How to Bet on College Basketball
College basketball betting is massive on online sportsbooks everywhere, and the NCAA Tournament is one of the largest betting events of the entire year. But don’t wait until March Madness to get into NCAAB wagering; you should be doing that as soon as you can. Here is how you get started.
What are NCAAB Moneylines?
If you’re betting on the moneyline for a college basketball game, you’re betting on who will win the game, and that is all. Take the example of North Carolina and Duke, with North Carolina as the home team, favored at -200. The negative sign before the NCAAB odds lets you know that they’re the favorites and you would have to bet $200 to win $100. You’ll always have to pay a little more for the favorite, but they’re usually favored for a reason. However, Duke might be the underdog at +150 and the positive sign will show you that they’re the underdog. This means you would have to bet $100 to win $150.
What are NCAAB Spreads?
After you’re familiar with moneyline betting, you might want to move on to spread betting, which is really the most popular way to bet on college basketball. This is when you’re wagering on a certain amount of points when it comes to the margin of victory. For example, North Carolina might be favored over Duke by 5.5 points, which would read as North Carolina -5.5, and Duke +5.5. This means North Carolina has to beat Duke by more than 5.5 points in order to cover their end of the bet, while Duke has to lose by less than 5.5 points or they could win outright to cover. A lot of the time, you’ll see a half-point added to the spread to avoid a push, which is when a margin of victory lands exactly on the spread (the spread is 5, and the final score is 72-67, for example).
What are NCAAB Teasers?
If you don’t like the lines you see on the board, you’re able to shift them a little bit through a teaser bet. A teaser allows you to get a set amount of points to move the game in your favor, but you have to play a parlay of at least two games. Although it is riskier now that you need to win two games instead of one, remember that you’ve changed the line in your favor, so it should be easier to win each selection.
What are NCAAB Totals?
You can also bet on the amount of points that will be scored in a game, specifically, whether the actual total will be over or under the sportsbook total. A North Carolina vs. Duke matchup might have a total of 161.5, and again, you might see the half-point to avoid a push (as with spread betting, if there is a push, all money is returned). You will lay your wager on whether you think the final score will come in over or under the posted total.
What are NCAAB Futures?
Finally, you can wager on futures, which is when you bet on something that will happen down the road. That might be something like the National Champion, as well as the conference winners (or if those conferences have divisions as well). You might be able to bet on who will win the national player of the year award. You should be able to find National Championship odds relatively soon after one season is over, so that’s where your research will come in handy because you can find some good prices before the season even starts.