Learning on college basketball betting can be a lot of fun but uninteresting for a beginner because of the hundreds of teams to bet on.
College basketball betting lines explained
When gambling on college basketball, there are many ways to place your bets. The moneyline, the point spread, and Over/Under totals are the most commonly wagered on in NCAA betting.
Moneylines: Pick the winner of an NCAA basketball game
One of the most popular betting markets in college basketball is the moneyline, where bettors choose which team they think will win the game outright.
In creating moneyline odds for games, oddsmakers base their odds on an implied probability of the team winning the matchup. Teams in NCAA basketball often do not match each other in talent, and thus some of these schools will vastly outclass others. Thus the moneyline odds will reflect those chances for victory.
Most commonly, moneyline odds will be quoted in the hundreds; that is to say, it uses and expresses American odds. One team is set as the favorite in minus value, while the other is the underdog in plus value.
With our odds converter and moneyline calculator, you may find the implied probability of a team based on its odds.
Point spread: Evening the odds between two teams
Many collegiate basketball gamblers include point spreads on their lists, as this equalizes the disparity in ability of the two teams, which can go to extremes in the NCAA.
Injuries and other factors come into play as oddsmakers analyze both teams of the matchup, emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses, and come up with a point spread for the game.
A point spread favorite has been assigned negative odds and must win the game by more than the spread for the bet to win.
A dog is one having a positive value for its spread, meaning it can either win outright or lose by less than that spread for the bets placed on them to be settled as wins.
In the example, the Spartans are shown as point spread favorites at -2.5 versus the Bulldogs at +2.5. In order for the Spartans to cover their spread, the team must win by more than 2.5 points, while the opposite applies to the Bulldogs: the team should either lose by less than 2.5 points or simply win the game in order to compensate for the spread.
In conjunction with point spreads, the odds on second sets indicate how much it would cost to place the bet, otherwise known as the vig or juice. Most of the time, point spreads come in with a vig of -110, meaning, for every $100 of pure profit, you'll have to risk $110. Vigs are frequently adjusted based on betting action and can vary significantly from one book to another.
Over/Under: Betting on college basketball point totals
Game totals, also known as Over/Unders, are popular among basketball bettors.
Sportsbooks consider the matchups of college basketball games from both the offensive and defensive perspective and will assign a total-the combined points of both teams-to a particular game. Bettors will place wagers on whether the result comes in Over or Under that total.
In this example, the assigned total for Michigan State and Michigan is 131.5, which bettors will have to decide whether the game would go Over or Under, combined. Because a game can’t finish in a half-point, there is no possibility of this bet pushing.
Parlays: Combine NCAA basketball bets for bigger payouts
A parlay is a betting method which combines two or more bets to enhance the odds in hopes of receiving a bigger payout.
The more bets a bettor adds to a parlay, the higher the possible return, but the greater the risk because in order for the entire parlay to cash out, every bet must win.
In a parlay, each wager added is called a "leg." According to the sportsbook, a basketball parlay can consist of anywhere from 2 to 12 games.
In this example, Michigan at +125 moneyline underdog has been picked against Michigan State, while the heavy favorite is Florida State at -2,800.
By combining these two wagers, the bettor achieves composite odds of +133, all while looking for added value on their Florida State wager. But for this bet to pay off, both bets must win-margin to zero, meaning the bettor will earn nothing.
Futures: Betting on teams' tournament hopes
Wagering on which team will win the National Championship is among the most common bets in college basketball, a type of futures bet in which for a given event, a bet can be made on prospects in far-off times. March Madness is one of the greatest sporting occasions with gambling attached to it. Betting on who they think is going to win has taken place well before the tournament.
Lines for the NCAA Basketball Championship normally come out soon after the final buzzer sounds on the previous year's version of the same tournament. Picking a winner is like picking a side in a camp: you're betting the team appears during March Madness and wins six straight do-or-die games on college basketball's biggest stage.