NCAA Betting Guide

In the US, there is a massive interest in college sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the organization that regulates student athletics across 1,100 schools in America, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and it awards a total of 90 annual championships in popular sports. These include basketball, baseball, football, ice hockey, and diverse other sports, including beach volleyball, fencing, golf, lacrosse, water polo, and wrestling.

Millions of people view the most popular competitions, and college football and college basketball are among North America's six most popular betting leagues.

Guide To NCAA Betting

Although the NCAA supports a vast range of sports, there are only a handful of college sports the fans can bet on. The most popular are college basketball and college football games. While the game rules are the same as in pro tournaments, NCAA betting differs slightly from wagering in professional leagues.

For a start, there are many more matches to choose from in these amateur events compared to the professional leagues. Also, in college sports, many factors affect their odds, and the stakes are different. Players' emotions can dramatically affect the game results, so bettors should keep an eye on teams that have had a great start, as they are more motivated to win.

So, profound research on each team's history is vital before placing a bet. While there is a lot of information for these tournaments, bettors should filter and organize it, and this way, they can focus on the most critical data.

Line shopping is also essential for a positive betting experience, and this involves choosing to bet at the sportsbook that offers the best odds for the betting market. Shopping for lines is particularly vital for the college basketball championships, as many sportsbooks offer March Madness odds boosts for these games.

How To Bet On The NCAA

As legislation has opened up the US sports betting market, bettors can find numerous betting lines for college sports. The bet types available are similar to those offered for professional sports.

However, depending on the state, the NCAA betting app and sportsbooks will be subject to restrictions, such as limitations on the number of prop bets that can be placed. Some states also ban betting on in-state college teams. For example, in Virginia, wagering on college sports is prohibited; however, all NY betting apps entirely allow this type of sports gambling.

Indeed, the bet types available depend on the actual sport. The spread bet is among the most popular wagers for college football and basketball, and the moneyline bet is another widely used bet type. Here, players wager on which team will win.

Futures bets, where fans predict the overall tournament winner, will have the best odds before the tournament has started. But because odds often change, timing is essential in college betting, just like in professional sports.

Every novice NCAA betting enthusiast should also learn some betting strategies, like paying attention to advanced metrics or using the "home-court advantage." Bettors can apply these strategies to big events such as March Madness, the most popular NCAA tournament that fans shouldn't miss.

Step-by-step guide

You can follow this guide to get started if you want to place a bet on college sports.

1. Go to any sportsbook that offers NCAA betting and create an account by providing all the required information.

2. Then, bettors should search for the desired sport and event using the search bar or by looking at the sportsbook's top choices.

3. After finding the preferred match, bettors need to choose the type of bet and amount of money they want to place and then click 'Bet.'

NCAA Betting Types And Formats

The type of bets fans can place on college sports depends on the sport they are betting on. This NCAA betting guide will look more at the three most popular betting types offered for two popular college sports, football and basketball. These bets are point spread, moneyline, and over/under bets, but they are not the only options college betting fans have.

For example, bettors can also place parlay bets. Here, the bettor places two or more linked bets, moneylines, point spreads, or over/under bets on the same or different games. To win the parlay bet, each leg of the parlay must come through. Although this kind of betting is riskier, it also has more significant rewards.

Future bets, predicting the overall winner of a tournament, are also popular. However, college sports generally have fewer prop betting opportunities than those offered for the same sport played professionally.

Spread bets

In NCAA football and basketball, teams are often evenly matched, and predicting the outright winner is hard. Instead, bettors can bet on the points spread, indicating the difference in the final scoreline between the two teams.

The underdog's spread starts with a positive sign (+), and the favorite's spread with a negative one (-). Placing a bet on the favorite with a spread of, say, -5 means that the team must win by 6 points or more to win the bet.

Similarly, betting on the underdog whose spread is +5 means the bet pays out if that team wins outright or loses by 5 points or less. If the final result is a 5-point difference from the favorite, the wager is a push, and the bettor gets their money back. The odds for spread bets are usually -110, meaning that bettors must wager $110 to earn $100.

Moneyline bets

By far the most straightforward kind of bet to understand. A moneyline wager involves wagering on who will be the winner of a game, which can be the winning team in sports like NCAA basketball or an individual winner in college sports like tennis and golf.

Like the point spread bet, the underdog has a positive line (say +150), and the favorite has a negative line (say -125). Choosing to wager on the favorite to win means wagering $125 to win $100. While wagering on the underdog at +150 means the bettor must wager $100 to win $150 if the underdog pulls off the win. The points scores or the difference between the scores doesn't matter here.

Over/under bets

According to many bettors, one of the most exciting types of bets is the over/under bet, which is another common bet type for NCAA football and basketball games. Also known as a totals bet, the sportsbook predicts the total points scored by both teams in a specific game, and Bettors must then predict whether the final total score will be over or under this number.

Betting that the final total will be lower is an under, while predicting that the final combined score will be higher is called an over. Sometimes, the total score equals the sportsbook's prediction. In this case, the money is refunded to bettors, and the wager is called a "push."

How To Make NCAA In-Game Bets

Live or in-game betting refers to placing a bet while the match is in progress, and many fans prefer this type of wagering as it represents better betting opportunities while being more thrilling. However, the odds and betting lines can change in minutes, so bettors must be attentive and check the gambling site often.

In states where it is legal to bet on NCAA sports, many sportsbooks now offer bettors the opportunity to participate in real-time betting, mainly through their apps. Many bookies provide live betting for college football matches, while the in-game betting options for college basketball increase during the March Madness season.

In addition, some prop bets are only available while live betting, for example, wagering on if a team scores a point on a specific drive. Fans can participate in live NCAA betting online at some of America's most prestigious sportsbooks, such as BetMGM, DraftKings, and BetOnline.

Finding The Best NCAA Betting Apps

Before signing up for a sportsbook to bet on their favorite college sport, bettors should check out various features first. Only some US states have legalized online NCAA sports betting, so bettors should check their state's position on sports betting.

If placing NCAA bets is allowed, there are numerous other features to consider. At first glance, bettors may be tempted to sign up for a gambling app that offers excellent odds. However, features like the range of betting markets offered, the payment options available, and the level of customer support is also vital to be considered. The chosen bookie must hold a valid license from an appropriate gambling authority to offer sports betting. Players should avoid it no matter how great its odds and markets seem to be if it doesn't have one.

The variety of college sports and events available is another essential feature. Some bookmakers may only offer betting markets for college football and basketball, while others include markets for other NCAA sports like golf, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and more. There is no point in signing up for a sportsbook that doesn't offer the right betting markets.

Bettors should also check if live betting is available, though most gambling giants include this option. Also, bettors should choose a sportsbook that offers responsive support accessible through several options. The best sites in the industry offer a 24/7 live chat service, and they will also offer fast withdrawals.

Bettors can check the qualities of different sportsbooks at comparison sites and choose one that fits their needs the best.

NCAA Online Betting Offers

Fans of college sports betting should also look for another important feature when choosing a sportsbook — the type of promotions it offers. Bookies offering bets on NCAA sports can also have different promos in place for both new bettors and existing customers.

Welcome offers for players that sign up for the first time are usually more generous because the sportsbook wants to appeal to new customers. But even after they have used their welcome offer, the best sportsbooks will continue to offer a range of deals for their customers. These promotions come in various formats, and risk-free bets are usually the most common welcome offers. Loyal customers may receive match deposit bonuses, boosted odds for specific betting markets, and even cash back on losses.

Terms and conditions apply to each offer, and bettors should read them carefully. For example, some bonuses have wagering requirements or restrictions on the odds that qualify for the reward, and most have time limits that must be adhered to.

Welcome offers for NCAA bettors

Quite often, bettors will find that the generous welcome offers that sportsbooks give to new players also apply to college tournaments. However, sometimes these offers are only available for specific collegiate sports. Therefore, it is recommended that bettors check each promotion carefully.

The most common welcome bonus for NCAA games is the risk-free bet. Here the sportsbook guarantees that if the first wager placed after signing up is on a college game, then if that bet loses, the wagered amount will be returned to the player's account. Although players cannot withdraw it, they can use it to place a second bet.