Top College Basketball Betting Strategies For The 2023-24 Season
College basketball betting is a thrilling activity from the start of the season in November, on up to March Madness in March and April. If you want to get in on this year’s wagering action, employing the right CBB betting strategies can become a fun and profitable experience.
Are you brand new to NCAAB betting and looking to learn how to bet on college basketball? Or, are you an experienced bettor looking to improve your handicapping with betting tips? Either way, we’re covering everything related to NCAAB betting.
In This College Basketball Betting Guide:
How To Bet On College Basketball: NCAA Basketball Odds Explained
Having a firm understanding of how sports betting odds work is vital to the enjoyment of college basketball. Even if you don’t use all the NCAA basketball odds explained in this section, it’s good to know how they work. That way, you can make the right online sports betting choices, based on your handicapping of the games. Here is a closer look at the most popular college basketball betting types, ranging from standard NCAAB moneylines to exotic multi-game wagers, like parlays and teasers.
NCAAB Moneylines
NCAAB moneylines are straightforward bets on the outright winner of a college basketball game. Odds are presented as either positive (+) or negative (-) numbers, indicating the favorite and the underdog. Here’s an example:
- Matchup: Duke vs. North Carolina
- Moneyline Odds: Duke (-150), North Carolina (+130)
In this matchup, Duke is the favorite with a moneyline of -150, meaning you’d need to wager $150 to win $100. North Carolina, the underdog, has odds of +130, implying a potential profit of $130 on a $100 bet if they win. If you need help calculating your potential winnings at different bet sizes, try our sports betting odds calculator.
Top moneyline tip:
Make a moneyline bet when you think an underdog has a good chance to win outright or a favorite is likely to win, but fail to cover the spread.
NCAAB Spread Betting
Spread betting in NCAAB involves wagering on the point difference between two teams’ scores. The favorite has a point handicap against them in the game, while the underdog receives additional points. For example:
- Matchup: Kentucky vs. Louisville
- Spread Odds: Kentucky (-6.5, -110) vs. Louisville (+6.5, -110)
Kentucky is favored by 6.5 points in this game. To win a bet against the spread on Kentucky, the Wildcats must win by at least 7 points. If you bet on Louisville, you will get paid if the Cardinals win the game outright or lose by 6.5 points (6 points, since you can’t have half-points) or less.
Top spread tip:
When you expect the favorite to win by a wide margin, or when you think the underdog will make the game competitive, betting on the spread is a good choice.
College Basketball Over/Under Bets
Over/Under bets, which are also called totals betting, focus on the total combined score of both teams in an NCAAB game. For instance:
- Matchup: Texas Tech vs. Baylor
- Over/Under Total: Over 140.5 (-110) / Under 140.5 (-110)
In this case, you can bet on whether the total points scored by both teams will be over or under 140.5. If you bet the “over” and the final score adds up to 141 points or higher, you win. If you bet the “under” and the combined score is 140 or lower, you win.
Top Over/Under tip:
The winner of the game doesn’t matter in totals betting. So, you can just focus on the potential scoring pace and final-score ranges without worrying about which team will win.
NCAA Basketball Prop Bets
NCAA basketball prop betting wagers are various in-game scenarios to bet on that are often independent from the outcome of the game. A common prop bet could be on a player’s total points or a team’s statistics. For example:
- Matchup: Marquette vs. UConn
- Prop Bet: Stephon Castle Over/Under 18.5 Points
With this player prop, you can bet on whether a specific player, like Connecticut’s highly touted freshman Stephon Castle, will score over or under 18.5 points in the game. If Castle scores 19 or more and you bet the “over” on this CBB prop, your bet wins.
Top prop tip:
Hone in on lesser known teams and conferences to find value on prop bets that may be harder to find on games between two national powerhouses.
NCAAB Futures Bets
College basketball futures bets involve long-term predictions, such as the winner of a conference or the NCAA Tournament. Here’s an example:
- Futures Bet: Purdue to win the 2024 NCAA Championship (Odds: +1400)
Let’s say that you place a bet on Purdue to win the NCAA Championship at odds of +1400 before the season begins. If they go on to win the tournament, you will win your bet and earn a nice payout of 14x the size of your original wager.
Top futures tip:
Regardless of what your future betting strategy is, you should always line shop before placing a bet to ensure you are getting the best value on your future prop.
NCAAB Parlays
NCAAB parlay betting combines multiple bets into one wager, offering higher potential payouts at the expense of extra risk. For example:
- Matchup 1 (Spread): Oregon (+4) vs. USC (-4)
- Matchup 2 (Spread): Iowa State (+11.5) vs. Texas (-11.5)
- Matchup 3 (Moneyline): Houston (-140) vs. Memphis (+120)
- Parlay Bet: Oregon +4, Iowa State +11.5, Memphis ML (Odds: +700)
In this parlay, you bet on Oregon and Iowa State to cover the spread and Memphis to win outright. All selections within the parlay (also known as legs) must be correct for your bet to win. Payouts will vary depending on how many legs your parlay has and what the odds are on each leg.
Top parlays tip:
Parlays are much harder to hit than standard wagers. So, consider these more as a source of fun and entertainment than a steady way to make a profit.
College Basketball Teasers
Teaser betting in college basketball works similarly to parlays. You combine multiple wagers into one, but with teasers, you do so with points added to each of your selections. For instance, say you want to place a 6-point teaser on two sides:
- Matchup 1 (Spread): Gonzaga (-10) vs. Saint Mary’s (+10)
- Matchup 2 (Total): Michigan State vs. Ohio State Over/Under 135.5 points
- Teaser Bet: Gonzaga -4, MSU vs. OSU Over 129.5 points
Your selections of Gonzaga -10 and the Over 135.5 have been reduced by six points to Gonzaga -4 and Over 129.5 in this 6-point teaser. All sides must win for your teaser to be graded a winner.
Top teasers tip:
Points tend to matter more in games you expect to be close as opposed to potential blowouts. So, consider teasing games in which the points you are receiving are likely to be more impactful.
Expert Picks From College Basketball Experts
If you are looking to improve on your college basketball betting win percentages, reading expert picks is a great place to start. Our college basketball experts provide top picks throughout the season. This includes our NCAAB bet of the week, which can be found on our Sports Geek picks page.
This page includes free picks from industry experts, as well as data-driven artificial intelligence picks. When you are trying to decide who to bet on the NCAAB schedule, these expert selections may provide you with some insights or options you may have missed. Take advantage of this valuable resource all season long.
Best NCAAB Bets
See All NCAAB PicksCollege Basketball Betting Odds
Here are the odds for the NCAA Tournament, which tips off on Thursday, March 21. All CBB betting odds courtesy of BetUS.
| Team | March Madness Odds |
| Connecticut Huskies | +500 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | +750 |
| Houston Cougars | +750 |
| Arizona Wildcats | +1200 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | +1400 |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | +1800 |
| Auburn Tigers | +1800 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +2000 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | +2200 |
| Kansas Jayhawks | +2200 |
| Duke Blue Devils | +2500 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | +2500 |
| Marquette Golden Eagles | +2500 |
| Creighton Bluejays | +3000 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | +3500 |
| Baylor Bears | +4000 |
| Wisconsin Badgers | +5000 |
Betting On March Madness
The NCAA Tournament has a large schedule of high-stakes elimination games that always seem to deliver plenty of upsets and excitement. Therefore, NCAAB fans are always on the lookout to find where they can bet on March Madness games and futures. Whether you want to bet on individual games, bet NCAAB futures, or enter bracket contests, you’ll have no shortage of college basketball betting options during March Madness at the best sports betting sites.
While betting action during the NCAA Tournament is undoubtedly exciting, it can also be overwhelming for newbies. We’ve got plenty of resources to help, including an epic March Madness betting strategy guide that will have you ready for the tourney in no time.
Tips For NCAAB Betting
One of the most exciting aspects of betting on NCAA basketball is that there is a legitimate opportunity to be a profitable bettor if you are willing to put in the time and research. Unlike NBA online betting, where you have only 30 teams to consider, college basketball betting gives you options from over 350 Division 1 teams.
This makes it much more difficult for sportsbooks to produce sharp NCAAB lines. This opens the door for college basketball bettors to find great value on their plays throughout the year. Follow these tips for NCAAB betting to start maximizing your odds of making a profit.
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All winning NCAAB handicapping strategies start with deep research. The more you know about team stats, player performances, injuries, and the current form of both teams involved in a matchup, the better your chances will be of picking a winner at offshore sportsbooks.
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Hot and cold streaks are a part of sports betting, no matter what your standard win rate is. Stick to a bankroll management plan. For instance, never betting more than 2-5% of your entire bankroll on any one game. This way you can weather the storm during cold streaks and keep yourself in the game. Online sportsbook bonuses are a good way to boost your bankroll for March Madness, so keep an eye out for those.
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Record keeping is the best way to observe and understand your successes and failures. By keeping records of your bet types, bet sizes, teams, odds, and results, you can identify positive and negative trends, while making appropriate adjustments to your sports betting strategy.
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College basketball lines are constantly moving in the days and hours leading up to games, which makes for discrepancies in the odds displayed at different sportsbooks. Shopping for the best line can make a huge difference on your bottom line. Especially, if you get better odds on the moneyline or even an extra half-point against the spread.
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With hundreds of college basketball games and thousands of betting options available every week, it’s hard to be an expert at everything. Whether you hone in on NCAAB moneyline underdogs, Over/Under wagers in Sun Belt games, or anything else, the sooner you can find an area of expertise and focus your energy on it, the better.
College Basketball Betting Takeaways
You now have the tools to be successful at college basketball betting. You know the different types of NCAAB bets you can win on. You can find expert NCAAB picks on this page, as well as tips on how to bet on college basketball. Finally, you can find the odds for the NCAA Tournament right here. Good luck in your NCAA basketball betting journey!
