How To Bet On College Basketball

Betting on college basketball games is highly entertaining and provides last-minute thrills, but it’s also a lot tougher than it looks to win consistently. With more ways to bet, and easy access to good college hoops data, it’s a good time to be alive if you can successfully wager on college hoops.

Keep scrolling for our our college basketball betting guide which covers different types of NCAA Basketball wagers as well as tips and strategies used by professional bettors to get an edge betting on college basketball. My goal is to get you betting with the confidence of 2008 Steph Curry who led Davidson all the way to the Elite 8. 

Games during The Big Dance are a lot different than the regular season, so be sure to check out our March Madness betting guide below which can help you find the next Cinderella story.

How To Bet On NCAAB Basketball

Whether you’re betting a few dollars here and there or putting serious money down nightly on college hoops action, it’s helpful to understand each of the available college basketball betting options. Below is a breakdown of the popular college basketball bets along with strategies and March Madness betting tips.

Moneyline

A moneyline bet is the most simple wager. The only thing that matters is picking the team that wins the game. The margin of victory and the number of points are irrelevant to moneyline bets. If you pick the Blue Devils on the moneyline and they win, so do you.

Upsets are common in college basketball so don’t assume that large moneyline favorites are “guaranteed” to win. Some bettors find success by carefully selecting underdogs on the moneyline.

Point Spreads

For any given contest, there’s a point spread that represents the differential of the final score of a given game. For instance, if Kentucky is a 8.5-point favorite (-8.5) over Vanderbilt, that means if you wager on the Wildcats to cover the spread, they would need to win by a margin of 9 points or more.

On the flip side, the Commodores would be +8.5 points, and if you bet them to cover the spread, Vanderbilt could ultimately lose the game but you would still win your bet if they lost by 1-7 points.

You can also bet on “alternate spreads” which are inflated or deflated point spreads with new odds to account for the change.

Totals (OVER/UNDER)

You can wager the OVER/UNDER on different aspects of a game. Whether it’s total points scored in the game or in a half, you can wager on whether the oddsmaker’s set number will be reached.

For example, if the line for total points scored in a matchup is set at 150.5, that would mean to hit the OVER, the two teams would have to combine for 151 points or more. To win on the UNDER, the total score would have to be 150 or less.

You can also bet on “alternate totals” that are adjusted totals with new odds to account for the changes.

Player Props

Some state lawmakers have begun banning college basketball player props, so they’re not available in some state. Player props are wagers on how a specific player will perform in a game. For instance you could wager on a player to score OVER/UNDER a certain number of points, rebounds, steals, or assists. Some player props combine these stats so you could wager on Cooper Flagg’s total Points + Rebounds.

Game Props

Game props don’t involve specific players, but are proposition bets based on other aspects of the game. For instance, “Method of First Basket” and “Will both teams score in the first two minutes? (YES/NO)”

Futures

A futures bet is simple – all you have to do is wager on the outcome of a season, the NCAA Tournament or even the winner of an individual award like Most Outstanding Player. If your prediction comes true, you win. You’ll usually get juicer odds betting on an outcome that is further away. For instance, betting on the National Champion during the Elite 8 will be less lucrative than betting on it prior to the tournament starting.

Parlays

Parlays are a fun way to get more bang for your buck when betting on college basketball, but there’s more risk too. A parlay allows you to make several wagers and multiply your odds by stacking each wager together. The catch is, in order to win, every bet placed needs to hit, otherwise you lose. Point spreads, moneylines, and totals are all popular options for parlays and some sportsbooks will even allow you to combine college basketball results with results in other sports (cross-sport parlays).

Same Game Parlays (SGPs)

Just like the parlays described above where you combine multiple outcomes, while simultaneously increasing your risk and odds, SGPs do the same but with a bunch of outcomes in the same contest. Often SGPs are comprised of multiple player props, and some sportsbooks will allow you to combine SGPs from different games into one larger bet.

Live Betting 

Live betting, often referred to as “in-game” betting, allows you to take advantage of momentum swings and place a wager after the game has tipped off. You can bet live on the spread, total, moneyline, alt total, alt spread and a host of other options decided by each sportsbook.

College Basketball Betting Tips And Strategies 

College basketball betting isn't easy, but the tips below can give you a big leg up on those who aren't reading this article right now.

Shop Around

Really, this is a betting tip no matter what sport you’re betting. It’s always best to have more than one sportsbook so that you can compare odds and point spreads and get the best deal in the market. If you’re in the market for an additional college basketball sportsbook, click here.

Monitor Trends

As the college basketball regular season rolls along, trends begin to build for each team. Some teams are much better at home than on the road and some teams especially struggle especially in conference games. Trends involving ATS records and OVER/UNDER percentages can be helpful too. Don’t blindly follow trends though. Oddsmakers aren’t dummies and they’re aware of trends too. But utilizing trends along with other pieces of key data can be helpful.

Use Odds Shark’s NCAAB Tools

The tools above are fantastic resources for any college basketball bettor. I particularly love the the NCAAB database which can help answer questions like, “What was the point spread the last time UConn beat Purdue?” The ATS Standings and Betting Records page is a great way to find teams that oddsmakers have been sleeping on or thinking a little too highly of.

It’s Not The NBA

Some NBA bettors who are less familiar with NCAA hoops struggle with the transition to betting college games. There are lots of differences between the two games to be aware of. For instance, college students are more likely to struggle with a hostile road crowd and sportsbooks are less familiar with each college team than they are each NBA squad which can create opportunity for bettors.

Live Betting Opportunities

People who trade crypto currencies are familiar with the term, “buy the dip.” It basically means “buy low” and get a discounted price when a commodity you’re eyeing loses steam. This principal can be applies to live betting college basketball games because you can get a great price on a team after they’ve found themselves in a hole. Just remember, live betting isn’t for everyone because the vigorish is typically higher and it’s harder to make a rational decision in the heat of the moment.

March Madness Betting Strategy

Now that you’ve got the basics of betting college basketball, let's talk about March Madness betting strategy. Unlike most of the regular season, March Madness games are all played on a neutral courts and with lots of added pressure. After all, each player knows if they go on a tear in March or hit a clutch shot, they instantly become a legend. Just ask Jimmer Fredette, Christian Laettner, or Shabazz Napier.

Below are some March Madness betting tips to consider before filling out your bracket.

Use Analytics

Late in the season, college basketball data is even more valuable because it’s so rich and consists of a larger sample size. Websites like KenPom.com and BartTorvik.com have free information that can be extremely helpful for March Madness. For more information about KenPom, click here and for more information about BartTorvik, click here.

Home/Road Splits

Some teams struggle on the road and neutral court games are essentially road games for both teams. Before placing a March Madness bet, have a good understand of how each team has played on the road this season.

If a team has won on the road, make sure they’ve proved it in big arenas in front of big crowds. If a team played well in front of the Cameron Crazies or the Izzone, that's a good sign. If they've struggled in big road spots, they might let you down in an intense environment.

Rollover Method

The “Rollover Method” is the strategy of betting on one team on the moneyline throughout the tournament and each round that team (hopefully) wins, you take all the winnings from the prior round and bet them on the next round. If you repeat this until the championship game, often times it’s more profitable than a futures bet on that team prior to the tournament.

The rollover method isn’t always more profitable but it often is, so you should ask yourself which option is best when betting on a NCAA Champion. Our odds calculator can help a lot. Another advantage to the rollover method is it gives you the opportunity to stop at any time after a round if you lose conviction or a player gets injured.

Experience Matters

A team with a bunch of starting seniors vs. a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores often has a major advantage. Consider fading teams who have no players with experience in NCAA Tournament vs. a team with guys who have handled the pressure before.

Also, March coaching resumes matter too. Coaches like Dan Hurley and Tom Izzo have tournament experience and they’ve proven that you should at least be cautious about fading them.

Foul Trouble

Before a game begins, have a sense of how deep or shallow each team’s bench is. If a team has a weak bench and a couple of their starters get into foul trouble early, there could be a great opportunity to fade that team with a halftime bet or in-game wager.

Bankroll managment

Believe it or not, professional bettors typically spend no more than 3% of their bankroll on each wager. By sticking with this philosophy helps manage the inevitable bad luck stretches that make us want to throw chairs like Bob Knight. Don't have your entire bankroll on the line on Day 1 of the tournament and don't put all your eggs in one basket. Check out this article for more advice on properly managing your bankroll. 

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