For countries and states where gambling is legal, college basketball is big business – and following the changes to federal law about sports betting, it is becoming increasingly accessible across the United States.
So, with the season well underway and with March Madness fast approaching, here is how you can bet on college basketball.
Find a bookmaker
Before delving into the different types of betting markets, the first action to take is to locate a bookmaker available in your area.
If you are located in the United States, then sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and PointsBet have all expanded to many different states, while there will be others that specifically serve your area.
For international players, do some online research to see which sports betting companies are accessible in your country. For nations like the United Kingdom, where betting is widely available, there is an extensive range of options so take some time to see which operators offer the best services for college basketball.
It’s important only to use bookmakers that are legally available in your country or state because it prevents any issues from occurring when it comes to registration and monetary transactions (deposits and withdrawals).
College Basketball Betting Markets
Now that you have located and registered with a bookmaker in your area let’s go through the main markets you will want to look at when betting on college basketball.
Moneyline
Starting with the easiest market to understand, moneyline is when you bet on one team to win against another team. As college basketball doesn’t have ties – like soccer, rugby, or any other ‘non-American’ sports – there is always a guaranteed winner, and therefore the moneyline market is always available.
Moneyline is a good market to play when two evenly matched teams and the bookmakers provide similar odds or when betting on an underdog with longer odds than their opponents.
For instance, in a game between Florida State and Clemson, bookmakers gave Florida State odds of -138 and Clemson -105. This means a $100 bet on Florida State will return $173 if the Seminoles win the game ($73 in winnings plus the $100 stake). Conversely, the same $100 wager on Clemson would deliver $195 returns ($95 win + $100 stake) if the Tigers win the game. So, for games expected to be close – like Florida State v Clemson – the moneyline is an attractive betting market because successfully picking the winner will result in good returns. As it turned out, the bookmakers were right to create such a close market – Florida State won by just one point.
The moneyline is also an appealing market when backing an underdog, although it carries with it much more risk, even if the potential rewards are greater. For example, Chicago State is priced at +850 to beat Stephen Austin, so the same $100 bet would return a whopping $950 if the Cougars claimed a surprise win. However, backing Stephen Austin on the moneyline provides odds of -2500, so a $100 stake would deliver returns of just $104.
While wagering on Chicago State could be tempting considering the amount of money you stand to win, there is a reason why the odds are so long – they aren’t expected to win!
Points Spread
If you want to wager money on a game as expectedly one-sided as Stephen Austin v Chicago State, then the best way to make the odds more competitive is to enter the points spread market.
The points spread is the estimated number of points a bookmaker expects a team to win or lose by. In the case of Stephen Austin v Chicago State, the points spread has been set at 18.5, with both teams given odds of -120 to beat the spread.
This means that you are either betting on Stephen Austin to beat Chicago State by more than 18.5 points or for Chicago State to not lose by more than 18.5 points. If you back the Lumberjacks with $100 and they win by 19 points or more, you will see returns of $183; equally, if you go with Cougars and they lose by less than 18 points, you will also win $183.
Totals
While the moneyline and points spread markets depend on teams winning and losing, you can ultimately take the result out of the picture by focusing on the totals markets.
Totals, also referred to as Over/Under, is simply betting on the total number of something, most commonly in basketball that is the total number of points in a game.
Let’s look at Stephen Austin v Chicago State again: the bookmakers have set the total points market at 137.5, so it is up to the bettor to wager on there being more or less than 137.5 points scored in the game – it doesn’t matter who wins or by what margin.
Totals markets can also be available in other areas of a basketball game – the total number of points scored by an individual player, the total number of three-point shots made, total points by a quarter of half, and other similar such areas where totals can be applied.
Futures
Moneyline, points spread, and totals are the three main betting markets for college basketball when focusing on a specific game. However, for players interested in more long-term bets, the futures markets are worth checking out.
The futures markets are exactly what they say they are: they allow you to bet on something happening in the future.
These include betting on which team will win the NCAA Championship, which teams will win their conference titles, which players could win the Most Outstanding Player at March Madness, and many more. You can check here the best markets on March Madness: https://www.bovada.lv/march-madness
Futures markets hold plenty of appeal due to the longer-term investment of interest it affords bettors and often the longer odds.
For instance, the futures market for the 2022 NCAA Championship is currently led by the Gonzaga Bulldogs at +450, followed by Auburn Tigers at +800. If you bet $100 on the Bulldogs and win the title, you will see returns of $550, while the same stake on the Tigers will return $900.
If you placed such a bet now, it would retain your interest in the season far beyond one game. At least until the Bulldogs, Tigers, or any other team you back have won the title or been eliminated.