How To Bet Basketball And Win
- Best Basketball Vines 2020
- How To Win Basketball Game
- How To Bet Basketball And Win Predictions
- Best Basketball Vines Clean
- Best Basketball Vines
- How To Bet Live Basketball And Win
Points in the Paint vs. Paying attention to how a team makes most of their points can be.
We lost the 2020 NCAA Tournament, unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. It was a tough way for a great and wide-open season of college basketball to wrap up. A lot of people tend to play the brackets or bet on NCAA Tournament games, but they do not take the time to research and study during the regular season. We’ll help you get prepared for the 2020-21 college basketball season so you can build your bankroll. Some beginners aren’t familiar with the basic workings of wagering. We’ll hit all of that below.
College Basketball betting: Ways to bet
- Spreads in basketball betting is pretty much the same as in football. It is based on the favorites and underdogs concept, where favorites are expected to win. Sportsbooks set a favorite, which is then.
- The number (the point spread) signifies how much is to be added or subtracted from that teams’ point total at the conclusion of the game. If Kaitlyn bets on Boston, they would have to defeat Detroit by a total of 8 points in order for her to win the bet. If she bets on Detroit, they would have to win outright or lose by no less than 7 points.
- Jun 29, 2017 How to NBA Point Spread Bet. For picking the Spread in NBA basketball, the main aspects to focus on are – Recent matchup results between the two teams – Some NBA teams play really well against others and there are also cases where lower teams match up well against better teams (these are the cases when there may be ‘value’ in the market).
- Mar 04, 2021 Normal NBA betting lines or NCAA basketball lines will include a number next to each team which is either +. If the number is (+) then that many points will be added to the end score to decide the winner of the bet.
Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list of today’s sports betting odds and lines.
Whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate bettor or you’ve been wagering your whole life, when you bet college hoops, it’s all about limits. The best rule of thumb for better success is to select just a few conferences on which to focus. If you try to bet all 353 Division I teams, the only thing guarantee guaranteed is that you will lose. That’s too much, even for the pro cappers.
For beginners, focus on one or two conferences, intermediate bettors can handle up to three, and the long-term guys can expand their focus to four or five conferences. Know them inside and out, study the injury reports each week and follow trends and statistics closely. Long-term players might also want to keep a spreadsheet with results and trends, and try and develop a statistical system.
College Basketball betting: Key betting terms to know
Most college hoops bettors wager on the spread. You either take Team A or Team B to win with a point spread. You can also bet the moneyline, which is simply taking one team or the other to win outright, regardless of the margin. In addition, you can bet the Over/Under on the total number of points in a game.
If you choose to bet a parlay, you bet two or more different things, and each bet needs to win for you to cash a winning ticket. Generally, the odds are much better with the more bets you include in a parlay, but the risk rises with each addition to the ticket.
College Basketball betting: How do odds work?
Let’s say Michigan is favored by 7 1/2 points over Indiana with a total of 129 points. If you bet the favorite, you need Michigan to win by at least 8 points to cash. If you bet the underdog, you need Indiana to stay within 7 points in a loss, or win outright.
If you were to bet the Over, you would need a total of 130 or more points for a winning ticket. If you bet the Under, you would need 128 or fewer points for your bet to cash.
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Contents
What is March Madness?
A popular annual NCAA men's basketball tournament, the event takes place over a three-week period and the betting action on the tournament brings in record handles for sportsbooks in the United States.
The tournament is a single-elimination format that consists of 68 teams and those schools are announced on “Selection Sunday” – which is an event in itself. The 2021 selection show takes place on Sunday March 14, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. ET and is televised nationally in the United States on CBS, one of the largest broadcast companies.
Pundits often try to predict the full bracket before the event and the term “Bracketology” is used in many sports betting circles. The brackets are divided into four regions, split up geographically in the United States. All of the March Madness games are played on neutral courts and the regional final takes place at a large venue.
Sweet 16
With over 350 NCAA men's teams eligible to compete and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, securing a spot in the Sweet 16 is a major accomplishment. When betting on March Madness futures or competing in a Bracket Contest, predicting the Sweet 16 is essential for all of your wagers. In order to reach the Sweet 16, teams will have to win their first two games and sometimes three if schools had to qualify from the 'First Four' matchups.
Eight schools compete in the 'First Four' games on Thursday March 18 from two venues -- Mackey Arena and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall -- located in Indiana.
The March Madness the field of 64 is cut in half to 32 and eventually 16 after the first and second rounds are completed. Even though there are 16 teams still standing, it's quite common to see mismatches on paper as far as the seedings go. A double-digit seeded school have made plenty of appearances in this round and they're often listed as healthy underdogs by the oddsmakers.
This year's 2021 Sweet 16 matchups will take place from two venues from the state of Indiana. These games are also known as the Regional Semifinals.
- Bankers Life Fieldhouse
- Hinkle Fieldhouse
Elite Eight
Even bigger than the Sweet 16 is the Elite Eight and schools playing in this round know how high the stakes are. The winners will advance to the Final Four while the losers are sent packing after winning three or possibly four NCAA Tournament games in a row. The point-spreads are usually much tighter in this round since the top contenders are left standing and the oddsmakers have a better understanding of the remaining clubs. It's not uncommon to see higher seeds last this long in the NCAA Tournament and plenty of those long shots or underdogs receive plenty of attention from bettors looking for upsets and major payouts.
Similar to the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight matchups will take place at the same venues with one day of rest between the games. These games are also known as the Regional Finals.
For the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Elite Eight will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday March 29 and Tuesday March 30.
The Final Four is put simply, the final four teams left in the NCAA Tournament and those squads will meet in a pair of semifinal matchups. The winners will advance to the March Madness championship while the losers join many other schools who just missed out on a trip to the title game. The Final 4 always takes place on the first Saturday in April, this year's event taking place on April 3, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Expecting at least one No. 1 seed to be playing in the Final 4 is very likely. Since the tournament expanded in 1985 to 64 teams, there have only been two years where the Final Four didn’t have a No. 1 seed which occurred in 2011 and 2006. Keep in mind that expecting all top seeds to advance is also rare. There has only been one instance where all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, which took place in 2008 when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA earned regional bids.
Since the expansion of the NCAA Tournament occurred in 1985, Duke leads all schools with 12 all-time appearances in the Final Four while Kansas is next up with 18.
2019 Final Four Schools (Seeds)
Virginia (1)
Michigan State (2)
Texas Tech (3)
Auburn (5)
Lucky No. 11
The lowest seed to make the Final 4 was the No. 11. This happened four times since 1985 and most recently with Loyola-Chicago in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Other teams included were Virginia Commonwealth (2011), George Mason (2006) and LSU (1986).
Along with that quartet, the only other double-digit seeds to make the Final 4 was Syracuse, who earned a trip in 2016 as a No. 10 seed.
UConn remains the lowest modern-day seeded team to win the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies of Connecticut accomplished the feat in the 2007 tournament as the No. 7 seed. Villanova, an eighth seed, captured the 1984-85 tournament over Georgetown.
Most Popular March Madness Tools
March Madness Bracket Explained
Betting on March Madness is one of the most popular sports betting events and it's format caters to the masses of not just sports bettors but for individuals who like to compete in a contests against friends, employees and strangers. The Bracket is a single-elimination contest where individuals must pick the winner of head-to-head matchups and forecast ahead before future matchups are determined.
Predicting a perfect March Madness Bracket is quite difficult and some experts have stated that you have a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance. So if you see many websites and operators offering a guaranteed $1 Million Dollars for a perfect bracket, you can see that the odds are against you and the reward should be much higher. For those wondering, there has never
Nonetheless, the tournament has everybody glued to their Brackets especially for the first round since that's where many upsets take place. Going 32-0 isn't impossible and it's been done many times before but seeing your March Madness Bracket go unscathed through the opening weekend is rare and that would require you to post 16 more winners and improve to 48-0.
The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight weekend follows and participants will be following 12 games before the Final Four and Championship, which is a total of 63 games to predict. While the point-spread isn't used in the March Madness Bracket, predicting straight up winners isn't as easy as it looks -- especially when you don't know the matchups beforehand.
The VegasInsider.com Live Brackets is a great feature to follow your selections and our Printable Brackets will allow you to write-in your selections as you see fit.
March Madness Dates
The NCAA Tournament and March Madness Betting research begins on 'Selection Sunday' as the field of 68 teams are announced. After the brackets are filled in, the March Madness format is followed with all games being played at neutral sites.
- First Four - Thursday 18, 2021
- First Round - Fri/Sat, March 19-20, 2021
- Second Round - Sun/Mon, March 21-22, 2021
- Sweet 16 - Sat/Sun, March 27-28, 2021
- Elite Eight - Mon/Tue, March 29-30, 2021
- Final Four - Saturday, April 3, 2021
- NCAA Championship Game - Monday, April 5, 2021
Types of NCAA Tournament Bets
Bracket Pool
The March Madness Bracket Pool is a great contest that continues to rise in popularity among bettors and non-bettors. There is no barrier to entry and it's easy to participate, whether it be online or offline. All you need to do is find a group of colleagues and be on your way to predicting the outcome of the entire NCAA Tournament. The individual with the best prediction skills will be the overall winner of the Bracket Pool. Most pools start with an entry fee, decided by the pool leader, and all of the entries must be completed by the first matchup. That initial game usually takes place at 12:00 p.m. ET on the first Thursday after Selection Sunday, this year it will be on Friday March 19. For the 2021 March Madness event, your deadline to submit picks will be on Friday, Mar. 19, 2021.
Game Lines
The key to betting on March Madness is understanding the lines or betting odds. After 'Selection Sunday' takes place and the field of 68 is announced, the oddsmakers start to post opening lines on all of the matchups. Our Las Vegas Odds and Global Odds will begin to populate opening numbers for all of the matchups in the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness bettors can toggle between three different sections.
- Spread
- Money Line
- 1st Half
The game lines for the Spread show the point-spread odds, which are the most popular. Bettors playing totals or 'over/under' wagers are also listed on this page. The Money-Line odds cater to bettors looking to place wagers on the straight up outcome of a matchup, meaning the point-spread doesn't come into play. The 1st Half is catered to savvy bettors who like to get their juices going early. These bets are focused on the first 20 minutes of each March Madness matchup.
Point-Spread Bet
The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.
Example - Point-Spread
Duke -10
Kansas +10
In the above example, if you wanted to back Duke as a 10-point favorite then you would need them to beat Kansas by 11 or more points to win your wager. If you wagered on Kansas, then you would need them to win the game outright or lose by less than 10 points.
Any victory by Duke by nine points or less would result in a loss, even though they won the game straight-up.
Assuming the final margin falls on 10 in this case, a ‘push’ occurs, which is a tie, meaning all tickets are refunded.
Money-Line Bet
Best Basketball Vines 2020
In basketball, the standard betting practice is to lay (bet) $110 to win $100. When we learn about betting baseball and hockey, the money-line is the main form of wagering, meaning no point-spread. There is money-line betting in basketball in case you don’t want to worry about the points. However, the odds are adjusted accordingly for both the favorite and underdog.
Example - Money-Line
How To Win Basketball Game
Duke -550
Kansas +400
In the above example, a straight-up wager on Duke would require you to invest more to win more since its been listed as a large favorite. Since Duke is -550, you would wager $550 to win $100. If you only had $100 to wager, then your return would be $18.18 (100/550). On the flip side, if you have enough faith in Kansas to beat Duke outright as a heavy underdog, then you can place $100 to return $400. You would receive $500, which includes your initial stake.
Over/Under Bet
Another popular betting option for March Madness games is the 'over/under' or what many may refer to as the total. This wager is a cooperative effort between the two teams to either go ‘Over’ or ‘Under’ the posted total. In March Madness, if Duke and Kansas have a game total of 150 ½, a winning 'Over' bet would mean the two clubs would combine for 151 points or more. On the flip side, a winning ‘Under’ ticket is 150 points or fewer between the two teams.
Parlay/Teaser
A Parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers for a high payout. Parlay wagers can include point-spread, money-line and over-under wagers.
In order for the parlay bet to win, every one of the wagers must win or push (tie). If any of the selections lose, your wager loses, regardless of the outcome or cancellation of the other games. Depending on the sportsbook, a parlay could still be alive if one or more of the selections ends in a tie, postponed game or canceled event. If that happens, the parlay is knocked down a straight wager or a lower parlay.
The VegasInsider.com Parlay Calculator is a useful betting resource for March Madness and it provides bettors with a chance to calculate winnings based on the fixed payouts.
Similar to a parlay wager, a Teaser is a type of bet that allows you to combine your bets on two or more different games. The return isn't as high as parlays but bettors will gain an advantage with these bets by adding or subtracting points to either a point-spread or a total (over/under). The majority of sportsbooks will offer 4, 4.5 and 5 point teaser wagers for March Madness.
Example - Original Line
Duke -10
Over 150 ½
How To Bet Basketball And Win Predictions
Example - Teaser Bet (4 Points)
Duke -6
Over 146 ½
A bettor taking Duke (-10) and the Over (150 ½) in a two-team Teaser for 4 points would lower the point-spread on Duke to -6 and also drop the Over down to 146 ½. For the Teaser to cash, Duke must win by 7 or more points and the combined points in the game must exceed 147.
Futures Bet
You can bet on a NCAA tournament championship pick throughout the season and during the year but the College Basketball Futures market always heats up in March. Betting and winning on the Men’s Division winner are obviously two different things but VegasInsider.com has all the resources to help guide you the right way. Figuring out how to make the bet is simple. All sportsbooks offer Future Odds and after selecting College Basketball Men’s Division winner, you’ll see the school and then the corresponding odds.
When you place a Future Odds wager, you’re locking up your money on an event that takes place at later time. The winner is crowned in April and bettors will winning wagers will be paid based on fixed odds when the bet was placed. To figure out your Win Amount, take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.
Example
Duke 10/1 odds to win NCAA Tournament (Bet $100 to win $1,000)
Past NCAA Basketball Champions
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament determines winner of the national championship of the major college basketball teams in Division 1. The VegasInsider.com History page provides a comprehensive list of the past NCAA Basketball Champions and the betting results for the title game, which includes the outcome for the favorite-underdog and over-under.
Best Basketball Vines Clean
Listed below are the last 10 NCAA Basketball Champions and their seeds.
Best Basketball Vines
- 2019 - Virginia (1)
- 2018 - Villanova (1)
- 2017 - North Carolina (1)
- 2016 - Villanova (2)
- 2015 - Duke (1)
- 2014 - Connecticut (7)
- 2013 - Louisville (1)
- 2012 - Kentucky (1)
- 2011- Connecticut (3)
- 2010 - Duke (1)