The best days for basketball bettors are finally here. Unlike 2020 and 2021, this year’s NCAA basketball tournament will return to the norm, with teams playing at scattered locations all over the country.
March Madness’ selection will be on March 13, from 6 p.m. ET. You might want to mark this date on your calendar, especially if you bet on sports. Also, keep in mind the entire tournament will run from March 15 to April 14.
With that in mind, continue reading for a handful of useful March Madness betting tips:
1—Choose a Good Sportsbook
Since 2018, all states in the country have the authority to legalize sports betting. More than half of them have already permitted in-person or mobile betting. If you live where online betting is legal, you’re in good luck.
You don’t need to leave your home to bet on March Madness. However, you need to choose a good sportsbook. There are a few reasons why this is important: Fast banking, betting bonuses, good odds, live betting, technical support and live streaming.
Many March Madness betting websites are welcoming new customers with free bets and bonuses. Don’t rush to claim the offers. Review each sportsbook to learn about its reputation, the quality of its odds and its history with paying out money to winners.
Of course, you also want to read the terms of these bonuses. Can you use the free bets on college basketball games? What are the wager requirements?
2—Understand the Format
Perhaps you bet on the NFL regularly. Maybe you watch the NBA from time to time. But how well do you know college basketball? The NCAA basketball tournament brings together 68 teams, 32 of which qualify automatically.
The remaining 38 teams learn their opponents for the tournament on selection date. As mentioned, selection date will take place on March 13, and will be live on CBS Sports.
After the teams are selected, the first four teams will play one another on March 15 and March 16. Next, will be the first round and the second round. After that, we’ll head to Sweet 16, which will be followed by the Elite Eight.
On April 12, the final four players will battle one another for a shot at the championship game. The NCAA Championship game will take place on April, 14.
3—Learn the Bet Types
If you bet on sports regularly, you probably understand the main bet types. These are the same bets availed for March Madness betting:
- Money Line
You pick the winning team in a game. Now, predicting the winner of a basketball is easier said than done. Upsets happen all the time, so you shouldn’t back the favorite side all the time.
- Spreads/Lines
This bet involves predicting the margin of victory. Let’s say Duke has a game against Purdue. You believe Duke will win the game. And you’re certain it will win by more than 5 points. You can back the side to win by +5 points.
The benefit is that spreads have more appealing odds than money line bets. The risk: a team has to win by your predicted margin for you to win the bet.
- Totals
As the name suggests, this bet type is all about predicting the total number of points in a game. You don’t need to predict the exact number. You predict whether a game will end in over or under a certain number of points.
For example, Tennessee has a game against Gonzaga. You believe the game will be a high-scoring affair of more than 160 points. Then you can place an over 160 points total bet.
Beware, though, NCAA basketball games don’t involve as many points as the NBA. The games involve defense a lot more than the Major League. As such, you have to work a little bit harder to predict games correctly.
- Parlays
This is a bet type best left for the experts. Sure, it’s all about predicting the winner in a match. But you predict four or more games and compile them into one betting slip.
Bookmakers multiply the odds of all the games you’ve predicted. Your potential profit is these odds multiplied by your stake. This is a lot more money than predicting one game. However, you win only if you predict all matches correctly.
- Props
Prop bets refer to random but possible occurrences in a sports game. For example, you can predict which team will get the first technical of the game. You can also predict the highest scorer, the first team to score or whether a match will end in OT.
4—Research Extensively
This is a no brainer. If you want to win NCAA games consistently, you have to be great at research work. More importantly, you need to do correct research. For starters, know that March Madness top-teams are well-balanced.
Historically, none of the tournament’s winners ranked outside of the top 20 teams defensively. On the other end, only one winner has ranked outside of the top 20 in offense.
In light of that information, always check the power rankings of teams you plan to bet on. Top-ranked teams in offense and defense tend to beat lower ranked sides in the same metrics.
Other factors to consider are the strength of teams, home court advantage, injuries and form. Teams with better players have a better chance of defeating sides with weaker teams. However, this could change based on each college’s form, injuries and coaching styles.
5—Learn Value Betting
The ultimate goal of sports betting is to make money consistently. Unfortunately, you can’t make good money by constantly betting on the favorites. A better strategy is to learn value betting.
Put simply, value betting is the practice of finding underdogs with better chances of winning than the favorites. We know—it doesn’t sound right. But it happens more often than you might think.
Sometimes sportsbooks underestimate a team in great form. And this means they assign it better odds than its opponents. But if you find this team and bet on it, you could double or triple your money. Find these sorts of teams regularly and you’ll be a profitable punter in the long haul.
