How To Bet On College Basketball

How to bet college basketball moneylines
How to bet college basketball pointspreads
How to bet college basketball totals
How to bet college basketball futures
How to bet college basketball prop bets
How to bet college basketball parlays and teasers
How to bet college basketball half betting
NCAAB odds

You don’t have to wait until March Madness to bet on college basketball. The preseason tournaments generally tip off in November, then the nonconference portion of the schedule begins when they’re finished.

The action heats up in January when the conference part of the schedule starts and that leads into the conference tournaments and, finally, the Big Dance follows that.

There are plenty of ways to bet on college basketball throughout the season, and here are the basic bets you need to learn about.

How to bet college basketball moneylines

College basketball moneyline betting is as easy as it gets. All you have to do is correctly predict which team will win a particular game. One team will be shown as the favorite for the matchup, and will have a minus sign in front of its odds. The opponent will be the underdog, and will be shown with a plus sign in front of its odds.

Let’s take an example of a game between ACC powerhouses North Carolina and Duke. The Tar Heels might be favored at -175 to win this game, while the Blue Devils are at +150 on the other side.

If you want to bet on North Carolina, you would have to wager $175 to win $100 on the favorites, who could be favored for a number of reasons. Home teams are usually given the benefit of the doubt, but many times, one team is simply better than the other, and the odds will reflect that.

Then you have the Blue Devils, and you would bet $100 on them to win $150 as the underdogs. It really is that simple when you are betting on moneylines in college basketball.

How to bet college basketball pointspreads

Pointspreads are different from moneyline bets in that you are wagering on the margin of victory in a game. The favorite and underdog is once again shown by a minus sign, and a plus sign for the underdog.

Again, let’s take North Carolina and Duke as the example. UNC might be favored by 3.5 points to win this game, so they would be shown as -3.5. The Blue Devils get the same odds, but since they are the underdogs, they would be shown as +3.5.

If you wanted to bet on North Carolina, the Tar Heels would have to win by more than 3.5 points, so basically, four points or more. The Blue Devils would be the winning bet if they lost by three or fewer points or if they won the game outright.

Don’t be surprised to see the half-point when you are betting on pointspreads. The sportsbooks add it so there will be a defined winner for the matchup. You will see, however, see pointspreads that land on a point. If there is a tie, that means it is a push and bettors get their money wagered back.

For example, if North Carolina and Duke have a three-point spread, and North Carolina wins by three, the bettor that wagered on the Tar Heels will get only their initial bet back.

One more thing that you should not be surprised to see: huge pointspreads. This is especially true early in the season, where the blueblood programs will load up on easy teams to get some practice in before their important games start. For example, you might see a team like Villanova favored by 30 points against Nicholls State. This will happen a lot during the non-conference portion of the schedule.

How to bet college basketball totals

Total betting – also known as Over/Under betting – referred to as over/under betting, but they are the same concept. The sportsbook will set a total amount of points to be scored in a game. Then, you have to bet on whether or not the actual total of the game will come in over or under the total that was set by the sportsbook.

Take a game between Kansas and Texas, for example. This Big 12 matchup might have a total of 142.5 points. You will be betting on the game coming up with a total either over or under that number. You will also see the over/under with odds listed on each side. Many times, both sides will have the same odds, for example, -110 or -115. But sometimes, one of the sides might be obviously favored. The over for the Kansas/Texas games might be favored at -120, and the under comes in as the underdog at +110.

This is where your handicapping research can really come into play. Take a look at how a team runs its offense against an opponent that might be tough defensively. If a college team runs a zone (we’re looking at you, Syracuse), can their opponent hit outside shots against them? If you are willing to put in the research, you can make a solid profit on betting on college basketball totals.

How to bet college basketball futures

Futures are more of a long-term wager. Something that happens far into the future, as it were. These types of bets are usually, who will win the NCAA Championship, or who will win the ACC, for an example of a conference bets. The NCAA Championship futures will be released shortly after the Tournament is finished, sometimes, the next day. Some sportsbooks have even released the odds for next season’s champion before the Tournament ends.

These odds can change throughout the season, so they are worth keep an eye on as the campaign progresses. If you do your homework prior to the season, you might be able to find some good value in your sportsbook.

How to bet college basketball prop bets

Props betting is a wager that on a game, that does not have to do with the actual outcome of the game. It also usually has something to do with a specific player. For example, if there is a Michigan player that is a monster on the boards, you might see a prop that asks you, “will this Michigan player grab 12.5 rebounds?”. Then, you would bet on the over or under for that number. One of the sides will likely be favored, so you might see the over listed at -140 and the under coming in at +110.

This is a good way to make a profit on college basketball betting, but you don’t want to risk anything on the actual outcome of the game. There will also usually be more props available to bet on during the NCAA Tournament.

How to bet college basketball parlays and teasers

Parlays and teasers are wagers where you can bet on multiple games at once, but combine them all into one single bet. Of course, the amount of games you can bet on starts at two, but you have to check with the sportsbook you are using to see what the maximum amount of games allowed is. The key for both types of bets, however, is that you have to win on all of the bets you make. One wrong pick and the entire wager goes down the drain.

Parlays are used with moneyline betting. Say that you have three games that you want bet, Kentucky as a -180 favorite against South Carolina, West Virginia as a -220 favorite over Houston and Xavier as a -150 favorite over Cincinnati. As favorites, you would not get much of a payout if you wagered on each of these games separately. However, if you put them all together in a parlay and bet on it, you would make a much bigger profit. But once again, you are taking a risk that increases with each game you bet and you have to hit on all three in order to win.

Teasers can be used with betting on pointspreads. Take the three matchups from above. Kentucky might be favored by 5.5 points in their matchup, then you have West Virginia by 11.5 points and Xavier by 3.5 points. You could take a four-point teaser and move Kentucky to 1.5 points, West Virginia to 7.5 points and then Cincinnati would be favored by a half-point in a game that could go either way. You can start off with a four-point teaser, and some sportsbooks allow you to tease as much as 12 points. But the more points you tease, the more your payout decreases, so keep that in mind.

How to bet college basketball half betting

Finally, there is half betting. Here, you can bet on the outcome of a half, instead of the entire game. For example, a team might be known for its fast starts, but they struggle in the second half of a game. You can bet on them winning the first half, and then hedge by betting on their opponents in the second half. This is also useful in a blowout where the winning team might rest their starters. That could allow their opponents to get the upper hand in the second half, although not enough to win the game outright.

NCAAB odds

Looking to bet on tonights NCAAB games? Check the latest “NCAAB Odds” here and start winning.