NCAAM
About NCAAM
The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, also known and branded as NCAA March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), to determine the national championship. There are 350 NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I teams with each playing 35 to 40 games. Plus, there are the 30-plus conference championship tournaments as well as March Madness. Each week, men’s college basketball provides literally thousands of betting opportunities. Learn more about NCAAM Betting Strategy.
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Find AP Preseason NCAAM Top 25 HERE!
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NCAA Men’s Basketball Betting Strategy
Having an NCAAM betting strategy is essential, as this sport includes 32 Division I conferences and 357 teams. Men’s college basketball is a huge sport which includes what is the most popular tournament in the U.S., the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which is also known as March Madness and the Big Dance. The skinny on successfully wagering on this sport is that you must have a vast amount of knowledge and be able to find quality lines and value.
The Men’s College Basketball Season
The NCAAM regular season starts in early November and ends in early March. After that, the 32 conferences play their tournaments. The winner of each of these tournaments gets an automatic invite to the NCAAM Men’s Basketball Tournament. In the season, there are more than 5,800 games played with an average of 1,450 games per month and about 360 games per week. Those are daunting numbers, which don’t include conference tournaments nor March Madness, which includes 67 games over three weeks.
NCAAM Betting Strategy – Stay in the Game
Our NCAAM betting strategy focuses on the Power Five (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, Southeastern Conference), the Big East Conference, and the High Majors (Atlantic-10 Conference, American Athletic Conference, Mountain West). Plus, we’ve added West Coast Conference member Gonzaga as part of this group. The Power Five and Big East Conference are sometimes referred to as the Power Six. There are 76 Power Six teams, and with Gonzaga 37 High Majors teams. That totals 113 NCAAM clubs.
What complicates the situation is that these teams play the first part of their season in nonconference contests. The number of out-of-conference games vary and may include special tournaments. Generally speaking, teams play from 12-to-15 nonconference contests and anywhere from 30-to-40 regular-season games. Plus, a team could play four-to-five conference tournament games.
As, you can tell, the men’s college basketball season is simultaneously a sports bettor’s dream and nightmare. There’s a lot of action, but where do you start? Sports bettors should focus on spread, moneyline, and total bets. Start small and increase your wagering activity over time. Look for mismatches, as there are a lot of them. You may find arbitrage betting opportunities on games that are less conspicuous. Early season nonconference contests are ripe for arbitrage. As the season continues, create a list of anywhere from 10 to 20 teams that you know inside out and wager on them.
Conference tournaments are a whole other animal as is March Madness. Both are much more unpredictable than the regular season. For some perspective, you may want to think about the college basketball season as being four different seasons comprised of nonconference games, conference contests, conference tournaments, and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Plan your betting on each accordingly.
NCAA Men’s Basketball – Analysis Tips
Stick to the tried-and-true trio of bets, moneyline, spread, and totals.
Field-goal and three-point shooting percentages should be weighed carefully.
Down the stretch, foul shooting can win or lose games.
Recruitment is huge in a sport that holds onto top players just one or two seasons. What team has the recruits who are ready to perform immediately?
If a team has quality three-or-four-year vets, that’s a plus.
Pay attention to major stats, shooting percentage, PPG, points against, rebounding, assists, and turnovers.
A mix of solid vets and talented first and second-year players can win games.
Who’s the coach, and how good are they?
Deep benches are a major asset.
A big man in the paint and a sharpshooter from downtown are big factors.
A Very Busy Week
As already noted, there are around 360 men’s college basketball games played per week. We suggest betting on no more than five percent of those games, which would be about 15-18. Fewer may make more sense, as you may find it difficult to prep so many games. If you will be wagering on 15 or more, you’ll need a hefty bankroll, as you don’t want to bet more than 20% percent of your bankroll in any given week. If you have $100, that would be just $20.00. Thus, very few games should be bet, or, if you do want to wager on 15 games, you’ll need to boost your bankroll to $1,000. That would give you $200 and at $4.00 a unit, you’d have 50 units.
The main thing to do is to stay within your limits, ensuring your bankroll will take you through about the first five weeks of betting, which will give you room to make some mistakes, learn, and hone your skills. As you build equity, you’ll be able to increase your number of wagers and even recalculate your units.
The Don’ts
Our NCAAM betting strategy requires that players be reasonable and disciplined:
Don’t chase losses.
Don’t make all-or-nothing bets.
Don’t blow your budget.
Don’t play exotics.
Don’t bet on games unless you’ve evaluated both teams. Some people will bet on Duke or Baylor because they are Duke or Baylor. This is not a good idea.
Don’t discount new talent, as college basketball teams develop players quickly.
At the same time, don’t expect new players to be immediately outstanding. It could take 10, 15, or 20 games for a talented player to find their game, or it could take a full season.
Don’t discount quality veterans who are solid, dependable players.
Don’t forget the coach. They’re huge in college basketball.
Don’t forget that due to mismatches, college point spreads can be larger than NBA spreads, while due to there being fewer minutes per game and uneven talent, totals tend to be lower than those in pro basketball.
NCAAM Betting Strategy
College basketball offers sports bettors a lot of opportunities to make cash. At the same time, bettors need to be knowledgeable and disciplined. Our NCAAM betting strategy emphasizes recognizing value, careful analysis, and making uncomplicated bets. Set limits and follow them. There’s a lot of hype in college basketball. Don’t fall prey to it. Finally, remember that the college basketball season is made up of four different seasons composed of nonconference games, conference contests, conference tournaments, and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Budget your time and money accordingly.
AP Preseason NCAAM Top 25
American Athletic Conference - AAC Basketball
Atlantic 10 Basketball
Atlantic Coast Conference - ACC Basketball
Big 12 Basketball
Big East Basketball
Big Ten Basketball
Conference USA - CUSA Basketball
Missouri Valley Conference - MVC Basketball
Mountain West Conference - MWC Basketball
Pac-12 Basketball
Southeastern Conference - SEC Basketball
Sun Belt Conference - SBC Basketball
West Coast Conference - WCC Basketball