How To Bet On College Basketball
Most basketball bets are made on the point spreads. This is the easiest wager to understand. The sportsbook puts out a number to try and balance out the action on each side. If you want to wager on the favorite then you subtract the spread from that team’s score. If you bet UNC +9.5, you need the Tar Heels to lose by fewer than nine points or win the game outright to win your bet. The plus sign means Carolina is an underdog. Over/Under 144.5 (Total): Outside the point spread, the next most popular betting option for college basketball is the total, better known as an over/under.
NCAA basketball betting is a top draw among collegiate sports bettors, but cutting down the nets with huge profits at the end of the year isn’t just about knowing how to bet on college basketball. TopNJCasinos offers in-depth reviews about the top online college basketball betting sites in New Jersey with news, information, college basketball betting lines and other important betting essentials.
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There are more than 350 Division I college basketball teams that play in 32 NCAA conferences. The goal is simple: Win enough games to earn a chance at an NCAA college basketball national championship by being selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. Donned March Madness by those who follow the action, the NCAA Tournament is one of the top collegiate sporting events in the US.
With so many teams playing so many games, there are numerous chances for sharp bettors to make smart plays on college basketball betting markets. Every team plays around 30 games during the regular season and then heads to the conference tournament, a single-elimination showcase of NCAA basketball. The best teams go on from there to the postseason where the NCAA Tournament leads the field followed by the rest of the best heading to other tournaments such as the NIT.
College Basketball Betting Lines
Knowing how to bet on college basketball starts with the fundamentals. Just as a college basketball player needs to have the basics of shooting, dribbling and passing down, so does a college basketball bettor have to understand the point spread, the moneyline and the over/under.
Point Spread
The point spread is a popular option in college basketball because the format allows more bets to be placed on the underdog. The point spread indicates the number of points the favored team must win by in order for bets to pay out. It also shows how many points the underdog can lose by and still pay out for winning bets.
Bookmakers like Unibet NJ offer point spread bets on high scoring sports like college basketball because it invites more betting action. In essence, point spreads handicap bettors who back the favorite and gives benefit to those backing the underdog.
When looking at the point spread, the team with the minus symbol (-) is the favorite and has to win by more than that number of points. The team with the plus symbol (+) is the underdog and can do anything but lose by more than that same number. An example:
Duke -5.5 Kentucky +5.5
Bets backing Duke pay out so long as Duke wins by more than 5.5 points. On the other hand, bets on Kentucky will still pay out even if they lose the game but do it by less than the point spread.
Moneyline
The moneyline features two numbers that determine profits for bets placed on each team to win outright. The favored team is noted by the negative number and is the dollar amount one wagers in order to win $100. The underdog is noted by the positive number and is the dollar amount wins from placing a $100 bet.
Duke -200 Kentucky +125
To win $100 on Duke, a bet of $200 must be placed backing them. On the other hand, a $100 bet on Kentucky returns $125 in winnings if Kentucky wins.
Over/Under
The over/under (sometimes referred to as O/U, over-under or totals) is usually a bet placed on the total number of points scored by both teams. An O/U bet doesn’t have anything to do with who wins the game. Instead, the O/U is about the total number of points scored by both teams and whether that number is over (i.e. higher than) the O/U number or under it (i.e. lower).
Duke vs. Kentucky O/U 161.5
A 161.5 O/U for Duke vs Kentucky pays out on the over if the total number of points scored by both teams is more than 161.5 (example: Duke 85, Kentucky 83). The under pays out if the teams score a combined total less than 161.5 (example: Duke 76, Kentucky 70.
How to Choose the Best College Basketball Betting Sites
TopNJCasinos is a trusted resource that will help you find the best college basketball betting sites. With comprehensive coverage featuring in-depth reviews about the best fully legal sportsbooks in New Jersey, you’ll be armed with the types of essential news and betting information that will help take your college basketball betting strategy to the next level.
Our site includes all the different betting options and college basketball betting lines. This includes regular season, conference tournament and March Madness betting lines from the best online bookmakers in New Jersey.
And don’t forget to compare sign-up bonuses! Many online sportsbooks make special offers to help entice bettors to select them as their bookmaker of choice. At our site, you can compare these offers and bonuses to ensure you are getting the most bang for your buck.
College Basketball Betting Site Reviews
TopNJCasinos is packed with in-depth reviews on the top online college basketball betting sites in New Jersey. Our reviews include the most essential information about the best online college basketball betting sites including user experience, types of payment methods accepted and more.
How to Bet on College Basketball Games
Sportsbooks offer a wide variety of college basketball betting action. With so many games played over the course of a season, there are plenty of games to bet on as well as a wealth of futures and prop bets.
Popular bets on college basketball futures include picking the national champion and winners of the difference conferences. Because seasons are so long and so much can happen, there are many different teams with long odds early in the season that can pay huge dividends if the right futures bet is placed.
College Basketball Betting Tips
The best college basketball picks are made by thorough research and painstaking analysis. There are vast amounts of statistics available for NCAA basketball bettors to read and interpret but the best bettors are the ones who consistently stay on top of this information.
Players
In basketball, single players can make huge impacts on teams far beyond what can happen in just about any other sport. Every year, a few high-profile college basketball players enter the scene and make drastic differences in the performance of their teams. It’s important to know who these types of players are, what their skill sets are and how they fit into the rest of the college basketball world.
Coaches
Some of the best college basketball programs are one’s guided by perennial coaching powerhouses. But it’s not all about X’s and O’s. These coaches are also excellent talent evaluators and recruiters who go out and get legacy changing players on a consistent basis. Knowing the top coaches, their strengths and weaknesses and their historical performances is an important part of forming a winning college basketball betting strategy.
Situational Factors
Players who compete in indoor sports like college basketball don’t suffer from extreme weather conditions, but other situational factors can still play a huge role during the season. Some teams rely heavily on homecourt advantages in which opposing teams just can’t seem to make a dent. And that same team at home might look completely different on the road. Moreover, injuries, scandals and grades can all play a huge factor in upcoming games.
What are the Best College Basketball Bets?
The best college basketball bets are the ones that win. Or maybe it’s that the best college basketball bets are the ones that win big. But it’s important to grasp the basics of betting on single games before trying the more sophisticated options. Once mastered, there are many different and exciting ways to bet on college basketball.
- Game Betting Single game bets are popular in college basketball because of the long season and many games. College basketball betting action can be had via the point spread, moneyline and O/U.
- Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith is the award given to the top male and female basketball players in college basketball. It is the most prestigious award for NCAA players, and many bettors enjoy backing a player on the futures market to ultimately become the next recipient.
- March Madness March Madness is one of the top sporting attractions in the US. Every year, the NCAA tournament is full of surprises as underdogs regularly upset brand-name favorites. This type of environment makes it appealing to bettors because they can cash in on backing the little guys to create havoc in the overall brackets and earn huge profits from it.
- In-Play Bets Basketball offers exciting in-play betting opportunities because there can be such wild swings in scores and bookmakers update odds as the game is played. Watching a game closely and seeing the right thing and the right time can lead to huge returns as teams storm back from the brink of defeat to capture the win.
Where Can I Bet on the College Basketball Legally?
With TopNJCasinos you avoid illegal, offshore sportsbooks. The site is the best resource for learning important information on how to legally bet on college basketball games and how to make March Madness bets. Since PASPA was overturned in 2018, there’s now myriad opportunities to make safe and legal college basketball bets in NJ with fully licensed, trusted and secure sportsbooks.
Contributors
Dan Kilbridge
Reviewer sinceJune 2019
How To Gamble On College Basketball
An experienced gambler with a decade writing about sports and gambling, Dan's expertise includes popular casino games such as blackjack and roulette.
The ultimate resource to help you find the best bets each day in college basketball .
This page is divided into 3 simple sections.
The first section lists all of our premium member best bets for the day for College Basketball Picks. This section lists all the games for all sports, including NCAA basketball. If you don't have a membership at Doc's Sports you can test out our premium best bets risk free with a complimentary free $60 account here.
The second section lists one or two of our complimentary college basketball matchup reports. We write these daily for most NCAA basketball games. These articles are more for the do-it-yourself types that want to really dig in and also have the time do the extensive research required each day.
The third section ties into the second section where our experts give advice on what to do with the information and how to spot a best bet in College Basketball.
College Basketball Best Bets Tonight [Updated daily]
TODAY'S TOP PLAYS
DOC'S SPORTS NBA is on a 5-1 run for 7-Unit NBA picks and we are heating up with $2,370 profit the last 10 days we have released picks. We have a 7-Unit pick going Thursday after hitting an easy 7-Unit winner last Thursday before the All-Star Break. We picked up $13,000 for NBA predictions last season, No. 1 site wide, and we are making our move now in the 2021 season. Get a one-day package for Doc's Sports NBA on Thursday via the BUY NOW button below for only $30.
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Complimentary College games for today [Updated daily]
Seton Hall Pirates vs St. John's Red Storm Prediction, 3/11/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Parlay's Pundit - 3/10/2021
The Seton Hall Pirates are set to go head to head with the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Seton Hall opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 152. We have included an expert college basketball pick and parlay for todays game ATS. Read More >>
Syracuse Orange vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/11/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Parlay's Pundit - 3/10/2021
The Syracuse Orange are scheduled to go head to head with the Virginia Cavaliers at Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Virginia opens this matchup as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 133. We have included an expert pick and parlay for todays game against the spread. Read More >>
What Makes a Best Bet in College Basketball? [Updated during the season]
Here you will find a list of tips from our college basketball experts that will help you understand what makes up a NCAA basketball best bet and what you should be looking for in order to spot one on your own.
DOC'S SPORTS – I like to play on up-tempo teams at home. An example of this would be the Marshall Thundering Herd the last couple of years under Coach Don D'Antoni, the brother on NBA Coach Mike D'Antoni. His run-and-gun style is much more effective at home and numerous times over the last couple of years we have found great value with them. It seems like at some point in the game they will feed off the crowd energy and go on a double-digit run and put the game away against a lesser opponent. Playing on the road is a much different atmosphere and many of these up-tempo teams are not as effective so I look to avoid them.
ROBERT FERRINGO – One of the reasons that I love college basketball and have had so much success in this sport over the past decade is that there are so many angles to play. There are letdowns and look aheads. There are revenge games. There are under-the-radar injuries. There are games involving odd travel schedules. But for a best bet there are several things that I really hone in on. And here is one of them: take experience and cohesion over talent. If I am looking at a best bet I would rather have a less talented team that has seniors, veterans, and guys that have played together for a while against a team that maybe has more overall talent, but it's young and inexperienced talent. Last year my nonconference games of the year was Oklahoma State over Connecticut in Maui. Connecticut was looking at starting three freshmen against a Cowboys team that was hungry, and veteran laden. It was a blowout from start to finish. I used the same angle on Dec. 4 when I took Gonzaga – which was one of the oldest and most experienced teams in the country – over Arizona, another team whose best players were freshmen. Basketball is a game of chemistry and coordination. Veteran teams and players are a little more predictable in their efforts. And they tend to be a big more reliable in marquee games against younger, more hyped-up opponents.
RAPHAEL ESPARZA – I said a couple years ago that handicapping small conference schools means big money in the wallet. Just like in college football, you want to look at the small schools. It's no secret that in college basketball home-court advantage is huge, especially early in conference play. But lack of action on those smaller schools can give you outstanding betting value and if you are a totals better like myself then betting totals in smaller conference is a big moneymaker. Bettors always tend to bet the TV games and smaller conferences don't always get televised. The best times to bet the smaller schools are on Wednesdays and Saturdays because those are the bigger days in college basketball, and trust me the oddsmakers are looking at the 'key games', not the smaller schools, so soft action can produce big winners.
STRIKE POINT SPORTS – Conference schedules can seem like a big portion of the year, but a lot of hidden value is lost amongst the weekly shuffle of so many games. Bet on teams looking to avoid or capitalize on half-week sweeps. For instance, with the Pac 12 you'll have a team like Arizona play both its road games in a region over the long weekend. They will play Thursday at Oregon State and Saturday at Oregon. If they lose that first game, getting on them to avoid the 'sweep' in the second game can offer value. The same goes with momentum. A middle of the road team like Virginia Tech coming off a big home win against Duke earlier in the week and having the chance to finish the week with another big win at home (say against Notre Dame) can be a good spot. Momentum is key, and looking for the hidden value in a given week from back-to-back games is a good trend to identify.
INDIAN COWBOY – College Basketball might be the sport that has the greatest value in any given season. There are just so many games and many smaller teams have incredible value on them, as the oddsmakers simply do not have time to focus on them when so much action is the bigger conference games. In the opening two games last year for we took two 'Overs'. They were 'Over' 149 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga and 'Over' 149 Wofford vs. LSU. They were both winners. What we are looking for there is mid-major teams who step up to play bigger schools who have senior leadership. In those two contests, you had a Chattanooga team who had tons of veteran leadership going into Tennessee and gave them a great ballgame and ended up winning outright by a score of 82-69. Hence, we predicted an active underdog because Chattanooga will undoubtedly get up to face a big named school like Tennessee with such veteran leadership and Tennessee would still have to get their kinks worked out with so many moving parts in their system. We also took the 'Over' in the Wofford-LSU game for the same reason. So, look for mid-major teams who have senior leadership, who have been looking forward to face certain big named teams all year, working on their game plans accordingly and will push the Power-5 team to more of an offensive performance.
ALLEN EASTMAN – The two things that I look for in college basketball are turnovers and points in the paint. You need to score to win. So if teams have a high turnover percentage that means that they are at a disadvantage in overall possession. And that usually means an advantage betting against the spread. When I have a team that turns the ball over a lot facing a team that scores a lot of points in the paint, meaning they get a lot of easy baskets, I like to go with the top play because the team that scores a lot in the paint will be able to best take advantage of all the turnovers.
JASON SHARPE – College basketball best bets for me involve taking advantage of the hundreds of teams that one can bet. With so many teams in college it's nearly impossible for the bookmakers to keep a handle on all of them. So I will usually focus my efforts on the areas that the books don't and that's in the smaller leagues like the Ohio Valley Conference or the Big Sky. Spending most of my time and energy on studying up and following these teams closely gives me a tremendous edge. I had a big 7-Unit totals winner last January involving the 'under' between Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State. I had noticed that TSU had started playing a much bigger player a lot more minutes of late and he had considerably helped their team defense overall. On the other side of things EKU had lost it's top scorer a few games earlier and without him they had started playing a lot slower paced and were scoring less points. These things weren't easy for the books to notice unless they were paying extra close attention to these two teams which they won't be doing. I was able to use that valuable information to make and easily win a 7 unit 'under' selection.
ALAN HARRIS – It's not uncommon, especially in the nonconference season to see point spreads in the double digits and sometimes into the 20's and even 30's. Some handicappers will throw these games out. But a closer look at the game could show some value, whether it's on the favorite or the underdog. When looking at the favorite, ask yourself, 'does this line make sense?' There are times that a big number is warranted. It could be due to injury, scheduling, talent level, other factors or any combination of things. We had a spot like this last year where BYU was laying 16 points in a neutral site game in Vegas. We immediately jumped on the Cougars after knowing that they had a much more talented roster than St. Louis. We also factored in that this was going to be like a home game for BYU as they always travel well to Vegas. The Cougars led by seven at the half before pulling away for a 30-point victory. One of the things to look at when you see an underdog you like is to see what the favorite has going on with their schedule. Check and see if they have a big game up next as they will be looking ahead and not really playing up to their ability against the lesser team.
VERNON CROY – When it comes to making a big play in college basketball I use my systems, trends, stats and strength of schedule to my advantage. I also look for certain situations where I have a team winning by 10+ points and yet the line is off by at least six or more points. This process starts well before the season starts as I study and make note of certain under the radar teams that shoot the ball extremely well, play good defensively, and have a quality coach. Since there are so many college basketball games being played every week it is not hard to find games where the line is off by six or more points. In the NBA I find extreme value with certain teams in the next game after their star player goes down to injury, however it is the complete opposite in college basketball since most teams are not good enough to step up in the absence of their star player.
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DOUG UPSTONE – When it comes to best bets in college basketball, I go strictly by the numbers. It starts with shooting percentages, both offense and defense, and 3-point percentages are viewed separately. Next, I look for elements regarding large differentials between the teams in things like rebounding, turnovers, free-throw shooting and pace of play. The latter two are meaningful depending on close spreads and variance between fast or slow playing opponents. Then I move too situational handicapping and look at how have teams performed in their last five games, being home or away, and whom they played (tougher or easier foes.) Next is possible motivation and coaching. I weigh all these components, then look for useful trends that could match the situation and low and behold have a possible 6-unit or higher best bet!
TONY GEORGE – This college basketball tip refers to March Madness and the NIT Tournaments. There are numerous teams in the NIT every year that you can argue should have made it to the Big Dance field of 64. If you look closely at the schedule of those teams you will no doubt see a horrific road record, which is what kept them out. The NIT tournament, until it reaches New York for the Final Four, is not on neutral floors and teams have home games. In many cases a team with a bad road record plays a team in the same boat. However that team is at home where they went 13-2 on the year. I always look for bad road teams against good home teams in the NIT and if the price is right they are worth fading in that game no matter who they are.
SCOTT SPREITZER - Returning point-guards, assists-to-turnover ratios, and points in the paint are three of six key categories I use when handicapping college basketball. And the best thing about those keys is that they work in both nonconference action and when conference play begins later in the season. Add in our sought-after power ratings system, and we have enjoyed betting college basketball longer than any sport we wager on, going back nearly 30 years. It also may be the sport that offers more depth of value than any other, thanks to the volume of games and the smaller conferences where we the bettor can gain the advantage over the books. I've been a huge proponent of wagering on the Missouri Valley for 20+ years, and there's nothing better than finding value, week-after-week, on under the radar tilts.
Ncaa Basketball Betting Tips
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