When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn Whether you’re just into March Madness, follow your local state team religiously, or have just watched your first NCAA game, our guide on how to bet on college basketball will help you find that all-important edge.
Our experts provide the latest college basketball betting tips and will outline the best way to learn how to bet on NCAAB games. We’ll teach you the finer points of NCAAB betting strategies and reveal the best sportsbooks for betting on college basketball in the US.
How to Bet on College Basketball
You can learn how to bet on college basketball at retail sportsbooks, online US sports betting apps, or at the best offshore sportsbooks available in America. Retail sportsbooks are located all over the country and are typically found within licensed casinos. Online sportsbooks can be accessed via desktop, mobile browser, or a native app.
The season for college basketball teams begin in November and culminates with the March Madness tournament which determines the national champion and is well-known for its notable upsets where the underdog has overcome the favorite.
Keen to start placing bets on college basketball with low margin odds? Head to BetOnline.
How College Basketball Odds Work
You’ll need a basic understanding of odds to fully understand how to bet on a college basketball game. For each market, there will be a favorite and an underdog. The favorite will have the shortest odds providing the lowest payout, while betting the underdog will have long odds and the higher payout.
For example, imagine a Final Four Futures market where Kansas is the favorite at +350, and Duke is the underdog at +400.
Let’s look at the math. Positive American odds depict how much you can win from a $100 bet. So, +350 means a $100 bet would net a $350 profit while +400 odds would see a $400 profit from a $100 bet.
Examples of How to Bet on NCAA Basketball
Let’s take a look at the futures betting market ahead of the NCAA college basketball season. This market allows you to pick a team and bet on whether they will win the entire championship.
Imagine that BetOnline has provided odds for each team with Kansas State the current favorite at +1,000. You would need Kansas to win for the bet to be successful.
| Outright Winner | Odds |
| Kansas | +1000 |
| Duke | +1300 |
| Kentucky | +1400 |
| Purdue | +1500 |
| Michigan State | +1600 |
| Connecticut | +1800 |
Next, we’ll take a look at a simple moneyline bet for a game between Michigan State and Houston.
| Michigan State | Houston |
| -480 | +335 |
To bet on this market, you would simply need to pick which team you think will win the game. For example, if you were to bet $100 on the favorite (Michigan State), you would win $120.83 which is a profit of only $20.83.
However, if college basketball bettors wager on the underdog (Houston) and they manage to pull off an upset, a $100 bet would stand to win $435 – a profit of $335.
How to Bet on A College Basketball Game
Betting on any NCAAB game is remarkably simple if you choose to bet at any of the online gambling sites that we recommend here at Techopedia. The sign-up process is quick, and placing a bet is highly intuitive.
BetOnline is one of our most trusted partners, so we’ll use the top mobile sports betting app in our example below.
1. Register at BetOnline
Use one of our provided links to go to the BetOnline homepage. Click on the ‘Join’ button that can be found at the top of the screen.
2. Enter your details
Enter your personal details such as your name, email, address, and date of birth to create an account.
3. Claim the welcome bonus
Pick the welcome bonus you wish to claim and enter the relevant promo code.
4. Deposit funds
Head to the cashier area and choose a payment method from the numerous available options. Choose a deposit amount and provide your payment details as needed.
5. Bet on an NCAAB market
Consider our top NCAA basketball betting tips when reviewing the available markets. This will help you find an edge. Choose a market and then make your selection.
Types of College Basketball Bets
To learn how to bet on college basketball and be successful depends on the range of bet types you feel comfortable covering. Sometimes it simply isn’t valuable betting on the moneyline but the points spread might provide an edge.
That’s why we have explained the most popular bet types available for college betting at the best US online sportsbooks around.
Moneyline
This is the most basic of NCAAB bets which simply requires you to choose which team will win a single game. For example, UConn to beat Duke at -185 would be a moneyline bet. If UConn wins, the bet is a winner but if Duke was to be successful the bet would lose.
Futures
A futures bet covers a long-term outcome, typically the final result of a tournament, championship, or series, and is usually placed before the tournament or season begins.
Some futures markets may continue throughout a season with the odds adjusting as teams win and lose. For example, the Duke Blue Devils to win the NCAA Championships is a futures bet.
Point Spread
Spread betting is like adding a handicap to the favorite. This bet asks you to choose who will win the game and by what margin. So, a bet on the favorite, UConn at -7.5 would mean UConn needs to win by eight points or more for the spread bet to be classed a winner.
Totals
Totals betting lets you bet on the total combined number of points scored in a single NCAAB game. Rather than betting on the exact number, you’ll instead get to choose whether you think the total will be over or under a certain number. For example, Over 220.5 or Under 220.5.
The combined score in this scenario would need to be 221 or higher for the Over bet to be successful. Conversely, a score of 220 or lower would see the Under market as the winner.
Props
Legally, props are a contentious market as several states have banned prop betting on in-state teams as a means to prevent match-fixing. Props come in two forms – player and game props.
These are a special bet type that covers individual player performances or specific game outcomes that have no bearing or relation to the final outcome of the game.
For example, a game prop of “Ohio State to score first points” is a bet on a specific game outcome but not the final result like a moneyline or point spread would be.
Parlays
You can significantly boost your odds by pooling several individual bets into college basketball parlays. The odds of every selection you add to your parlay bets will multiply the odds. However, every selection – or leg – of your parlay must be successful for the parlay bet to pay out. For example, if you place a parlay with three selections, all three selections must be correct.
Typically, parlays cannot contain more than one selection from a single game. But same game parlays (SGPs) are available at some US online sports betting apps today.
How to Bet on College Basketball – Tips & Strategies
We rounded up our best basketball tipsters for our college basketball betting guide. These top college basketball betting tips can help you make more accurate predictions and aid in finding an edge by spotting valuable odds where a novice bettor might miss the opportunity.
- Consider historical data – Certain states do play a certain way. This is because a style of basketball has been ingrained at that school or a particular coach has been leading a team for some time. This means that past performances will likely be a good indication of future performances too, so use the data to your advantage.
- Bet against the spread – Moneyline odds are notoriously tight but point spreads are far more valuable. You’ll be able to get much better lines when betting on a clear favorite this way when compared to the moneyline, and you can receive a handy payout by backing the underdog to cover the spread when the bookmaker misses how close the game will really be.
- Follow March Madness betting trends – According to statistics provided by Fox Sports regarding March Madness, underdogs only win 25% of the time but cover the spread 51% of the time. Furthermore, the no.1 seed has a staggering 99.3% win rate in the Round of 64. If you follow the trends, you’ll be able to use this knowledge to your advantage when betting on basketball.
- Watch college basketball – This applies to experienced fans and bettors who don’t think they know how to bet on college basketball yet. Watch as many games as you can to fully grasp the unique rules that do differ somewhat from the NBA.
- Stay focused – With 350 teams across 32 conferences to bet on in Division I, you’ll never be able to stay on top of the performances of every team. It’s best to pick a single conference and follow it through to March Madness where the pool to bet on will drop to 68 teams and you can expand your focus.
- Bet live – You can take advantage of wild changes in odds by live betting in-play rather than pre-game. The odds shift based on occurrences within the game, but live odds often struggle to predict outcomes such as comebacks. You can find a major edge by predicting an outcome before the odds have time to adjust.
Get prop betting markets for every NCAAB match at Bovada.
Legal States for College Basketball Betting
38 states allow college basketball betting but you may find a range of restrictions depending on the state you are in. 13 states do not allow you to bet on an in-state team while others impose specific restrictions on the types of bets you can place.
However, if you bet at offshore online sportsbooks then it doesn’t matter what state you’re in as most states allow you to access them. There are some exceptions, of course. For example, if you use our trusted partner BetOnline, you won’t be able to place bets if you’re in New Jersey.
College Basketball Schedule
We’ve provided a quick and easy college basketball schedule for those who want to know how to bet on NCAAB for this upcoming season. You’ll find the dates for all the biggest events for the season ahead including March Madness.
| Event | Dates | Event | Dates |
| Asheville Championship | Nov 10–12 | So Cal Challenge | Nov 20−22 |
| Legends Classic | Nov 16–17 | Cancún Challenge | Nov 21 & 22 |
| Bahamas Championship | Nov 17−19 | Empire Classic | Nov 21 & 22 |
| Charleston Classic | Nov 17−19 | Battle 4 Atlantis | Nov 22−24 |
| Myrtle Beach Invitational | Nov 17−19 | Hall of Fame Classic | Nov 22 & 23 |
| Nassau Championship | Nov 17−19 | NIT Season Tip-Off | Nov 22 & 24 |
| Roman Main Event | Nov 17−19 | Rady Children’s Invitational | Nov 23 & 24 |
| Hall of Fame Tip Off | Nov 18 & 19 | ESPN Events Invitational | Nov 23, 24, & 26 |
| Paradise Jam Tournament | Nov 18−21 | Emerald Coast Classic | Nov 24 & 25 |
| Cayman Islands Classic | Nov 19–21 | Diamond Head Classic | Dec 22−25 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | Nov 20−22 | March Madness | Mar 19 – Apr 8 |
| Jamaica Classic | Nov 20–22 | – | – |
| Maui Invitational | Nov 20−22 | – | – |
Women’s NCAAB
The women’s game is equally as exciting as the men’s, so there are plenty of reasons to learn how to bet on women’s college basketball too. The tournament schedule is similar to the men’s game and includes the final March Madness tournament. A slightly smaller ball is the only major difference since the three-point line was moved to match the men’s distance in 2021/22.
Enjoy fast live betting odds for college basketball at BetOnline.
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