NCAA Basketball – Wager on Your Favorite Games

Wagering on NCAA college basketball games is very popular in the USA. A lot of people that watch college basketball only watch throughout the month of March, which is when March Madness takes place. The majority of people who bet during the regular season are diehard fans, alumni, or professional sports bettors. Part of the reason is because college basketball is rarely broadcasted on any nationwide television networks like NCAA college football is. However, with the internet many games are broadcasted that local channels don’t televise, making it a popular sport for amateur and professional sports bettors.

If you want to bet on the regular season you can at most of the best wagering sites on the web, but most of the betting action takes place during March Madness. Every gambling site that accepts US bettors has seasonal betting for college basketball. Then, the betting action picks up big time as it gets to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, and Final Four. Betting on the national championship game is huge, with millions of bets being placed.

Different Types of Bets

The majority of NCAA college basketball wagers are placed on the point spread rather than the money line. On a money line bet the team only needs to win by a single point and in a point spread wager the favored team needs to win by more points then the posted spread. Money line wagers are easier to win, but the payouts are smaller when you’re betting on the favored team. This is simple risk vs reward.

If you’re going to bet on a point spread, make sure the spread gives 1/2 point. For example, if you’re taking a team at +6 points, some online sportsbooks consider a tie on the points as a loss on the bet. Also, be sure to check the rules of each sportsbook before placing a bet like this. You should never place a bet at a sportsbook where a tie is a loss for you. And if you really want to bet at that sportsbook for some reason, buy 1/2 point to make your bet +5.5. This way, no ties can happen.

A popular type of college basketball wager is on the over/under of a posted point total. Online sportbooks allow you to wager on the over/under of the entire basketball game, 1st or 2nd half or any of the 4 quarters. Most over/under bets add both team’s points together to determine whether the bet went over or under, but you may also wager on whether a team will go over a predetermined point total as well.

During March Madness you can also wager on prop bets and future bets. Bettors can wager on how many points a player will score in a given game or on the team they think will win the national championship game. These types of bets are available at most online sportsbooks. All of these types of bets vary depending on the sportsbook you wager with, but they’re always exciting and some will show good value.

How to Read the Odds

NCAA college basketball odds are posted in American odds (money line) format at the majority of sportsbooks. If you’re more familiar with decimal or fractional odds, look for a button that allows you to change the odds format.

The first thing you need to do is learn how to tell which team is the favorite and which team is the underdog. When you look at the odds you’ll notice they have a negative (-) or positive (+) sign in front of them. If one of the odds has a (+) sign in front of it then you’ll know that this team is the underdog.

• Wake Forest +4.5 –110 vs. Duke –4.5 –105

In the above example both teams have a (-) sign in front of the odds, but by looking at the odds you can tell that Wake Forest is slightly favored. You need to bet $110 to win $100 on Wake Forest and only $105 to win $100 on Duke.

If you aren’t betting on the point spread, then almost every game will have one team with a negative money line, and one team with a positive money line. With a positive money line, the number next to the + is the amount of money you stand to win on a $100 bet. So if the odds show +170, then you can win $170 on a $100 bet.