As with most sports betting, college basketball betting has seen a major uptick in interest from not just around the United States but around the world. This is because both men's and woman’s college basketball have been steadily gaining popularity. There are so many games to bet on and so much action with a lot of unpredictable results which means that betting against the odds is just as much fun in college basketball as anywhere else.
It is extremely important to have a solid betting strategy. You want to make sure that you know what units you are going to go in with and where you want to put them. Also, you have to make sure you know what you are looking for and what your area of expertise is. As stated before, there are many college basketball games and while betting randomly on them can be a strategy, it is not a wise one.
This is mainly important as people start to get ready for March Madness. That is truly when many casual bettors get into the scene and a time when you, a new expert thanks to
betting guides
like this, can go in and take advantage of their lax nature and lesser knowledge.
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Understanding College Basketball Betting
In many ways, college basketball betting is the exact same as the NBA and many other sports betting. The major differences again lie in the amount of games and the difference in levels of teams. Are you starting to see the theme yet? Do not worry if you are not, you will here soon.
There are moneyline bets, point spreads and total points. These are the same across all sports, especially in sports betting in the United States. Here is a brief reminder of each.
The moneyline is used to give you odds on who will straight-up win or lose a game. The point spread is also about who will win or lose and by how much or how little. This is one you can still win even if the team you pick to win loses. Then there are the total points scored. This can be for the entire game or for either of the teams involved.
The difference really is that there are teams that are just so much better or worse than their competition. This is because, unlike the NBA, there are hundreds of teams and some really good teams will play some horrible teams. That makes things a bit difficult to navigate when looking at the odds and understanding what they are and how to make money on them so also look for articles like betting odds explained.
Key Factors to Consider in College Basketball Betting
There are a few different key factors you have to consider when betting on college basketball. They are Team Performance Analysis, Player Injuries and Lineup Changes and Home Court Advantage. Now let’s dive right into each of them.
Team Performance Analysis
This is the most basic one. Do you know or understand the game of basketball? Here you will be looking at things like points scored, rebounds and the defense of opposing teams. It will be important to know the nuances as well if you truly want to be an expert in betting on college basketball.
The other part you will want to know is how is the team performing overall and how are their opponents performing. Are they on a win streak or is everything going wrong for them right now? This is massively important as momentum and confidence are crucial to teams winning and knowing how to spot those trends are crucial when placing smart bets.
Player Injuries and Lineup Changes
Knowing about injuries and who is starting is also vastly important. Injuries can drastically sway the odds in one team's favor over the other. Even if a team is generally much better than another team, if they are missing three of their starters due to injury, even a much lesser team will be able to beat them.
The same can be said about the lineups. Knowing the depth of a team is important especially in basketball as players are coming in and out of the game. Maybe even a played is being given the day off to rest. This happens much less in college basketball than the NBA but it still happens when a team is expected to crush another team or if teams are getting ready for tournament play.
Home Court Advantage
The last is home court advantage. This is truly unlike almost anything else in college sports in general but especially in basketball. Because fans are so close to the court they can be a nuisance to say the least. And they can also help push the momentum of a team in important moments. Players have stated for years that crowds can help them get back in games as they love hearing the fans cheer.
In terms of betting, the home team almost always is given a slight advantage. Even if they are expected to lose at home, their odds will be closer than if the underdog team was on the road.
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There are certain strategies you will need to know when betting as well. These can help you with
betting parlay explained
as well.
Research and Analysis
If you do not do your research before placing a bet and look at the factors that were listed above then there is a good chance you are just throwing away your money. You have to do at least some research on who the teams are and what they are about if you want your best chance at choosing correctly.
You also want to utilize expert analysis as it is hard to be an expert unless betting is truly your job. If that is the case and you are reading this then you may want to go back to your day job, just saying.
Bankroll Management
Setting a budget for betting is also extremely important. Having units or amounts that you know you want to wager before going in can help you from betting too much and it can help you focus on bets you feel like you have the best chance in actually winning.
Implementing strategies to manage bankroll effectively can all come from researching and looking into the factors that were already discussed.
Spread Betting vs. Moneyline Betting
Do not forget that you can bet on the spread on the moneyline. If you are confident in who will win or lose then the moneyline makes a lot of sense. If you think the spread of points could be within range but you are not super confident a team will win by a certain amount then you could go that route as well.
Obviously one of these are more straightforward than the other. It comes down to your confidence and knowledge of the teams.
Totals Betting
Lastly, you can bet on total points scored by either team or both teams.
Generally, this is something you want to wait a few games on unless you are very knowledgable about one or both of the teams. But once you feel comfortable you can see what their average points are and how many they are likely to score in the game you are betting on based on what the opponents points given up are as well.
Navigating the NCAA Season
The college basketball season is very long similarly to the NBA which you can find
nba betting sites
if that is more your speed as well.. Not only do you have the regular season but then for some teams you have essentially two post seasons. One is the tournament for the team’s conference then the next is March Madness and navigating betting throughout all of them can be difficult.
Regular Season Betting
During the regular season you will see many games where the teams have very different spreads and one team is generally much stronger than another.
For the regular season you will want to bet based on where the season is at. If it is at the beginning and there are a lot of new players you may want to wait and see how the team plays their first few games. If it later in the season you have a better understanding of the team and how they are scoring or playing defense and can have a better chance of hitting your bets. The payments may be less though.
Conference Tournaments
When the conference tournaments come around it is worth noting that the higher seeds generally are really that much better. Not only do you have head-to-head matchups to prove it but outside of injuries, you have plenty of games to have seen what these teams can really do.
Picking upsets in the first round are tough but generally in the second round things are closer and teams certainly make runs and you will see those trends early in the conference tournaments.
March Madness
March Madness is its own beast. The tournament seed generally are weighed in such a way that you can really tell who is better. But there are still plenty of upsets as it can be a crapshoot depending on who each team played.
When creating betting strategies you want to look at things like injuries and how a team is playing when coming into the tournament. Confidence and finding a consistent team can generally be a good recipe for success.
Tips for Successful College Basketball Betting
The best tips you can get for betting on college basketball are these. Remember, this is not for the NBA but you can find plenty of
nba betting apps.
Stay informed and updated. What that means is that you want to be watching for news and different developments that happen as the season foes on. You have heard plenty about injuries but they are a sad reality of sports like basketball and will happen plenty. Knowing who backups are and what happens when they get playing time in terms of how the team plays can be crucial when betting.
Also you want to avoid emotional betting. Emotions for a team that you really like or dislike can sometimes be obvious and can lead to bad decisions. Even if it is not for the school you went to or the one that denied you, you still can end up liking certain styles, players or teams in general and can be blinded by their faults. If you start to notice yourself picking a team to win because you believe in them more than the stats or others factors say then you may want to refrain.
Lastly, shop the odds. There are so many college basketball games, especially if you include both men’s and women’s college basketball that you can really find great odds if you are knowledgeable enough and are paying attention.
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College basketball continues to grow in popularity and it is a sport that you can certainly win some money in if you are paying attention. There are a lot of teams though and it can be overwhelming so make sure to be checking guides like this to help guide you through what is ultimately a very fun season in an exciting sport.
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