College Basketball Betting: Betting Odds and Other Bets to Make and Win
Without a doubt, betting on college basketball game is one of the most popular sportsbook options available. Apart from NCAA football and NFL betting, college basketball is the more popular option amongst bettors. The reason being, NCAA basketball offers a myriad of betting options as well as plenty of opportunities to turn a profit.
With a lengthy regular season filled with a ton of college basketball matchups, as well as early season NCAA tournament and the massively popular March Madness, there is something to captivate your attention around every corner. BetNow is one of the top sports betting sites that offer some of the best betting odds, rewards, and sportsbook bonuses — the perfect sportsbook site for sports betting fans!
So let’s find out what makes online sports betting on college basketball so great and how you can make it work for you!
The College Basketball Season
College basketball in the USA is managed by collegiate athletic bodies including the NCAA, NAIA, USCAA, NJCAA, and NCCAA. Generally speaking, the college basketball season will begin in the 1st week of November and will run to the beginning of March.
Afterwards, the NCAA Tournament will commence and run up to the start of April, culminating in the national championship. Additionally, there are a myriad of early season college basketball tourneys that run through November and December.
Conference tourneys take place before the NCAA tournament. Teams that win their respective conference get an automatic bid for the Big Dance.
March Madness
The March Madness tournament is undoubtedly one of the biggest betting events of the men’s basketball calendar year. The college basketball tourney is a single-elimination basketball tourney consisting of 68 teams to determine who the best team in the nation is.
There are 32 automatic bids for teams that win their respective conference tourneys, plus 36 at-large bids awarded by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The tournament begins with the First Four, then the First Round (34 teams), Second Round, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and then the National Championship. Once you have some basic understanding of how the March Madness season runs, you can begin to make betting predictions.
Types of College Basketball Lines
The most common types of college betting lines consist of betting straight up (moneyline odds), betting against the spread, or betting on the over/under and prop bets. The line begins on the left with the name of the team followed by the spread, the TOTALs (over/under), and lastly the money line.
Sample NCAAB Betting Line
| Team | Spread | Over/Under | Moneyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston U | +2½ (-110) | 134 (-110) | +135 |
| Kentucky | -2½ (-110) | 134 (-110) | -155 |
Money Line
The college basketball moneyline is the simplest odds to understand — you’re simply picking one team to win the game. Kentucky is facing -155 odds, meaning you need to wager $155 to be eligible to win $100. A $155 winning bet on Kentucky nets you $255.
Houston U is the underdog at +135 — a $100 bet on Houston U would give you $135 in winnings, netting you $235 total (the original $100 + the $135 in winnings).
ATS — Against the Spread
The spread is set at 2½. Kentucky must beat Houston U by more than 2½ points to cover. Houston U covers if they avoid losing by less than 2½.
TOTALS (Over/Under)
When you bet on the over/under, you are simply betting on how much in total will be scored in a given college basketball matchup. The over/under is set at 134. If you think more than 134 will be scored in total, you would take the over (top line, Houston U). If you think less than 134, you would take the UNDER (bottom line, Kentucky).
Teasers
By placing a teaser bet, you are allowed to buy points off the spread — making it easier for your prediction to come true. However, you must place a wager on at least two teams. Teasers allow you to play around with the spread as long as you make predictions on more than one team. The odds and payouts vary depending on how many teams you’re picking.
Parlays
Parlay bets are some of the most popular NCAAB choices because of the huge payouts they offer. In essence, you are taking several small college basketball bets and combining them into one large bet. The only kicker is that all of your predictions must come true. Nevertheless, hitting a large parlay bet is undoubtedly one of the best bets you could possibly make.
Props Betting
Props betting has been growing in popularity in recent years. Props betting is sort of a wild card that allows you to wager on seemingly random events during any NCAAB contest. Prop lines range from who will have the lead at halftime to who will win the opening coin toss. BetNow recently introduced the option to make your own NCAAB props line so you can have even more say in the matter!
Live Betting
Live betting allows you to place bets on games as they unfold. The NCAA basketball odds change throughout the game so there are multiple opportunities to come out on top. The odds adjust to what occurs during the game — for example, if one of the favored team’s best players is injured, the betting odds would swing to the other team.
This is one more way that you can be rewarded for following along with NCAAB games. The start of the games can be the start of the NCAAB action — even after the scores have begun, you can get in on this.
Futures Betting
Futures betting allows you to cash in on some pretty lucrative odds by making a prediction way in advance. This includes who will win certain conferences, who will win the national championship, or who will have a Final Four berth. Because these can be made way in advance, you can take a chance on a team who you think will have success but the bookies aren’t favoring much.
The closer you get to the end of the NCAA tournament season, the less appealing these odds will become. Many will do so during the offseason, so that they’re predicting what the standings are going to be at the end of the year.
College Basketball Picks Open All Season Long
The NCAAB action is open every night. From big schools to the mid-majors and everyone else, you can find combined NCAAB action right here at our site — Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, and Sun, even before the Big Dance.
All Conferences Covered
You can make picks on the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and so forth. But, you can also make picks on the MAC, Atlantic 10, CAA, and so many other conferences. Big schools or mid-majors — we cover it all.
Expert Handicappers
What our handicappers provide can be taken as “picks” — these picks can be seen in our handicapping, what our handicappers believe is going to happen. We’re proud to make it possible for you to make picks on more contests than you might find anywhere else.
Promos All Season
If you really want to take your wagering to the next level, find a promo that fits. With the right promo, you give yourself the best chance for success. Seemingly weekly, we put up another promo — if you don’t see one that fits today, we’ll have a new one very soon.
If you have a gambling problem, reach out to 1-800-GAMBLER for help.
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