Every year college basketball attracts millions of viewers to watch and wager on the outcomes of the contests.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was first set up in 1939. It only featured 8 teams. The first champions of the knock out tournament were Oregon, who beat Ohio State.
The size of the competition expanded to include 16 teams in 1951 and 32 in 1975. Its present roster of 64 competing teams was brought about in 1975.
March Madness
The NCAA is also known as March Madness. The term was first used in association with basketball back in 1939.
However, it was not used directly to refer to the NCAA until journalist Brent Musburger used it during coverage of the 1982 tournament. The phrase is now specifically associated with the end of season elimination contest.
UCLA has the most tournament wins, with 11 successful campaigns in the NCAA knock out competition.
Popularity of Betting on the NCAA
Knock out competitions in every sport offer fans a brilliant level of excitement. Basketball strongly benefits from this too, and viewing can be heightened even further by betting on college basketball games.
Placing a wager is often part of the fun of the competition. Fans get excited by the prospect of predicting the round-by-round results of winners and losers all the way to the final. The expansion of legal sports betting has seen a huge rise in the mobile betting industry.
The NCAA has proved a good fit for mobile betting. Indeed, of the 50 million Americans who are thought to bet on the competition, many will be using the latest tech to do so.
How to Bet on the NCAA
March Madness is a knockout competition that is set up as the elimination stage of the men’s basketball season. It usually starts around mid-March and goes on through to the first half of April.
However, the whole of the NCAA can be bet on as well to try and predict who will go the whole way from the regular season through to the end.
There are over 350 teams in paying at NCAA Division 1 level. Staying up to date with the latest odds is integral to increasing your chances.
There are lots of different ways to bet on college basketball with different markets making it possible to wager securely and conveniently. Much of this is now done via apps and mobile devices.
DraftKings Sportsbook offers a mobile app to make betting on the NCAA easy for betters. The company provides suitable odds and lines for players to make use of when filling out their bets.
FanDuel Sportsbook is another popular market for people looking to wager on the NCAA. Its app makes it easy to sort through combinations and the full list of the competition. Other possibilities for NCAA fans include the BetMGM sportsbook, the BetRivers sportsbook, and the PointsBet Sportsbook.
It is always a good idea to check to see if these bet makers are operating in your state before arranging the predictions that you think will happen.
Checking out local knowledge about teams is another great idea. When researching your tips for the NCAA local sports writers may well have better tips than national networks.
What about game lines?
Different bets can be placed on the NCAA.
A popular type of bet is the moneyline wager. This is a straight bet on which team win the matchup. The favorite will receive negative odds, while the underdog will receive positive odds. This is how the betmakers balance out the possibilities to make a bet more appealing.
Spread betting is when the oddsmakers decide on an estimated margin of victory. It essentially works as a handicap to even out the difference between favorites and underdogs. For example, the favorites might have odds minus 6, which means they would have to win by 7 or more to win the bet. The same can work for the underdogs with a negative figure. If you’re looking to explore this topic seriously, check out Doc’s Sports basketball handicapping tips.
Totals betting is also often available. This is when the bet is based on a prediction of the total number of points you think the teams will score during the match. Also often known as the Over/Under, the bet is based on whether you think a team will score over or under a proposed figure.
Sometimes the spread can offer some surprises. Going for the underdog can be a great option when the spread is more than 35. Commentators have found that a lopsided match up can often provide favorable options for backing the underdogs.
The NCAA and its knockout conclusion provide a fantastic source of excitement every year. The sport is well worth betting on for an engrossing experience.
