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 game 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.

Also, here at BetNow, whether non-conference play, conference play, or March Madness, our men’s basketball picks got you covered! BetNow is one of the top sports betting sites that offer some of the best betting odds, rewards, and sportsbook bonuses and is the perfect sportsbook site for sports betting fans! It allows sports bettors to legally wager in NCAA sports like basketball and major sports leagues, such as MLB (Major League Baseball), NFL (National Football League), NBA, NHL (the National Hockey League), and major league soccer.

So let’s find out what makes online sports betting on college basketball game so great and how you can make it work for you!

NCAA Basketball Betting in a Nutshell

The College Basketball Season

College basketball in the USA is managed by collegiate athletic bodies including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (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 to get sports betting fans excited about the year’s action. It’s also important to mention that conference tourneys take place before the NCAA tournament. Also, 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 in of itself 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 to the NCAA tourney for teams that win their respective conference tourneys. Additionally there are 36 at-large bids that are awarded by the NCAA Selection Committee to fill the remaining positions.

The March Madness begins with the First Four, which are 4 matchups that give some teams a final opportunity to enter the March Madness . Afterwards the action begins with the First Round, which includes a total of 34 teams. Once the First Round is over, the teams that advanced will face each other in the second round. And then we get the rounds with the catchy names to finish March Madness.

Following the second round, bettors who place bets on college basketball can wager on the Sweet Sixteen, then the Elite Eight, the Final Four and then the National Championship. Now that you have some basic understanding of how the March Madness season and men’s basketball tourney run, you can begin to make betting predictions. But first, it’s important to have some understanding of how college basketball lines work and the type of sportsbook odds available.

Types Of College Basketball Lines

It goes without saying that 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. We’ll be taking a look at these more in depth below but first we’ll be taking a look at a normal college basketball line. 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. The spread and over/under have a number that represents the line followed by the odds. The money line only has the odds.

Money Line: College Basketball Odds Explained

The college basketball moneylines is the simplest basketball odds to understand. Here you are simply picking one team over another, or picking one team to win the game. As you can see above, Kentucky is pegged as slightly favored over Kentucky. We can see this because Kentucky’s odds have a (-) in front of them while Houston U has a (+).

Generally speaking, moneyline odds start at -110. This means that you need to wager $110 in order to be eligible for $100 if you’re correct. Additionally, the number (or as it’s also referred to, the line) will continue to rise if a team is heavily favored. Ultimately this means that you need to put more cash down on your initial wager to still be eligible for that $100. Using the example above, we can see that Kentucky is facing -155 odds. This means that, if you’re looking to back Kentucky on the moneyline odds, you would need to wager $155 in order to be eligible to win $100. It’s important to note that a winning bet returns your initial investment. So a $155 winning bet on Kentucky would net you $255 (the original $155 + the $100 in winnings).

On the other hand, the payout on the underdog team is much higher. This is because the underdog is not likely to win so the sports bookies have to make the option more alluring. To put it shortly, the bigger the number following the +, the bigger the payout. Using the example above, we can see that Houston U is facing +135 odds. What this means is that a $100 bet on Houston U would sign you up for a $135 if you’re right. In short, a $135 winning bet on Houston U would net you $235 (the original $100 wager + the $135 in winnings).

ATS: Against the Spread

Betting against the spread can be a little more complicated. Here you’re not betting on a team to beat the other but rather to cover the spread. So how does a team cover the college basketball betting spread? And what is it in odds betting exactly? 

The spread is a number which teams must cover. Using the example above, we can see that it’s set at 2 ½. So in order for Kentucky, the favorite, to cover it, they must beat Houston U by more than 2 ½ points. On the other hand, if Houston U can avoid losing by less than 2 ½, then they would have covered. We’ll go over some examples below so you can feel confident about what it means to “cover” in odds betting.

Kentucky Wins 98-96 || Here Kentucky won by 2, so they did not cover the 2 ½ points.

Kentucky Wins 99-96 || Here Kentucky won by 3, so they did cover the 2 ½ points.

Houston U Wins 99-98 || Here Houston U avoided losing, so they did cover the 2 ½ points.

To be clear, this is how it works in all sports, MLB, NHL, Liga, NFL odds, and so forth. 

TOTALs: Bets on the Score

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. Obviously this is calculated by taking the point one team scored and adding it to the points the other scored. With this, you’re betting on the total points. 

Using the example above, we can see that the over/under is set at 134. So if you think there will be more than 134 scored in total, you would take the over. The over on the TOTALs line is always the top line, Houston U in this situation. On the other hand, if you think less than 134 will be scored, you would take the UNDER or the bottom line. That’s how you wager on the total, what happens at the end. 

College Basketball Teasers, Parlays & Props Betting

Teaser

Teaser betting is an option available to fans. By placing a teaser bet, you are allowed to buy points off the spread. This in turn makes it easier for your prediction to come true. However, in turn, you must place a wager on at least two teams. So below we’ll be taking a look at the odds and some theoretical college basketball teaser bets.

On the left hand side we have the same lines we covered before. On the right, we have a college basketball matchup between Virginia Tech and Duke in which Duke is pegged as a 7-point favorite on the spread. So to make a 2-team teaser, you would take one team ATS on each side.

As aforementioned, choosing a teaser bet allows you to play with the spread. Depending on which option you choose, you’re able to either lower the spread or raise it. For example, Kentucky is a 2 ½ point favorite on the spread. If you’d like, you can lower that figure to 1 ½ point or even a ½ point spread. To do so, you must take either Virginia Tech or Duke ATS. Duke is favored, so if you take them you can lower the spread. On the other hand, you can choose to raise Virginia Tech’s spread in order to give them a better chance to cover it.

The bottom line is that teasers allow you to play around with the spread as long as you make predictions on more than one team. You can choose to have 2, 3, even 8 team teasers. The most important thing to understand is that sportsbooks allow you to play with the spread as long as you pick multiple teams. This is because having multiple predictions come true is quite difficult. The odds and payouts on teasers 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. Unlike teasers that don’t offer the best college basketball odds, parlays allow you to make small bets with huge payoffs. 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. There are seemingly innumerable props betting options so it’s important to check these out yourself to see how wild they can truly get. 

Also, BetNow recently introduced the option to make your own NCAAB props line so you can have even more say in the matter! With that, you’ll be able to make lines that gives you the best chance for NCAAB success. 

Think about it: you aren’t tied to simply dealing with final scores anymore. Instead of having to wait for the scores to be posted any more, you can be successful throughout. You can view the contest through this prism: as a chance to be successful long before the scores are final. 

Live Betting: Beyond the Favorite and the Underdog

Live betting allows you to place bets on games as they unfold. This is a thrilling new venture that is coming onto the sports game scene. The NCAA basketball odds change throughout the game so there are multiple opportunities to come out on top.

What that means is that the odds adjust to what occurs during the game. For example, maybe one team is favored with odds of -115 before the game starts. However, once it does, unfortunately, one of the favored team’s best players is injured. In that case, the betting odds would change. Specifically, the betting odds would swing to the other team, possibly flipping the underdog and those who are favored. 

The odds change may not be that dramatic. But, NCAAB odds can shift in a heartbeat. This is one more way that you can be rewarded for following along with NCAAB games. After all, the opportunities don’t end when the NCAAB games start.  For so many decades, that was a reality: when the NCAAB games begin, the NCAAB wagers cease. Really, 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. That gives you a chance to do more than just have your success (or failure) determined by what the scores are at the end of the contest. 

Futures Betting

Futures betting is another popular type of placing bet in a game like a men’s basketball game that allows you to cash in on some pretty lucrative odds. What you’re doing here is 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.

That said, you can do these NCAAB Futures when you would like. For example, 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. 

Again, this is one more way of getting the winning in that you want without having to be tethered to the scores. You can be a success without having to wait for the stats or the scores to come around. 

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. That means you can find what you’re looking for on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, and Sun, even before the Big Dance. We’re expected to have more NCAAB players than ever before this year, and we plan on keeping that going. 

When we say “picks,” we just mean it in the context of “making picks on who’s going to win.” “Picks” are just “predictions,” you’re making picks on what’s going to happen. This is true if you’re doing something with props (“my picks are that this team’s center is going to put up 20 or more tonight”) but also if it’s about parlays (“my picks are about three pointers, one squad winning by five, and something that happens in another game.”) 

Picks often come with a form of analysis, too. 

Someone who is wagering on a game is making “picks.” By that same token, what our handicappers provide can be taken as “picks” as well. These picks can be seen in our handicapping, what our handicappers believe is going to happen. We’re proud to be able to make it possible for you to make picks on more contests that you might be able to find anywhere else. 

Here, 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. 

A Promo for You 

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 in a hurry. Sometimes, we’ll have a promo that gives you more opportunities to win more money. Other times, we’ll have a promo that forgives you for a game not going your way. 

Another form of promo: providing you with some kind of bonus. This promo will give you something so that you get more for when things go as you would like them to go. Seemingly weekly, we put up another promo. If you don’t see a promo that fits you today, don’t worry: we’ll have a new promo in a very brief period of time. 

If you have a gambling problem, reach out to 1-800-GAMBLER for help.