Betting on college basketball is always fun. But it can be very challenging as well, especially for handicappers that aren’t vastly knowledgeable about the nature of college basketball odds and how to choose the matchups to wager on from the hundreds of games that are played in the five-month season span from November to March. Fortunately, you can easily avoid the pitfalls in college basketball betting and encourage success if you follow the handy betting tips we’ve briefly highlighted for you below.
Here’s A Closer Look At The Betting Tips For College Basketball Bettors
Understanding the college basketball schedule
Depending on the league and conference one is playing in, the NCAAB season constitutes around 30 to 35 games for each team. These games are majorly divided into three portions; the non-conference schedule (which often comes at the start of the season), the conference schedule (which mostly follows the non-conference schedule) and the postseason games (which come at the end of the season in what is popularly known as the NCAA Tournament). Typically, these schedules come with different levels of competitiveness and motivation, so you must ensure that you duly factor in the schedules accordingly if you are looking to handicap the NCAAB lines in the right way.
For example, most non-conference games tend to be rather soft (especially for the top-conference teams in the nation), as teams are often pitted against opponents from low-tier conferences. In conference play, the level of competition tends to be tougher, given that teams are matched up against familiar foes. During the NCAA Tournament, it’s all about the top playing against each other, no wonder the best teams tend to do well at this time. Of course, we always have our usual Cinderellas that come through with unexpected upsets, so you have to anticipate such scenarios as well.
Impact of Recruitment and Player Transfers
College basketball is a sport that is heavily influenced by players, and the addition or loss of one player can easily change a team’s fortune drastically, either for better or worse. This is where a keen assessment of returning players from the previous season, along with new additions—like freshmen and junior transfers—and graduation into the pro basketball, comes in as a handy capping tool for NCAAB odds and game outcomes. It’s usually hard to keep track of these players once the season begins when you are bombarded with a flurry of games, so it’s advisable that you progressively keep tabs on such happenings right from the time a season ends, particularly during the summer when new recruits and transfers are being introduced and jelled into their new teams. Also, do keep an eye out for the returning starters and bench players that look to be given a bigger share of workload in the new season, as this can have a huge impact on the dynamic of teams in a new season.
Value of Game Research and Analysis
However good your intuition is, you can never succeed in college basketball betting without doing proper analysis of games through extensive research and number-crunching the odds and what you stand to gain from the bets. This, essentially, means that you must be ready to research on the teams you intend to bet on and find a site to help you with breaking down the numbers in case you don’t like going the long way of crunching down the numbers on you own.
Home Court Advantage
The reason why many pundits and analysts always make a big deal about home court advantage in college basketball is because it really is a big deal. The maturity level of players in college basketball is usually rather low compared to that of players in the NBA, so playing in unfamiliar courts against raucous opposing crowds and with plenty of pressure often affects the NCAAB players. As such, most good teams tend to make good value of playing at home than on the road. NCAAB bettors must therefore remember to factor in the value of home court advantage when placing college hoops bets, especially in games involving teams that have previously proven their strength and worth at home.
Implications of History and College Basketball Trends
While the yearly turnover of players from college to pro can mess even the best of trends, it is always important to remember that NCAAB betting trends are usually very sharp and they tend to stay similar, particularly wheninvolving common foes. A good example is the dominance of the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12, where they’ve won 12 straight regular-season conference titles, thanks to the luminary coaching of Bill Self. So while certain trends will change over time, you should be careful about writing off certain histories and trends, unless there is really a good reason to do so.
The Value of Motivation
From fierce rivalry games to playing on national TV, motivation is a factor that cuts across all divides in college basketball, and bettors need to keep this in mind when betting on games, moreso when Tourney qualifications and postseason titles are at stake.
Playing Styles: Rebounding and Game Tempo
Based on research, it is believed that teams that are able to push the pace in games and control the playing tempo will often find more success than their opponents. This is not always the case in all games, but the success rates are high, making it an important tip to consider in hoops betting. Similarly, teams that are good in rebounding are said to have more success, as college basketball games feature many misses as opposed to the pros, so teams that are able to collect more rebounds get second-chance opportunities that gives them a bit of an edge. Other aspects of playing styles you should remember include offensive accuracy, defensive metrics and half-court presses that hugely impact NCAAB games.
Final Remarks…
Above everything, you should remember that there will always be plenty of games and betting opportunities, so you should only pick and bet on games that you are ‘sure’ of. This way, you avoid wasting money on games you don’t know anything about. Finally, try to read as much as you can and learn about rules and the teams, as this is the only way you will be able to find those small (but crucial) details about games that will give you the edge over your bookie and other casual bettors.
