NCAA Basketball Betting Sites
NCAA College Basketball has grown exponentially over the past few years and is now considered one of the most widely gambled on sports in the United States. College Basketball once was only enjoyed during the time frame when NFL Football ended and MLB Baseball had not started. During that time, people would enjoy playing along in their office March Madness Basketball Pools and placing small wagers on NCAA College Basketball games during the conference championship tournaments. For those savvy enough to take the chance to bet on this gargantuan event…
Top College Basketball Betting Sites in 2024
People still enjoy the fun of March Madness but betting on NCAA College Basketball has grown with the times and is now wagered on from the beginning of the season all the way through the final game of the NCAA National Title Game at the conclusion of March Madness.
NCAA Basketball betting can be found at nearly every offshore sportsbook throughout the world and in most cases, they will offer you several different types of wagers to bet on. In this article, we will cover the basics of college basketball betting and show you what to look for when searching for college basketball gambling websites, as well as give you a few pointers on what to avoid.
How to Bet on College Basketball – The Basics
In order to be able to bet on NCAA basketball, first you need to find a sportsbook that will accept your bets. It’s only possible if sports betting is legal where you live. The good news is that since May 2018, this form of betting is no longer illegal in the United States. The US Supreme Court has ruled that there’s no legal ground to keep betting banned on the federal level.
Still, it’s up to individual states to make the final decision for themselves. Many have already made sports betting legal. But, some of those do prohibit betting on collegiate events in which teams based within the state are competing.
So, your first project should be to make sure you can actually bet on the NCAAB. If you can, it’s time to find a suitable sportsbook for this purpose. Although there are literally thousands of them available online, not all actually good enough. In order to be good enough for you, a bookmaker needs to fulfill a set of criteria, including things like a valid license, advanced security features, user-friendly attitude, attractive bonus deals, and of course, good odds on basketball events.
To spare you the trouble of looking for the best NCAAB sportsbook, we’ve taken care of the hard work. You can check out our list of best college basketball betting sites – each one of them is a great choice for NCAA basketball betting!
And once you’ve made your decision on which bookmaker to use, you can start placing NCAA basketball bets. If you don’t know what to bet on, the next part is the one you mustn’t skip. That is where we’ll talk about the most common betting markets in NCAAB.
NCAA Basketball Betting Markets
If you know how to bet NBA, you will know how to bet on NCAA basketball events. But, if you’re not familiar with NCAAB betting, we’re now going to teach you the basics, that is, show you what kind of bets you can make.
Popular Types of Wagers
If a sportsbook has NCAAB in its offer, you can be certain it’s going to let you bet on at least some of the following betting markets:
- 2-Way Moneyline – It’s basically betting on the winner of the match, including overtime. You just wager your money on the team you think is going to win the match.
- 3-Way Match-Winner – This bet lets you bet on the outcome of a match, choosing from Team A, Team B, and Draw.
- Point Spreads – You can bet whether Team A will win the match, while also covering a certain point handicap. For example, if you believe Team A is going to destroy Team B, you can bet on Team A -5. That means betting Team A will beat Team B with at least a 5-point difference.
- College Basketball Over Under – You can also bet on how many points a match will see. Points from both sides are taken into account.
- Half Time Betting – The same types of bets you can make for the entire game, you can make for the first half as well.
NCAAB Futures
Apart from the bets made things happening in a game that’s taking place in the next few days, you can also bet on events happening weeks or even months into the future. What we’re talking about are the so-called future bets. Here are some of the most popular ones:
- Season Champion – You can bet which college is going to be the winner of the next NCAA basketball season.
- Conference Winner – You can place money that your favorite college team is going to be the champion of their conference.
- March Madness Futures – There are all sorts of bets you can make in March Madness, including the Winner of the Tournament, teams in the Final Four, teams in Elite Eight, teams in Sweet Sixteen, and so on.
- Most Outstanding Player – Apart from betting on teams, you can also make future bets on individual players. For example, you can bet on who is going to be crowned the Most Outstanding Player of the season.
- Best Coach – Similarly to making future bets on players, you can also make futures on coaches. Who’s going to be the Best Coach of the next season?
How to Win at College Basketball Betting?
Betting on NCAA basketball is easy. What’s hard is making money off NCAA basketball betting. Of course, this doesn’t mean you’re destined to lose if you bet on college basketball. If you do your research thoroughly, you have every right to hope for success.
To help you out, we’re now going to provide you with some useful tips on how to get better at NCAAB betting.
Betting on the Home Team
Playing in front of their supporters is what all sports teams in the world love. But, when it comes to NCAA basketball, home-court is even more important. Actually, it’s one of the most decisive factors in duels between teams of similar strengths. The fact is that college basketball teams score about four points more on average when playing at home than when they’re on the road. It’s not just because of the support the home teams get from the stands; it’s also because traveling from one part of the country to another can be pretty exhausting for the players. Beware of travel – this is the next advice we got for you.
In the day and age of increased television coverage, many teams will find themselves crossing the United States to play a game. There are plenty of tournaments and made-for-TV matchups that will have teams far from home. Pay attention to where these teams are coming and going from. UCLA playing in NYC? Virginia playing in Oregon? These would be bad bets. This type of travel is good for everyone except for the players. These are 20-year-old college students after all and having to travel from coast to coast does them no favors.
Study the Table
In NCAA basketball, teams don’t change much over the course of a season. Although coaches have the right to bring in some players to strengthen their roster, usually those signings don’t have a major impact on the team’s performances.
How this concerns bettors is that NCAAB teams remain pretty much the same from the start of the season until its end, meaning that after a few weeks, you should be able to figure out what to expect from them. This leads us to the next advice – if a team has been playing well from the beginning of the season, it’s likely they will keep on performing at the same level later on.
To do this, simply take a look at the conference table. If a team from near the summit of the table is playing against a team from the bottom, it’s obvious who the favorite is. Still, even the best teams do lose 3 or 4 games in conference. And the reason is simple – these teams know each other.
Year after year they will play each two or three times in a season. And it’s tough to beat a team twice in the same year. Taking the underdog and the points becomes a good bet late in the conference season. A moneyline bet on an upset can pay big with little risk. Always check the head-to-head records before laying a bet.
The good teams are going to lose. As mentioned, upsets are common in this league. But one thing good teams do is rebound from a loss. Fast. The next team they face will feel the brunt of that loss more often than not. Picking good teams to cover even as much as 15 to 20 points after a loss is a good bet. They are eager to right the ship, and nothing feels better than a blowout win.
College Rivalries
Basketball might not be a sport with too intensive rivalries. There were no countries that went into wars over a basketball game – such a thing did happen in soccer. Still, this doesn’t mean that every basketball match has a friendly feeling about it. It doesn’t! Especially when it comes to college basketball games.
Certain colleges have been big rivals for decades, which makes their duels extremely interesting. Getting one over their arch-rivals is what every college basketball team wants, so you can expect them to be more motivated than usual in such matches. Kansas vs. Kansas State is one of the most famous collegiate rivalries, while there are many, many others.
Check Out the Rosters
There are more than 4,500 players registered for Division I of the NCAA basketball, but only a small percentage of them will actually end up playing in the NBA. Actually, a study was done by the NCAA itself to see how many college prospects proceed to the NBA after they’re no longer eligible to play in college competitions.
Their study concluded that about 1.1 percent of NCAAB players end up playing for NBA teams. Although this is a small percentage, considering that the number of college basketball players is large, it’s actually a decent number of players who get to move to the world’s best basketball championship.
But, what does this fact mean for bettors? It means that all the top teams in Division I have one or two players with a bright future in the NBA. And those players are usually the ones who are leading their teams forward. They’re usually much more talented than all the other players from the roster, which is why the team can get into huge problems if they get injured. This is why you need to check out the rosters of teams you wish to bet on in order to be sure the key players are going to take part in the match.
Read NCAA News & Previews
The only way to make money betting is by treating it like any other job. And same as any other job, sports betting requires a lot of work. Your work in NCAAB betting consists of reading the latest news from the college basketball universe.
You also need to check out expert opinions of famous handicappers, check team and player stats, and even actually watch the NCAAB games. If you’re a true basketball fan, none of this should come as a burden to you. You’re gonna love every moment of it!
Never Give Up
Don’t wait until March to place a bet on college basketball. College basketball has wonderful teams, great programs and competitive conferences. Follow the season. Watch some games. Place a few wagers. It will only make you that much better come March and you may make a few bucks on the way.
Betting on college basketball doesn’t have to start in March. Let this be the start of your basic guide to betting college basketball. It’s good to have a few tried and true strategies in your pocket before placing any bet with the best sportsbooks and college basketball isn’t any different.
Still, the best way to polish your betting skills is to test them out in practice. But, before you start doing that, it’s time to find a suitable sportsbook. Although you can bet on NCAA basketball at most US-based bookmakers, the fact is that many players still prefer betting offshore. In the next part, we’re going to discuss why that might be a good idea.
What Makes an Offshore Sportsbook Worth Considering?
When you initially begin looking for a place to make wagers on NCAA College Basketball, you are going to want to make sure that the sportsbook offers more than just normal straight wagering. A good reliable sportsbook will give you the ability to change your types of wagers and give you a decent variety of college basketball betting options.
It’s important to note that parlays are generally to be avoided. There are simply too many upsets every week to bet parlays well. For a parlay to be truly successful you will need a few favorites to come in. But college basketball doesn’t work that way.
Big Selection of Events to Bet On
March Madness makes everyone go nuts, but this isn’t the only period of the year when you can bet on NCAA basketball. There are plenty of other events you can take advantage off to enhance your betting profits. Many offshore books let you bet on all sorts of events from different divisions of the NCAAB.
In Division I of the NCAAB, tournaments are happening throughout the season. Still, most of them are scheduled for the early days of the regular season. November is the month when basketball fans get to enjoy most of them. In the season 2019-20, there is a total of 23 tournaments taking part in November, starting with 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden.
There are NCAAB tournaments taking place accords the United States in places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and so on. In addition to those happening in the USA, there are also some tournaments taking place outside North America. The Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic, for example, takes place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There’s also a tournament happening in Mexico, namely Cancún Challenge.
Then, there are also events in the lower tiers of the NCAAB. In the season 2019–20, there is a total of 23 basketball conferences in Division II of the NCAAB, each with 10+ teams. Doing basic maths, you can see that there are plenty of games to bet on in this division. It’s basically the same when it comes to Division III.
Finally, there’s also the Senior Night. At the end of every year, usually the last home game of the season, college basketball teams will have their “Senior Night.” This is simply a night to honor the departing seniors as they play their final home game. Parents give speeches, video montages are shown, jerseys are retired. It’s a great night for the team and university. Home teams are always a good bet but home teams on Senior Night are even better.
Wager Limits
You are also going to want to make sure that the offshore sportsbook allows small and large wagers and your limits are agreeable with your style of betting. If you place large wagers on college basketball betting, then you want to make sure that your offshore sportsbooks limits are within your wager amount.
Also, what type of wagers do they accept? Do they allow straight wagers, parlays and what are their payoffs on those parlays. These are all questions that you will need to ask yourself while you are doing your due diligence in reference to finding a offshore sportsbook for your NCAA Basketball Betting.
Competitive Odds and Lines
One thing that is very important with NCAA College Basketball betting is getting fair and even odds, and also getting odds in a timely manner. There are sportsbooks that favor underdog players and those that are partial to favorite betters. It is important for you to determine if you wager more in College Basketball Betting on the favorite or the underdog.
Additionally, when are those odds released. Some people like to bet on their college basketball betting plays early so it benefits them to have a sportsbook that releases odds early enough that they can place their wagers and not be required to wait until early in the day of the game.
People bet on College Basketball early for various reasons such as anticipated injuries, inactive players and many other reasons. This is why those type of bettors will want to make sure that they are with a offshore sportsbook that releases their lines early.
Banking Options
Finally, you are going to want to ask yourself if you can make banking exchanges such as making a deposit, making a withdrawal, or and when you make those deposits, what type of bonus structure is set up for NCAA College Basketball Betting. Most all reliable offshore sportsbooks will now offer various options for banking, including Bitcoin, Visa, Mastercard, Checks, Neteller, E-wallets and much more!
All though we prefer Bitcoin for all of our financial exchanges with offshore sportsbooks, some people will still want to make their deposits by using a credit card or bank wire transfer. This is why it is important when you are looking for your looking for a offshore sportsbook, that you make sure they have multiple options for your banking options.
Also, when you make these deposits, what type of bonuses are you offered? Offshore sportsbooks are eager to earn your business and do so by offering various bonuses such as cash options, free plays and covering the cost for you to make a deposit with them. Make sure that you are offered something each and every time you are making a deposit!
