
- Baylor (-2500)
Expressed in American odds, these numbers mean that for every $100 you bet on Iowa State, if they had won the game outright, you would have been paid $1,200. For a bet on Baylor, in order to win $100 in profit, you would have had to wager $2,500.
This is obviously quite lopsided, and the bettor needs to decide that even though Baylor was the heavy favorite, is that much risk worth it to win just 4% of your total bet. For Iowa State, you could win 12x your total bet, and if you thought Iowa State had a better than 8% chance of winning, then it’s a risk worth taking.
Just note that when looking at the big board of moneyline odds, the favorite for the game always has a negative number. The underdog for the game always has a positive number.
Also called in-play or in-game betting, these are bets that are placed throughout the course of the game when it’s in progress. Instead of only getting a new point spread or updated moneyline at halftime, you can bet on constantly changing spreads and odds as the game unfolds.
Live betting is still relatively new to the sports betting world, and it is exclusively for online or mobile betting. The dynamic action of changing lines, buyout options, and moving prop bets make wagering in-game on college basketball the most exciting and interactive ways you can bet on sports.
College Basketball Parlays
Betting on a single college basketball game is the most common way to wager on college basketball. But if you find multiple games you like, and you are so moved to combine them into a parlay, go for it.
Parlays are popular on both sides of the sports betting transaction. Bookmakers like them because they usually lose, and bettors like them because when they win, they typically win big.
Parlay bets are paid out on an escalating scale that generally looks like this. (Some sportsbooks may vary the payouts slightly):
- Two-team parlay: 2.6 to 1
- Three-team parlay: 6 to 1
- Four-team parlay: 11 to 1
- Five-team parlay: 22 to 1
- Six-team parlay: 45 to 1
Not all bets of the parlay have to be from different games. You can place a bet on the point spread and over/under on the same game for two of your parlay bets, as an example. You can also add a moneyline or prop bet, but since those pay out on odds, it will change the rate and which your winnings are calculated.
And, of course, always remember before you place a parlay bet that all of the bets must win. If you place a six-team parlay, chasing that really big win, going 5-1 won’t cut it. Anything less than 6-0 on your bets means that the parlay is a loser.
Proposition Bets
Prop bets on college basketball work the same way they do in football, where you may be most familiar with them. There are team prop bets – which team hits the most three-pointers, over/under on rebounds, does anyone foul out, etc. – and player prop bets – over/under on points, who finishes as the game’s highest scorer, most assists, etc.
One thing to note about prop bets involving college athletes is that some states make it illegal to bet on individual prop bets. So while you can bet on the outcome of a game, and you can bet on team-specific prop bets, you may find that your state does not offer any individual proposition bets on college basketball.
Futures Bets
The final type of bet that you can place on college basketball is a futures bet. These are typically bets on who is going to win the Final Four, made months before the Final Four. Although you can place futures bets on any date prior to an event happening, and that event can be on things such as conference championships, conference tournaments, and just getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
You can also place futures bets on individual accomplishments, like All-American awards, conference player of the year awards, and the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Although, as with individual proposition bets on college athletes, not all states allow you to wager on futures bets for specific players.
College Basketball Betting Strategies
It’s always fun to place bets on big games, like Duke vs. North Carolina and Michigan vs. Michigan State. But because of the added spotlight on games that feature big-time programs and future NBA stars, bookmakers tend to be more accurate in setting spreads. There’s also far more action on the game, which can render some common betting strategies less effective.
For profitable betting, instead of placing wagers on the ACC and SEC, take a look at smaller conferences. The Ohio Valley and Colonial conferences tend to only get mentioned in March, so there are deals to be had.
There will be less information available, but that means the bookmakers will often miss when setting the line. And if you become an expert on James Madison and Drexel, or Belmont and Murray State, you can find spreads and odds that are exploitable for profit.
Like with other sports, the home-court advantage does make a difference in college basketball. But it’s important to note that unlike the NFL, which has a somewhat standardized interpretation of the advantage of playing at home, home-court advantage in college basketball varies from team to team. Home court advantage at places like Duke and Kansas is different than at places like Syracuse and Villanova. As always, do your research.
Also, understand the context of the game. Is this a matchup of bitter rivals? Is someone fighting for an NCAA Tournament seed? Is a player back in his hometown? Is a head coach returning to a place where he was an assistant? None of these things by themselves should change your bet considerably. But if you’re on the edge, and if a bet feels like it could go either direction, these motivations may be enough to tip the scales.
Remember, to be a successful sports bettor, you just need to win 53% of your bets. Everything you can do to move the needle in your direction, even slightly, makes a difference.
Where to Bet on College Basketball
As the legalization of sports betting continues to expand across the country, you have more sportsbook options when placing your college basketball wagers. So be sure to do your research on which sportsbook best fits your needs.
Most odds and point spreads are standardized, so you may not find too much variety in the odds you play. But sometimes, you can find better deals on lines you want to play, so look around. If you can find a spread that moves just a single point in your favor, it’s worth it.
More importantly for you, the bettor, and not nearly as standardized across the industry, are the bonus offers and betting specials that you can find. Free money, deposit matches, and risk-free bets are almost always offered, but the amounts differ. Be sure to look for the best deals available. Never leave free money on the table.
Also, look at what types of in-season betting specials are offered. Some sportsbooks may give short-shrift to college basketball instead of focusing their specials on football. But if you look around, you will find a book that helps you maximize your college basketball betting dollar.
Sports Betting How To Guide
How Money Line Works?
Moneyline betting is by far the easiest way to place a sports wager. There are no point spreads to parse, no garbage-time free throws to ruin your betting day, and no last-minute meaningless touchdowns to take you from a winner to a loser.
How to Bet Odds
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