A Guide to Betting Your Way Through March Madness

We all know which teams and franchises are the hardest to kill in each of the major American professional sports. The San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors own that distinction in the NBA. The Chicago Blackhawks are that team in the NHL. The New England Patriots are the recent masters of the NFL. In college football, Nick Saban’s Alabama eternally remains as the team to beat. In college basketball, well, let’s just say the mind-numbing nature of unpredictable defeats for top and bottom teams alike in Division I means we no longer have a true favorite in the NCAAB online odds to win this year’s National Hoops Championship. And with that, predicting what will happen in the 2016 March Madness won’t be as easy as it has been in the past. Still, using the following guide, your odds of succeeding in March Madness betting will be greatly increased.

A Guide to Betting Your Way Through March Madness

Nic Moore is absolute money right now. https://t.co/9CzyP0okxX

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 14, 2016

Home Court Advantage Counts Greatly

Teams that play their best at home tend to go far in the March games and that’s something you should watch out for in the NCAAB lines. Some of the teams that come to mind here include Villanova, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan State and Gonzaga, among others. Be sure to keep an eye out for such teams in your March Madness betting picks. Needless to say, the same goes for good road teams.

History has a Knack for Repeating Itself in March Madness

The reason why teams like Kentucky and Duke have been doing well repeatedly in March Madness is nothing to do with luck; it all comes down to the fact that such teams often feed on their past history of success and use that as a motivation for players to do even better. This motivation usually works in their favor by either pushing the players to strive for similar success or scaring off their opponents. A good example is Providence, a top team in the Big East that has been beating opponents like every other day and even delivered a road upset over the No. 1 team in the nation (Villanova). But even with all that success, Providence has never won a game at Marquette, and that history repeated itself this week when they lost to Marquette on OT. When studying trends for March Madness, remember to take note of such histories, as they will most likely repeat this year.

Keep Away from Smokescreens, Go for True Firepower

It is one thing to hope for change in the world of college basketball betting, it is another thing altogether to actually see that hope turn into reality. Everyone wants to snatch away the Big 12 title supremacy from Kansas, but that isn’t as easy as it seems. West Virginia isn’t steady, Oklahoma is riding high but it remains to be seen if they can hold it to the very end, something that sets up the stage perfectly for Kansas to clinch the title. The SEC was momentarily poised for a Texas A&M takeover, but the Aggies have lost four of their last five and Kentucky looks set to win the conference title again. Iowa’s loss to Indiana on Thursday means that Virginia is back at No. 1 seed. Simply put, keep away from joyriders and pacesetters like Texas A&M because they are bound to fall eventually. If you are about making money and placing sure bets, go with true firepowers like Kansas and Kentucky because they’ll often come through for you in the NCAAB lines.

Bet on Good Teams, not Good Players

Buddy Hield is a monster with the ball, Ben Simmons is a heck of player, very few players are as all-rounded as Denzel Valentine, and Melo Trimble is a joy to watch. But that’s all we need to say about these players. Don’t be fooled into betting on Maryland just because Trimble is an eye-candy; bet on Maryland only when you are sure that the entire team is balanced enough to win. The stars obviously play a crucial role towards wins, but in the end, a team that plays as a unit guarantees more wins. You need a good example, look no further than the young Duke team and the manner in which they took down the star-studded Kentucky team in last year’s National Championship game.