It’s easy to see why college basketball betting is massively popular. The games are fast-paced and high-scoring. There are more than 300 Division 1 college basketball teams and multiple games to bet on each night across 32 conferences on college basketball betting sites. And it all leads up to March Madness with the NCAA Tournament and national championship, one of the most exciting sports events in the world. Now that states can legalize sports gambling, there’s no question college basketball betting will only continue to grow.
What to Look for When Picking a College Basketball Betting Site
Security and Trustworthiness
The most important thing is making sure you’re signing up with a legal, licensed college basketball betting site. Illegal offshore sites might seem legitimate at first. But below the surface are headaches and potential issues. Sports bettors using offshore college basketball betting sites might have a hard time withdrawing their winnings in a timely fashion. You also can’t be positive your personal information is totally safe with these NCAAB betting sites because they aren’t regulated like legal online US sportsbooks.
Stick with Bookies.com’s list of legal college basketball betting sites like Caesars, PointsBet, and DraftKings to be sure none of these issues pop up while you’re trying to wager on college basketball betting.
College Basketball Bonus Offers and Bonus Bets
The best college basketball betting sites like FanDuel, Barstool, and PointsBet know that players have lots of options. Most NCAAB sportsbooks will offer some sort of incentives to register with them instead of a competitor. This is great news for college basketball bettors, as these NCAAB betting sites essentially offer bonus wagers upon signup. Some betting sites will match your initial deposit up to a certain amount, like $500, essentially doubling your money from the start.
Other college basketball betting sites offer perks like bonus bets, where the player will receive a certain amount to bet once they make the initial deposit. You can’t withdraw the bonus bet funds right away – first you’ll need to place a wager with them. If the bet does hit, those winnings can go into your account as real money. If it’s a loser, the bonus bet disappears and you’re essentially back to even with no harm done.
Shop around to see which college basketball betting sites offer the most lucrative NCAAB basketball bonuses or promotions and get in the game.
Mobile College Basketball Betting Experience
The future of sports betting is all about mobile. Most sports bettors already prefer betting with a mobile sportsbook app because it’s so easy to check out college basketball betting lines. Just download the betting app to your cell phone and, congratulations, you’re carrying a sportsbook in your pocket. This is especially clutch for in-game and live college basketball odds. Those college basketball best bets need to be placed quickly in order to capitalize on value.
All the top college basketball betting sites have mobile apps. You just need to figure out which one you like the best. Some college basketball betting sites layouts are more user-friendly than others. And everyone has their own preferences on things like font size and tab placements. Check out a few apps and see what you like. Chances are you’ll be placing most college basketball bets from your cell phone before long.
Payment Methods and Banking Options
College basketball betting sites continue to offer more versatile payment and deposit options. The most common methods include PayPal, Play+, bank transfer and debit/credit card. Bettors with PayPal should be able to deposit funds directly from their account, which is extremely convenient. You can also deposit money onto a Play+ card with a credit card. Once it goes through you can transfer funds from the Play+ card to your sports betting account.
Some debit/credit cards still run into blocked transactions, even though our recommended sports betting sites are completely legal. Make sure to talk to your bank should you encounter any issues. Overall, there are plenty of methods that work. Simply choose the best one for you and start placing college basketball bets.
Variety of NCAA Basketball Bets
Some college basketball betting sites offer more NCAAB betting options than others. They all have spread betting, moneyline and total betting for ACC, Big East, Big Ten and the rest of the power conferences. But some will have a wider variety of the smaller schools and lesser-known conferences. If Summit League betting is your thing, make sure your chosen sportsbook consistently offers solid point spreads for those games.
Sportsbooks also vary in terms of college basketball futures bets and props. If you love betting on the Wooden Award race or want to drop a national championship bet on the Duke Blue Devils in November, look around to see which college basketball sites have the best variety and pick one that suits your style.
College Basketball Betting Strategies
Fade the Public
This betting strategy applies to all sports and is an easy one for college basketball betting newcomers. Sometimes it’s difficult to separate a good team from a good point spread. Obviously, most bettors will expect Duke to beat Clemson in a matchup at Cameron Indoor Arena. But can the Blue Devils cover an 18-point spread? Most public bettors don’t think too hard about the number because they’re already sold on Duke. Blinded by the jersey, in other words. Oddsmakers know this and will bake public opinion into the point spread on college basketball betting sites.
If something like 80% of all bets are on Duke, there’s probably value on Clemson +18. Fading the public means recognizing these games with a large consensus disparity and betting the other side. You can do this with no research aside from the percentage of bets breakdown. You might be surprised how often this betting strategy works.
Underdog Moneylines
It’s important to remember that these are college students with all sorts of outside influences and distractions. Schoolwork, late-night travel, pressure to build an impeccable NBA Draft resume – all of these things can influence a team’s performance no matter how good they looked their last game.
Upsets happen a lot in college basketball, sometimes right at the start of the season. Kentucky was a 25-point home favorite over Evansville early in 2019, while Evansville had a +4000 moneyline. That means a $100 bet would cash $4,000. Final score: Evansville 67, Kentucky 64. Those who opted against spread betting and chose the moneyline were handsomely rewarded.
Those +4000 odds are an extreme example, but upsets with moneylines like +350 happen every night. That means you only need to hit one of three moneyline bets in order to turn a profit.
In-Game College Basketball Betting
In-game college basketball betting is exploding in popularity with good reason. Live betting at NCAAB betting sites can create betting lines with more value than you’d find on a standard point spread bet, because it’s constantly changing.
Let’s say Kansas is a 6-point favorite over North Carolina. Maybe the Jayhawks miss a bunch of open looks early and the Tar Heels are on fire from 3-point range. If North Carolina grabs an 18-10 lead, the in-game betting line at college basketbal betting sites won’t be Kansas -6 anymore. It could be Kansas -1 or a pick ‘em at that point.
But if you’ve been watching the game and think that Kansas is running great sets, you figure the shots will fall eventually and the Tar Heels will cool off. That’s a perfect time to jump on the Kansas live line and give yourself way better odds than if you’d taken them -6 before the game started.
College Basketball Betting Tools to Help Your Decisions
Bookies.com gives college basketball bettors everything they need to jump in and start making better wagering decisions.
Our college basketball odds are updated constantly throughout the day with the very latest point spreads, moneyline and point totals throughout the regular season and into the tournament. You can compare lines from best college basketball betting sites in your state and grab the best one.
Our college basketball experts also offer their combined decades of experience handicapping and covering college hoops from top to bottom. Their free NCAA basketball picks are available every day throughout the season. Weigh their advice with your own research or simply plug their picks into your college basketball betting site if you prefer that route.
Our NCAA basketball futures odds give you the latest Final Four, national championship and Wooden Award odds, along with conference championships and additional men’s basketball plays. Timing is everything with futures, so make sure to keep tabs on long-term wagers and strike when you see the most value.
The college basketball consensus page shows every game and the percentage of bettors on either side. This can help you make informed decisions and employ the fade the public strategy. It’s also a bit of a heat check – if you think you’ve got a can’t-lose bet and see that 85% of bettors agree with you, that point spread probably isn’t as good as it looks.
Want to see what that three-way parlay bet will pay? Use our parlay calculator to plug in the NCAAB odds, your stake and see the potential payout. Bookies.com also has a free odds calculator to help you calculate payouts based on your stake.
Which States Allow Legal College Basketball Betting?
Betting on college basketball is legal in every state that has passed legislation allowing for sports betting and online gambling. Sports betting in the U.S. will continue to expand following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to strike down a federal ban on sports betting. As of now, college basketball betting is legal or will be soon in the following states:
Arizona, New Jersey, Oregon, Connecticut, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nevada, Rhode Island, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, Delaware, Arkansas, New York, Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Ohio.
How Does the NCAA View Sports Betting for Basketball?
NCAA President Mark Emmert remains a vocal critic of betting on college basketball despite the Supreme Court’s decision. But the NCAA seems to have softened its stance in that respect. Emmert has since shifted his focus to integrity programs instead of fighting legal college basketball betting. The NCAA currently prohibits players from placing legal bets on any sport, college or pro. But it will be tough to enforce with nearly 500,000 athletes – many of whom now live in states where sports betting is legal.
Why Bet on College Basketball with Bookies?
College basketball betting around March Madness time is as good as it gets. It’s even more fun when you make smart college basketball bets, something Bookies.com can help you with every day. We have the most up-to-date point spreads, moneylines and totals on every single game. Our experts have been following men’s basketball for decades. They’ve covered Final Fours from center court, studied line movement and put in hundreds upon hundreds of hours of research to provide the best college basketball expert picks.
We also only work with legal college basketball betting sites like PointsBet, Barstool, and FanDuel. That way you’ll never have a problem withdrawing money, your personal info is safe and customer service representatives will be there in the rare case of a controversial or disputed result. None of those things are guaranteed with illegal offshore books, which often make players jump through a bunch of hoops before withdrawing winnings. Stick with our recommended sites for the best college basketball experience, and make sure to utilize our vast array of resources.
