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AustraliaNCAA College Basketball – Legal Sportsbooks to bet on College Basketball
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The rich history of basketball goes back to a Young Men’s Christian Association School located in Massachusetts, known as Springfield College today.
Basketball was created by James Naismith, a physical education teacher, who in 1891 received the task of keeping track athletes in shape without them getting hurt during the winter season. The first basketball game was played in December 1891.
In 1893, basketball managed to expand to other college campuses, and the first basketball game outside of the Training School was against Vanderbilt University in February 1893.
Today, college basketball is governed by several collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), United States Collegiate Association (USCAA), National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
The governing bodies situated in Canada include the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and U Sports.
NCAA basketball is divided into three conferences, including NCAA Division 1, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III. The NCAA Division I conference features 68 teams that play against each other for the National Championship, starting in March every year and ending in early April.
In my review, I provide popular basketball events that are similar to NCAA basketball, take you through the various NCAA basketball betting types you’ll find at legal online sportsbooks, and provide useful tips and strategies you can use to increase your winning chances when placing a bet on NCAA basketball. Furthermore, I will walk you through the legality of NCAA basketball betting, include a range of frequently asked questions surrounding NCAA basketball, and tell you why I believe you should bet on NCAA basketball.
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Should you already understand NCAA basketball betting, and only want to find a reliable, legal, and trustworthy online sportsbook to place a wager on NCAA basketball, you can choose any of my recommended sports betting sites below to get straight into the betting action. For those that are new to NCAA basketball, and would like to understand the different betting types involved, you will find plenty of helpful information further down in my review.
Similar NCAA Events
College basketball is considered one of the most popular sports in the world among spectators. It’s also a very popular sport for bettors to make wagers on. However, there are several other exciting basketball leagues and tournaments that bettors can also take advantage of to further boost their profits. I have included the most popular basketball events from around the world, and included what each of them consists of below:
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA), is a premier professional league in basketball. The league comprises of thirty basketball teams, twenty-nine basketball teams from the United States and one basketball team from Canada.
Teams are equally divided into two separate conferences, including the Western Conference with three divisions, the Eastern Conference with three divisions and each has a total of five teams.
There are eighty-two games during a regular season, and the league usually starts in October and ends in April.
Basketball Bundesliga
Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), is considered the highest professionally ranked German basketball league. The BBL consists of eighteen basketball teams that are divided into a regular league stage, and a playoff stage. Once the regular season ends, the best eight basketball teams in the league will advance to a playoff stage that comprises of a best-of-five format.
The basketball team who manages to win the finals become the German Champions for the season. The league gets underway in September every year and ends in June.
EuroLeague
The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, or simply EuroLeague, is a professional European basketball league. The league comprises of sixteen basketball teams and features thirty different games. The EuroLeague features two stages, the regular season stage, as well as a playoff stage.
The best eight basketball teams from the regular EuroLeague season will advance to the playoff stage each year. The top four teams from the playoff stage will advance to the Final Four that features a championship game, two semifinals, and a third-place game. Established in 2000, the EuroLeague gets underway in October and ends in May.
Types of NCAA Bets
NCAA basketball not only provides an incredible selection of games throughout the season but also offers you an arsenal of betting markets that you can use in every game. It’s extremely easy to place a bet on college basketball with basic betting options like totals, point spreads, and moneylines, to more advanced betting options such as props and parlays. I included all betting types below along with useful examples.
Point Spread
Spread betting will place more emphasis on the number of points a team wins by, instead of just the win itself. Therefore, you will essentially bet on how many points a basketball team will win or lose by. Betting lines for point spreads are identified by a + or – symbol. Teams with a + sign either need to win the game outright or lose by fewer points that are given on the betting line. Teams with a – sign will need to win the game by more points than the total on the betting line. For instance:
Kansas Jayhawks +11.5 (-115)
Louisville Cardinals -11.5 (-110)
The spread betting line is set to 11.5, meaning the Jayhawks are required to win the match outright or lose by less than eleven points. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are required to win by more than twelve points. The potential payout is identified by the moneyline, so, therefore, you will need to risk $115 on the Jayhawks to win $100 or risk $110 on the Cardinals to win $100.
Moneyline
Moneyline betting is rather straightforward and only requires you to decide which of the two teams will win the game outright. A moneyline wager removes the point spread element and offers odds on the favourite and underdog team. A moneyline example will look like this:
Arizona Wildcats -130
Princeton Tigers +160
In my example, the Wildcats are the favourites to win, while the Tigers are considered the underdogs thanks to the + and – signs on the betting line. You will need to risk $130 on the Arizona Wildcats to profit $100, and you will need to risk $100 on the Tigers to make a profit of $160.
Over/Under (Game Totals)
When making a wager on NCAA basketball game totals, you’ll only be focusing on one statistic of the game – the combined total points scored by the two teams. An example of a game total betting line will look like this:
Michigan Wolverines o-125
@185
Oregon Ducks u+120
In my example, the total for the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Oregon Ducks is set to 185 points. Should the Ducks win the game 95-92, the final game total will be 187. If you wagered that the score would be over, your bet will win. Should the Wolverines win the game 87-85, the final game total will be 172. If you wagered that the score would be under, you would be successful and win.
Props
Prop betting in NCAA basketball will allow you to make additional bets on a variety of markets that won’t be directly linked to the outcome of a match. For instance, you can bet on an individual player that you think will score the most points, or bet on one of the two teams and predict how much points they will score in the match.
Futures
Future betting on NCAA basketball is another popular bet made by bettors. Future bets are focused on the outcome of a league or tournament and are usually offered before the start of the regular NCAA basketball season. You can place a bet on which team you think will win the championship in the finals.
NCAA Betting Tips and Strategies
Once you completely understand how to read betting lines, and how to differentiate between a point spread and game totals, you will need to incorporate several betting strategies to ensure you make a more informed and educated betting decision on NCAA basketball games. I, therefore, included some of the most vital tips and strategies you can use in NCAA basketball to assist you in making a winning bet.
Check Injury Reports
The best advice I can give you is to always check injury reports for every team in the NCAA basketball league as it will always have a contributing factor on upcoming games. NCAA basketball is a fast-paced sport with high scores, and you will need to be aware of the top scorers in every team, especially if they get injured. Should a key player be injured, it will have a massive impact on the performance of the team. You will also need to ensure you know the stats of the replacement player to see if they can make up the lack of a key player on the bench.
Home vs Away Games
Every NCAA basketball team will play a total of thirty-one games during the regular season. Keep in mind that not every game will be on home soil. Teams will travel across the country to play against their opponents, and this creates a host of additional factors that you will need to be aware of. Home advantage can make a significant difference on how a team performs. Playing in front of a home crowd will see teams be more motivated and passionate about the match. On the other hand, away teams will deal with long distance travelling and staying in hotels. This can cause players to be more tired before the game that will also have an impact on their overall performance.
Compare Betting Odds
This is one of the most important tips I can give you when it comes to NCAA basketball. Sportsbooks will continuously try to get your business by offering reduced juice or better odds on upcoming games. Therefore, you will always need to compare different sportsbooks and the odds they offer on each game. This will vary from game to game, so it will be beneficial to register with a couple of sportsbooks to locate the best odds.
Legality of NCAA Betting
NCAA basketball betting is immensely popular not only in the United States, but also in Canada. Unfortunately, several regulations and laws prohibit online sports betting sites, located in these countries, from offering their services to the citizens of Canada and the United States. In the U.S, the Federal and State laws ensure that no online sportsbook in the country can offer betting to U.S citizens apart from a handful of states. In Canada, online sports betting is offered, but bettors can only use government approved websites that offer poor betting odds and limited betting markets.
Fortunately, these regulations and laws only function within the borders of each of these countries, and this means that players residing in the U.S, and in Canada, can register with a wide range of offshore sports betting sites. Each of these sports betting sites is licensed and regulated by a governing body, leading to a high level of security, trustworthiness, and reliability. Players will also be introduced to better bonuses, superior customer support, and a wider variety of betting markets. Each of the sportsbooks I listed on my site has been tested, and are completely legal, ensuring you don’t experience any hassles.
Conclusion
NCAA basketball betting is an extremely difficult proposition in the online sports betting community due to its high scoring capabilities and fast-paced action. However, astute bettors can still benefit from huge rewards by firstly registering with a reputable and legal online sportsbook that not only offers competitive odds, but superior service as well, and secondly by transforming their college basketball knowledge into a long-term profitable strategy.
NCAA FAQ Section
When was the NCAA basketball established?
Who are the current NCAA Division 1 basketball champions?
Who won the most NCAA basketball championships?
Why I Recommend NCAA Betting
David Nugent Editor
First off, I want to say hi and wish a warm welcome to all gambling aficionados out there! My name is David Nugent and I am editor-in-chief of LegitGambling.com. I have always enjoyed various sports, primarily soccer, as I am a die-hard Everton fan.
Over time, I learned more about sports betting and discovered the fascinating online gambling industry. Eventually,...
