How To Bet On College Basketball
Similar to the NBA and pro and college football, college hoops is predominantly a spread and over/under sport. Assuming standard -110 juice, this means bettors need to win 52.38% of their plays to break even. Anything above that means you’re turning a profit. However, college basketball is much different from the NBA for several reasons. Here you'll learn how to start betting on NCAA basketball by teaching you the basics, sharing invaluable resources, and helping you figure out where to bet. Bet on NCAA Men's Basketball teams as they play each other during the regular season and March Madness! Pick your favorite college basketball team to win!
We researched and then ranked the best sports betting promo codes, risk-free bets, deposit matches, and other bonus offers from legal online sportsbooks. Check out the best offers here. A typical college basketball season is very unique. Unlike many other sports, college basketball seasons are divided into many different segments. The beginning of a season is. How to Bet NBA & College Basketball - Basketball Betting Explained Single Bet (or Side) The single bet option is done with a point spread. Sports books determine a favorite and an underdog, then assigns.
The ultimate resource to help you find the best bets each day in college basketball .
This page is divided into 3 simple sections.
The first section lists all of our premium member best bets for the day for College Basketball Picks. This section lists all the games for all sports, including NCAA basketball. If you don't have a membership at Doc's Sports you can test out our premium best bets risk free with a complimentary free $60 account here.
The second section lists one or two of our complimentary college basketball matchup reports. We write these daily for most NCAA basketball games. These articles are more for the do-it-yourself types that want to really dig in and also have the time do the extensive research required each day.
The third section ties into the second section where our experts give advice on what to do with the information and how to spot a best bet in College Basketball.
College Basketball Best Bets Tonight [Updated daily]
TODAY'S TOP PLAYS
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Complimentary College games for today [Updated daily]
Seton Hall Pirates vs St. John's Red Storm Prediction, 3/11/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Parlay's Pundit - 3/10/2021
The Seton Hall Pirates are set to go head to head with the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Seton Hall opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 152. We have included an expert college basketball pick and parlay for todays game ATS. Read More >>
Syracuse Orange vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/11/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds
by Parlay's Pundit - 3/10/2021
The Syracuse Orange are scheduled to go head to head with the Virginia Cavaliers at Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Virginia opens this matchup as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 133. We have included an expert pick and parlay for todays game against the spread. Read More >>
What Makes a Best Bet in College Basketball? [Updated during the season]
Here you will find a list of tips from our college basketball experts that will help you understand what makes up a NCAA basketball best bet and what you should be looking for in order to spot one on your own.
DOC'S SPORTS – I like to play on up-tempo teams at home. An example of this would be the Marshall Thundering Herd the last couple of years under Coach Don D'Antoni, the brother on NBA Coach Mike D'Antoni. His run-and-gun style is much more effective at home and numerous times over the last couple of years we have found great value with them. It seems like at some point in the game they will feed off the crowd energy and go on a double-digit run and put the game away against a lesser opponent. Playing on the road is a much different atmosphere and many of these up-tempo teams are not as effective so I look to avoid them.
ROBERT FERRINGO – One of the reasons that I love college basketball and have had so much success in this sport over the past decade is that there are so many angles to play. There are letdowns and look aheads. There are revenge games. There are under-the-radar injuries. There are games involving odd travel schedules. But for a best bet there are several things that I really hone in on. And here is one of them: take experience and cohesion over talent. If I am looking at a best bet I would rather have a less talented team that has seniors, veterans, and guys that have played together for a while against a team that maybe has more overall talent, but it's young and inexperienced talent. Last year my nonconference games of the year was Oklahoma State over Connecticut in Maui. Connecticut was looking at starting three freshmen against a Cowboys team that was hungry, and veteran laden. It was a blowout from start to finish. I used the same angle on Dec. 4 when I took Gonzaga – which was one of the oldest and most experienced teams in the country – over Arizona, another team whose best players were freshmen. Basketball is a game of chemistry and coordination. Veteran teams and players are a little more predictable in their efforts. And they tend to be a big more reliable in marquee games against younger, more hyped-up opponents.
RAPHAEL ESPARZA – I said a couple years ago that handicapping small conference schools means big money in the wallet. Just like in college football, you want to look at the small schools. It's no secret that in college basketball home-court advantage is huge, especially early in conference play. But lack of action on those smaller schools can give you outstanding betting value and if you are a totals better like myself then betting totals in smaller conference is a big moneymaker. Bettors always tend to bet the TV games and smaller conferences don't always get televised. The best times to bet the smaller schools are on Wednesdays and Saturdays because those are the bigger days in college basketball, and trust me the oddsmakers are looking at the 'key games', not the smaller schools, so soft action can produce big winners.
STRIKE POINT SPORTS – Conference schedules can seem like a big portion of the year, but a lot of hidden value is lost amongst the weekly shuffle of so many games. Bet on teams looking to avoid or capitalize on half-week sweeps. For instance, with the Pac 12 you'll have a team like Arizona play both its road games in a region over the long weekend. They will play Thursday at Oregon State and Saturday at Oregon. If they lose that first game, getting on them to avoid the 'sweep' in the second game can offer value. The same goes with momentum. A middle of the road team like Virginia Tech coming off a big home win against Duke earlier in the week and having the chance to finish the week with another big win at home (say against Notre Dame) can be a good spot. Momentum is key, and looking for the hidden value in a given week from back-to-back games is a good trend to identify.
INDIAN COWBOY – College Basketball might be the sport that has the greatest value in any given season. There are just so many games and many smaller teams have incredible value on them, as the oddsmakers simply do not have time to focus on them when so much action is the bigger conference games. In the opening two games last year for we took two 'Overs'. They were 'Over' 149 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga and 'Over' 149 Wofford vs. LSU. They were both winners. What we are looking for there is mid-major teams who step up to play bigger schools who have senior leadership. In those two contests, you had a Chattanooga team who had tons of veteran leadership going into Tennessee and gave them a great ballgame and ended up winning outright by a score of 82-69. Hence, we predicted an active underdog because Chattanooga will undoubtedly get up to face a big named school like Tennessee with such veteran leadership and Tennessee would still have to get their kinks worked out with so many moving parts in their system. We also took the 'Over' in the Wofford-LSU game for the same reason. So, look for mid-major teams who have senior leadership, who have been looking forward to face certain big named teams all year, working on their game plans accordingly and will push the Power-5 team to more of an offensive performance.
ALLEN EASTMAN – The two things that I look for in college basketball are turnovers and points in the paint. You need to score to win. So if teams have a high turnover percentage that means that they are at a disadvantage in overall possession. And that usually means an advantage betting against the spread. When I have a team that turns the ball over a lot facing a team that scores a lot of points in the paint, meaning they get a lot of easy baskets, I like to go with the top play because the team that scores a lot in the paint will be able to best take advantage of all the turnovers.
JASON SHARPE – College basketball best bets for me involve taking advantage of the hundreds of teams that one can bet. With so many teams in college it's nearly impossible for the bookmakers to keep a handle on all of them. So I will usually focus my efforts on the areas that the books don't and that's in the smaller leagues like the Ohio Valley Conference or the Big Sky. Spending most of my time and energy on studying up and following these teams closely gives me a tremendous edge. I had a big 7-Unit totals winner last January involving the 'under' between Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State. I had noticed that TSU had started playing a much bigger player a lot more minutes of late and he had considerably helped their team defense overall. On the other side of things EKU had lost it's top scorer a few games earlier and without him they had started playing a lot slower paced and were scoring less points. These things weren't easy for the books to notice unless they were paying extra close attention to these two teams which they won't be doing. I was able to use that valuable information to make and easily win a 7 unit 'under' selection.
ALAN HARRIS – It's not uncommon, especially in the nonconference season to see point spreads in the double digits and sometimes into the 20's and even 30's. Some handicappers will throw these games out. But a closer look at the game could show some value, whether it's on the favorite or the underdog. When looking at the favorite, ask yourself, 'does this line make sense?' There are times that a big number is warranted. It could be due to injury, scheduling, talent level, other factors or any combination of things. We had a spot like this last year where BYU was laying 16 points in a neutral site game in Vegas. We immediately jumped on the Cougars after knowing that they had a much more talented roster than St. Louis. We also factored in that this was going to be like a home game for BYU as they always travel well to Vegas. The Cougars led by seven at the half before pulling away for a 30-point victory. One of the things to look at when you see an underdog you like is to see what the favorite has going on with their schedule. Check and see if they have a big game up next as they will be looking ahead and not really playing up to their ability against the lesser team.
VERNON CROY – When it comes to making a big play in college basketball I use my systems, trends, stats and strength of schedule to my advantage. I also look for certain situations where I have a team winning by 10+ points and yet the line is off by at least six or more points. This process starts well before the season starts as I study and make note of certain under the radar teams that shoot the ball extremely well, play good defensively, and have a quality coach. Since there are so many college basketball games being played every week it is not hard to find games where the line is off by six or more points. In the NBA I find extreme value with certain teams in the next game after their star player goes down to injury, however it is the complete opposite in college basketball since most teams are not good enough to step up in the absence of their star player.
DOUG UPSTONE – When it comes to best bets in college basketball, I go strictly by the numbers. It starts with shooting percentages, both offense and defense, and 3-point percentages are viewed separately. Next, I look for elements regarding large differentials between the teams in things like rebounding, turnovers, free-throw shooting and pace of play. The latter two are meaningful depending on close spreads and variance between fast or slow playing opponents. Then I move too situational handicapping and look at how have teams performed in their last five games, being home or away, and whom they played (tougher or easier foes.) Next is possible motivation and coaching. I weigh all these components, then look for useful trends that could match the situation and low and behold have a possible 6-unit or higher best bet!
TONY GEORGE – This college basketball tip refers to March Madness and the NIT Tournaments. There are numerous teams in the NIT every year that you can argue should have made it to the Big Dance field of 64. If you look closely at the schedule of those teams you will no doubt see a horrific road record, which is what kept them out. The NIT tournament, until it reaches New York for the Final Four, is not on neutral floors and teams have home games. In many cases a team with a bad road record plays a team in the same boat. However that team is at home where they went 13-2 on the year. I always look for bad road teams against good home teams in the NIT and if the price is right they are worth fading in that game no matter who they are.
SCOTT SPREITZER - Returning point-guards, assists-to-turnover ratios, and points in the paint are three of six key categories I use when handicapping college basketball. And the best thing about those keys is that they work in both nonconference action and when conference play begins later in the season. Add in our sought-after power ratings system, and we have enjoyed betting college basketball longer than any sport we wager on, going back nearly 30 years. It also may be the sport that offers more depth of value than any other, thanks to the volume of games and the smaller conferences where we the bettor can gain the advantage over the books. I've been a huge proponent of wagering on the Missouri Valley for 20+ years, and there's nothing better than finding value, week-after-week, on under the radar tilts.
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How to Bet on WNBA Basketball
The betting options for WNBA basketball are the same as they are for any other basketball league (NBA or College Basketball). The most popular way to bet is on the point spread, but a lot of handicappers also like to bet the money line and/or total. Futures bets and prop bets can be found as well.
WNBA Basketball Point Spread Bet
Basketball games are handicapped by adding or removing points from the team scores. Favored teams have to give up points, while underdogs are given points. In most games, the handicap allows bettors to get in the -105 to -110 range on either side.
Example:
New York Liberty +3.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Sparks -3.5 (-110)
The team with the sign (+) is being given 3.5 points. The team with the minus sign (-) has to give up 3.5 points.
For bets on the Sparks to win, they would need to win the game by 4 or more points. For bets on the Liberty to win, they could lose the game by 3 or fewer points, or win outright.
WNBA Money Line Bet
Money line bets are straight-up bets on which team will win the game, with no point spread involved. Instead of getting or giving up points, bettors get odds reflecting the favorite and underdog. This means it takes more money to win less on the favorite, and less money to win more on the underdog.
Example:
Indiana Fever -180
Phoenix Mercury +160
Money lines are displayed as positive (+) or negative (-). The team with the positive money line is the underdog, and the team with the negative money line is the favorite. Both money lines are based around the $100 figure, but payouts are calculated differently.
Negative money lines indicate the amount of money that would need to be wagered to win $100 in profit. Positive money lines indicate the amount of money that would be won from a $100 wager.
In the game listed above, it would require a bet of $180 to win $100 in profit on the Fever ($18 to win $10). A bet of $100 would result in a $160 profit if the Mercury were to win ($10 to win $16).
WNBA Totals Bet (Over/Under)
Totals bets are simple wagers based on the combined score of both teams during a game. So, a score of 75-70 would have a total of 145.
For each game, sportsbooks set a number for the total (also called over/under). The bettors job is to determine if the total score is too high or too low. If you think the teams will score more than the posted total, you would bet the over. If you think they’ll score fewer points, you would bet the under.
WNBA Basketball Futures & Prop Bets
Futures bets are wagers that predict the Eastern & Western Conference Champions, or the WNBA Champion. Most sportsbooks offer them well in advance of a season beginning, and cut them off soon after the season has begun.
Prop bets are any kind of wager that doesn’t fit into any of the betting categories listed above. They’re generally designed for casual bettors looking to have some fun, rather than serious cappers looking for value.
Some typical WNBA prop bets might include:
- Which team will be first to score 20 points?
- Over/under on how many points a player will score in a game.
- Will team X score an even or odd number of points in a game?
Best WNBA Basketball Bet Site
BetOnline.ag: U.S. bettors welcome. BetOnline offers point spread, money line, and totals bets for all WNBA games. Futures bets are available for Eastern & Western Conference Champions, as well as the WNBA Champion. Prop bets are offered during the playoffs.
Lines go up earlier at BetOnline than most other online sportsbooks, helping professional bettors find value.
Visa credit cards and instant eChecks are available to U.S. bettors. All popular deposit options are available for those outside the U.S.
How To Bet On College Basketball In Vegas
I would recommend BetOnline for WNBA betting, and would go as far to say it is the best WNBA betting site online.