1. How To Bet College Basketball

College basketball bets don't get much simpler than moneyline — just pick which team will win straight up. Essentially, it's a 50-50 shot. However, the payout is rarely 50-50. Typically, bookies set one team. Call 1-800-522-4700. (IA) If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-BETS-OFF. (IN) If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. Indiana Self-Restriction Program. Take a look at the college basketball futures odds. These are bets like who is going to win the regular season conference title, conference tournament, and NCAA tournament. You only have to risk a small.

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

VERNON CROY is one of the top college basketball experts this season with more than +5,100 in profits and he is coming off a 6-Unit win Saturday and 7-Unit win Sunday. Croy has a 7-Unit College Basketball Total Play (8 p.m.) Tuesday and is 30-19 with plays rated 5.0+ this season. Click BUY NOW below.

TONY GEORGE has cashed five college hoops plays rated 5.0+ in a row and is an outstanding 21-10 +5,840 on his top picks this season. George is going with a 7-Unit College Basketball First Half Play (7 p.m.) and he is looking for another win. George is on a solid 53-28 run for +8,870 and you can get this one by clicking BUY NOW below.

STRIKE POINT SPORTS is releasing an 8-Unit College Basketball Game of the Year Tuesday (9 p.m.) from the conference tournaments after back-to-back 6-Unit winners over the weekend. SPS sees a huge College Basketball postseason ahead and you can get tonight’s 8-Unit play for just $30 below by clicking BUY NOW below!

ALAN HARRIS has cashed three straight and five of seven nights on the college hoops hardwood, including a Game of the Year win on Saturday. Harris has a 7-Unit College Basketball Total (9 p.m.) as he looks to get the money for the fourth night in a row. Click BUY NOW below and jump on board.

JASON SHARPE is off to a personal-best start to this hockey season and is up over +5,000 already. He's back on Tuesday with a 7-Unit NHL Play and he has gone 7-3 on his 7-Unit picks on the ice. Sharpe has gone 15-6 on his last 21 plays rated 5.0+ across all sports and you can get this one by clicking BUY NOW below. (ARUN SHIVA and SCOTT SPREITZER have a 7-Unit Play on the same side.)

RAPHAEL ESPARZA continues to be on an epic soccer run and has gone 14-3, +4,525 and his last 17 picks. Esparza has banked +12,750 over his last 150 picks and has a 6-Unit Soccer Play (3 p.m.) from the Champions League tonight. Click BUY NOW below and don’t miss out.

ALAN HARRIS has gone an impressive 10-3 (+2,795) in his last 13 soccer plays and is on a +8,075 soccer run that goes back into the 2020 season. He’ll look to add to those numbers with an 8-Unit Soccer Game of the Year (1 p.m.) Tuesday and he sees a load of value in this one. Click BUY NOW below and get on it.

DOC’S SPORTS SOCCER is heating up at the right time and is looking for a big day on the pitch on Tuesday as he's releasing a 7-Unit Soccer Play (3 p.m.). Doc has won four of his last six selections for +915 and believes this play is a hidden gem. Click BUY NOW below.

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Complimentary College games for today [Updated daily]

Boston College Eagles vs Duke Blue Devils Prediction, 3/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Guy Bruhn - 3/8/2021

The Boston College Eagles are scheduled to play the Duke Blue Devils at Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Duke opens this game as 11-point favorites. The total opens at 153.5. This report includes betting odds and our expert college basketball picks for todays game. Read More >>

Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, 3/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Josh Schonwald - 3/8/2021

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are scheduled to meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Notre Dame opens this game as 8.5-point favorites. The total opens at 142. This matchup report includes betting lines and our pick of the day for this game. 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.

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.

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Our team of experts at The Sports Geek has spent countless hours combing through online sportsbooks that offer college basketball betting lines and odds, and they have narrowed down the sea of options to this definitive list. Below are our selections for the best college basketball betting sites. Using a long list of data points, we’ve identified which sites will provide you with the best balance between all the vital attributes that make up a good betting website.

For some of us, it might be cheering on our alma mater, and for others, it may just be getting into March Madness betting, but college basketball has always had an appeal. The consistently fast-paced and exciting world of college hoops offers both an entertaining sporting experience as well as unique opportunities to bet on the NCAA.

We are going to get you schooled on how to bet on college basketball by teaching you the basics, sharing invaluable resources, and helping you figure out where to bet. By the end of this article, you’ll be ready to start NCAAB betting on your own.

We should mention that we do not allow sites to pay for placement on this list. We make all recommendations free from any outside influence. Our goal is to remain objective so that we can provide you with the best possible information without any bias. Later in the article, you’ll find a small selection of the criteria we used in making our selections so you can get a glimpse into our thought process. Feel free to use this list as a reference when evaluating any NCAAB betting sites you may have your eye on.

Resources for NCAAB Betting

Free Expert NCAAB Picks

The first resource you should be aware of is our section of expert NCAA picks. Here, you will find tons of insights and tips that will help you refine your picks and get a sneak peek into what the pros are thinking. We provide detailed analysis so you can see previous games, player stats, and other impactful data. Even if you don’t intend to plug-and-play our expert picks, keeping an eye on them can help you develop your strategy. Over time, you will start to see patterns in the expert picks that you can incorporate into your NCAAB betting strategy. Let us be your mentor! We can give you the inside scoop while you are still learning.

• Boston College Eagles vs. Duke Blue Devils – NCAAM March 9

• Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – NCAAM March 9

• Miami Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Panthers – NCAAM March 9

• Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles vs. Rice Owls Pick – NCAAM March 9, 2021

• Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers vs. Bryant Bulldogs Pick – NCAAM March 9, 2021

• Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Saint Mary’s Gaels – NCAAM March 8

• Georgia State Panthers vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers – NCAAM March 8

• UNC Greensboro Spartans vs Mercer Bears – NCAAM March 8

• Pepperdine Waves vs. BYU Cougars Pick – NCAAM March 8, 2021

NCAAB Computer Picks

Another beneficial section is our exclusive AI picks library. As you may know, AI stands for artificial intelligence. We use a sophisticated supercomputer to break down each matchup into a mathematical probability. By taking into account thousands of different factors, the system determines the most statistically probable outcome. The best part about using artificial intelligence in picking NCAA basketball winners is that the system improves over time. Each incorrect pick becomes a new data point to help refine the model.

Basketball Betting News

One thing you’ll quickly learn is that keeping up with the news in the NCAA is vital to basketball betting success. You need to have a pulse on what’s happening around the league if you want to make accurate picks. While a bevy of numbers and statistics is good, not everything is quantitative, and stats will only get you so far. We keep an ear to the ground to bring you up-to-date NCAA basketball news on everything you need to know, including injuries, hot streaks, and star players.

Basketball Betting Blog

In addition to our comprehensive news coverage, we also take on lots of other topics in our NCAA basketball blog. This is where you will find tons of valuable bits beyond current events including NCAAB betting tips, college basketball live betting advice, and much more. Over the years, we’ve accumulated hundreds of articles on everything from comparisons on betting strategies to bracket strategy. The blog is a great resource to refer back to when you are ready to take your NCAA basketball betting to the next level.

College Basketball Betting Strategy

Finally, we provide tons of resources to help you build your NCAAB betting strategy. There is way more to successful NCAA basketball betting than just picking a winner. To take full advantage, you need to know what makes the league tick and be able to take advantage of some of the unique betting options NCAA basketball offers. These strategy resources will give you insight into everything from basic betting fundamentals to learning to squeeze value out of every bet. We have something for everyone, whether you are a newbie or a pro.

Aspects of a Good NCAAB Betting Site

Signup Bonuses

One of the first things you need to look for when choosing a new NCAA basketball betting website is an excellent new player signup bonus. This is a bonus that online sportsbooks will offer to new players to lure them away from competing sites. Most of the time, these are provided as a match on the player’s initial deposit.

This bankroll boost and enable you to bet long and can give you more runway to learn. Even if it requires depositing more than you originally planned on, we suggest taking full advantage of these one-time perks if you can.

Promotions

Promos are a tool used by sports betting and gambling sites to keep players engaged. They offer new ways to play or other perks that encourage bettors to bet more often and bet bigger. Sometimes, these will come in the form of cashback on losses, or maybe an odds boost for a specific bet. But regardless of what your chosen NCAAB betting site offers, we recommend you take advantage.

Always check for which promos are active before placing your basketball bets. There is a good chance a live promo will overlap with your bet. You need to stay on top of checking promos because, while your bet may qualify, you often need to opt into the promo to get the extra value.

NCAAB Betting Site Security

We need to discuss website security as part of any proper analysis of NCAA basketball betting sites. You must play on a site that puts player safety above all else. We looked for sites using a variety of advanced technologies to keep player data secure. Our team of security experts has vetted all the sites on the list, and each one has been verified secure. We can assure you that playing on any of these recommended sites will provide you with the safest possible online betting experience.

Competitive College Basketball Betting Lines and Odds

One of the most critical factors in choosing an NCAA basketball betting website is making sure they offer competitive odds. Betting odds are how a sportsbook conveys the payout that corresponds with a specific bet. We’ll get into the details more later, but for now, just know that you want the best NCAAB betting odds possible, so you can maximize your wins when you pick correctly.

Each bookmaker creates their bets and their odds, so you will often find a wide range of odds on the same bet across different websites.

Cryptocurrency

A relative newcomer to sports betting and online gambling, cryptocurrency came onto the scene in a big way a few years back with the explosion of Bitcoin in 2017. These digital coins have become wildly popular for their anonymity, ease of use, and low fees. Millions of people are trading thousands of coins around the world, and this new payment method has worked its way into mainstream life, as well as online gambling. Each of the real money NCAAB betting sites on our list can provide you with a variety of options to bet with cryptocurrencies, and some even offer exclusive cryptocurrency bonuses.

NCAAB Betting Platforms

It is also essential that any NCAA basketball betting website we recommend provides players with a range of betting options. Nowadays, players want to be able to gamble when and where they choose. This means having access to their account from anywhere. The sites on our list offer a range of betting platforms that include PC, tablet, and mobile. We think the player must be in control so they can take advantage of every opportunity, regardless of whether or not they can get to a computer.

User Interface

While having multiple platforms is great, it is also important that those platforms work seamlessly and are easy to use. Each of the recommended sites invests heavily in the player experience by continually developing and tweaking their user interface to make it as straightforward, clear, and easy to use as possible. Also, these sites are aesthetically pleasing, so not only will you find them simple to use, but you’ll enjoy spending time on them.

Customer Service

Last but not least, customer service is the backbone of any good NCAAB betting site. We chose sites with 24/7 support with multiple contact options, including email, phone, and chat. With tons of satisfied customers and a track record of putting players first, you can relax when playing on any of these sites. If you should have an issue, they will have you back, and they will get you a quick resolution.

Understanding NCAA Basketball Odds and Lines

The first thing we need to learn when getting into NCAA basketball betting is how to read odds and lines. You may have seen these before in your local sportsbook, and they looked intimidating. Don’t worry. We’ll help to simplify them. These tables will tell us everything we need to know about any bet we are thinking about placing. We’ll learn how to college basketball odds and lines read them using an example, but first, let discuss what they are.

NCAAB Odds, as we mentioned earlier, are how you tell what a bet will pay if you win. These will be represented by a positive or negative number greater than 100 or less than -100. This number represents the payout that correlates with a $100 bet, and the plus or minus sign tells us which team is the favorite. The team with a negative number is the favorite, and the team with a plus sign is the underdog.

Next is the “spread” or the “line.” This refers to the number of points a team is expected to win or lose by. Similar to the odds, the negative number represents the favorite and the positive number, the underdog. These are often presented in increments of half points to prevent a tie. Let’s say a team is showing -5.5. This would mean they are expected to win by 5.5 points. If they were showing +5.5, they would be expected to lose by 5.5 points. We’ll get into more detail in a bit.

Most Popular NCAA Basketball Bets

It used to be that sports betting was as simple as picking which team will win the game, but over the years, betting has become significantly more complicated. Here are a few of the betting types you can expect to come across as you get deeper into the world of NCAAB betting. While each wager may be worth trying out, we suggest finding one or two that work for you and sticking to those. You will be better off honing your skills in a specific area rather than trying to be a jack of all trades. Most pros only use one or two types, and many of them make a killing.

NCAAB Spread Bets

When it comes to NCAAB betting, the first type of wager you may come across when college basketball handicapping is spread betting, or “betting the spread.” As we just learned, the spread shows how much a team is expected to win or lose by. The goal of a spread bet it to beat expectations, not to win or lose the game. The idea of using a spread is to level the playing field between two unequal teams. To account for this, the bookmaker creates this spread to make betting on each team more evenly matched. If there were no spread, everyone would always bet on the favorite. Let’s take a look at an example.

Here, we can see California is projected at -14.5, while Prairie View is projected at +14.5. Right off the bat, we know that California is expected to win because their number is negative. We could read this as saying, “California is expected to beat Prairie View by 14.5 points.” Under the spread, we see that both teams are showing -117 odds, so we would win the same regardless of which team we bet on.

To win a spread bet, we need to beat the expectations set by the spread. In our example, the expectation for California is to win by 14.5 points. Therefore, if California wins by 15 points, we win our bet. If California wins by 14 points, we lose our bet. This example illustrates the key differentiator for a spread bet: Your team can win the game, and you can still lose your bet.

Conversely, the expectation for Prairie View is to lose by 14.5 points. If they lose by 15 points, you lose your bet. However, if they lose by only 14 points, you win your bet. Here, your team may lose the game, and you still win your bet since they beat the spread.

Let’s say there is an overwhelming number of bets for California, and the bet is no longer balanced. The bookmaker might move the line to -15.5 for Cal and +15.5 for Prairie View. In doing so, California now needs to perform even better for the bet to win, while Prairie View can now do even worse and still win. This encourages people to bet on Prairie View while discouraging further bets on Cal.

NCAA Basketball Moneyline Bets

The next type of bet you might see in NCAAB betting is a moneyline wager. These are more straightforward than spreads, but they work similarly. With spread bets, the bookmaker adjusts the expected performance of each team to equalize the bet. With a moneyline bet, the bookmaker adjusted the payouts, and the only thing that matters is if your team wins the game.

Here is an example of how bookmakers present college basketball moneylines. You can see that each team is assigned odds, just like we discussed earlier. In this example, California is -2500, while Prairie View is +800, meaning Cal is a significant favorite to win the game.

Remember that, unlike a spread bet, your team needs to win the game for you to win the bets. This is why the gap between the two teams’ odds is so large. The payout corresponds with the likeliness of the outcome, so you can win much more by betting on NCAA basketball games if you take the underdog. To illustrate this, let’s look at a winning bet on each team given these odds.

Let’s start by saying we bet $100 on Cal, and they win. They are offered at -2500 as a heavy favorite. This means that a $100 bet will win only $4. Add that to your original bet, and your total payout is $104. If that seems like a dismal payout on a $100 bet, that’s because the chances of you winning that $4 are incredibly high, and there is significantly less risk.

Now, let’s look at the other side of the NCAAB bet. Say we wager $100 on Prairie View, and they win. Here, they are offered at +800 as a major underdog. As far as the bookmaker is concerned, they have very little chance of winning the game. Let’s say they defy the odds and win. In this case, we’d win $800 plus our original bet for a total payout of $900. As you can see, there’s significantly more profitable. This variance is due to the varied risk. The risk of betting on Prairie View is much, much higher than betting on Cal, but you get handsomely rewarded if you hit.

NCAAB Over/Under Bets

Maybe you would rather just bet on the whole game rather than on a specific team. In that case, perhaps over/under bets are for you. These are bets on the total points scored in the entire game rather than a bet on either team. Using our previous example, here is how it works.

In the middle row, there are two numbers designated with an “O” and a “U.” These numbers refer to the threshold of points at which an over bet wins against an under bet. While these do line up with different teams visually, that does not impact the bet. Just because the “O” is on the Prairie View line, that does not mean the over bet only applies to that team. You are merely betting how many total points will be scored.

You win an over/under bet by correctly picking where the point total for the game will end. This means points scored by both teams, not just one.Here, we can see that the over/under is 143.5. If we place an over bet, a point total of 144 will win. Conversely, if the point total were 143, we would lose an over but would have won an under bet. These NCAAB bets can be useful in situations where you have reason to suspect abnormally offensive or defensive games.

NCAA Basketball Prop Bets

Next up in the world of real money NCAAB betting is prop bets. This type can offer some of the most exciting wagers and can add a whole new level of fun to watching any game. Prop bets are more like the off-hand bets you’d make with your buddies’ mid-game. You can place bets on all kinds of small outcomes like who will win the tip, who will foul out first, or how many threes a particular player will hit. These types of bets can make every single aspect of the game thrilling, and they can also win you tons of cash if done correctly. Many bettors like to use these in tandem with other bets to build parlays.

The prop bets you take can have a significant impact on your success as some require much more skill than others. If you are just looking to try new bets and have fun, go nuts, but if you are serious about winning, take prop bets that require more skill. Look for bets on things that can be more predictable and have more data available. If you can spot patterns no one else can, you can turn NCAAB prop bets into serious cash.

NCAAB Bracket Bets

Last, but certainly not least, is college basketball bracket bets. These are likely one of the most popular NCAAB betting options and is by far the most popular in all of college athletics. Centering around the March Madness tournament, bracket bets are a unique way of picking winners that operates somewhat like a massive parlay.

When we talk about an NCAA basketball bracket, we are referring to the massive 68-team tournament held annually to award the NCAA college basketball national championship. The event takes place over multiple weeks and involves dozens of fast-paced games happening at the same time. The structure of this tournament is called a bracket, which looks like this.

To start NCAAB betting, you begin with a bracket that shows all the teams that the tournament includes, along with their first matchup. Your job is to pick the winner of each game down to the championship. While this may sound easy, the probability of picking a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. To put that into perspective, you are 32 million times more likely to win the Power Ball jackpot than you are to pick a perfect bracket.

As the tournament progresses, bettors get points for each correct guess, and their point total is compared with their fellow players. The biggest key to success in NCAAB betting with brackets is making high-quality picks in the first round, so you have as many teams as possible moving forward. Poor first-round picks can leave your bracket busted, meaning the teams you picked to go deep are already knocked out of the tournament. Betting on college basketball online with bracket bets is a ton of fun and can be a great way to get new players interested in the sport.

Summary on NCAAB Betting Online

There are tons of exciting ways to bet on college basketball. If you are looking for exhilarating real money sports betting, NCAA basketball is the sport for you. With extremely competitive matchups all season long and the most exciting postseason in all of college athletics, betting on college basketball can provide the perfect opportunities for new players as well as pros to get in on the action.

Hopefully, this page titled “College Basketball Betting Explained” has explained NCAA betting, and you feel confident in placing your first real money bets. Check back on The Sports Geek for more guides and info to help with NCAAB betting strategy as you continue to develop as a player. Always bet responsibly, and never bet more than you can afford to lose. Have fun and good luck!

NCAA Basketball Betting FAQ

How To Bet College Basketball