Best College Basketball Betting Sites | NCAAB Betting Sites for 2024
Welcome to the ultimate online college basketball betting guide! Discover reviews and rankings for college basketball betting sites here.
College basketball is hoops in its purest form. While the NBA is more driven by individual superstars and the teams they build around them, the collegiate game is by-and-large about the best teams and the best coaches.
Learn about the best betting sites for NCAAB odds, live betting, live streaming, and more!
Top 5 College Basketball Betting Sites
Bet today at one of our recommend college basketball betting sites. We only rate and recommend legal NCAAB betting sites in the U.S.
You can open multiple NCAAB betting site accounts and spot betting trends across several sites. Plus, you can claim sportsbook promos at every college basketball betting site.
Just open your account and receive free bets to use on college basketball games of your choice. You’ll be able to unlock your winnings as long as you meet the simple wagering terms.
With more and more college basketball betting sites going live, you'll start to find more competitive odds on the biggest NCAA basketball games
Trusted College Basketball Betting Sites
- 1Must be 21+ and present in OH. New users and first wager only. Must register with eligible promo code. Maximum bet credit $1,000. Must be used within 14 days of receipt. See Caesars.com/promos for full terms. Void where prohibited. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
- 2Deposit required. Bonus Bets winnings are added to Bonus Bets balance. Bonus Bet wager excluded from returns. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply. Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
- 3Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Must be 21+ to participate & present in OH. In partnership with MGM Northfield Park. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Visit BetMGM.com for T&Cs. US promotional offers not available in NY, NV, or Puerto Rico.
- 4Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
- 5Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
- 6Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.
How to Read NCAAB Betting Lines & Odds
Before you start, you’ll need to understand the sports betting odds and the types of markets NCAAB betting sites offer. There are a lot of potential markets to bet on in college basketball, some of which are linked to individual games.
You’ll also have the chance to bet on games as they happen or back championship winners months in advance.
Moneyline
A moneyline bet is the simplest wager in NCAA college basketball. It’s a straight bet on the winner of a game where one team is assigned the favorite and the other the underdog.
Here’s an example: The North Carolina Tar Heels are taking on the Duke Blue Devils in a critical ACC clash. The basketball odds are displayed on a sportsbook as follows:
- UNC: -200
- Duke: +200
UNC is considered the favorites. The moneyline odds shown indicate the amount you would need to bet in order to win $100. In this case, you’d need to gamble $200 in order to win a $100 profit.
Duke is playing away and are considered underdogs. The price is the amount you would win for a bet of $100. In this case, it’s $200. You would also receive your initial stake back.
Point Spread
College basketball also lends itself well to point spread betting. In a point spread, the favorite is assigned a points handicap before the game starts. The underdog will receive the same amount as a points head-start.
- UNC: -8 (-110)
- Duke: +8 (-110)
In our example, UNC is given a -8 handicap and their odds change to -110. This represents a bigger price, but UNC would have to win by more than 8 points for your bet to cash out.
Conversely, Duke has an 8-point advantage to start with. Their price drops to -110, but their odds of winning the bet also increase.
Imagine the final score is 65-63 UNC. Duke would have a final score of 71 with their 8-point head-start, thus winning the point spread in the process.
Totals
Totals betting is a popular market in college basketball. Essentially, it’s a bet on the total points scored in a game, regardless of individual team scores.
The totals market is displayed as an Over/Under and is normally shown in half-points.
UNC vs Duke:
- Over 200.5: -110
- Under 200.5: -110
In our example, the odds for over or under 200.5 points is -110. If the score ended 86-65 to UNC, the total would be 151. Therefore, the Under 200.5 bet would win.
Futures
You can also find betting odds on events taking place further into the season. The most popular college basketball futures market is the NCAA Tournament, known as March Madness.
The NCAA Tournament consists of 68 teams made up of 32 Conference Championship winners, plus 36 committee-selected teams. March Madness is a knockout tournament with each round contested between seeded teams.
March Madness betting sites offer odds on every round of the NCAA Tournament, as well the outright winner. Bet far enough in advance and you can pick up some value, especially if the matchups haven’t been decided yet.
With so many teams taking part in the NCAA Tournament each year, finding value can be hard. However, online sportsbooks will often put up big prices on a range of teams to entice speculative sports bettors. This is where you can use a free bet offer to snap up any big odds.
Live Betting
Some college basketball sportsbooks allow in-game betting. Live betting is wagering on NCAA basketball games as they happen. You can follow the action live on TV or track the graphic visualizer to study key plays. The basketball odds will change in real time before your eyes!
Popular live betting markets include: point spread, moneyline, totals (over/unders), and overtime prop bets.
In-play betting is a great way of securing a profit when you have more information on how a game is playing out. For example, you may have a feeling about UNC vs Duke before the game, but you decide it’s better to wait for the game to start.
As it turns out, UNC race into a first-quarter lead, and their moneyline odds shorten. But as the second quarter starts, Duke make a strong comeback. There could be some value in betting on Duke to win the first half at +240, even if you don’t think they will win the game.
Other in-play markets will open up too. By the end of the first half, 89 points have been scored in the game. The game's total odds have changed and now read:
- Over 136.5 (-130)
- Under 136.5 (+100)
The NCAAB betting site predicts a high-scoring game and makes Over 136.5 the favorite. However, watching the game, you notice the action is beginning to slow. You think there won’t be too many more slam dunks and sense a value bet in Under 136.5 at +100.
NCAAB Public Betting & Betting Percentages
It’s important you work out how you are going to choose your college basketball bets before you make them. You may study the form or recent head-to-heads. You may look at which stars are slam-dunking for fun right now, or you might look for underdogs being undervalued in the markets.
You can make clever college basketball picks by knowing how the public is betting. Statistics websites track how the public is betting on NCAAB markets. These stats show the consensus or betting percentages.
Essentially, college basketball odds and trends help you decide whether you want to bet with the public or against them. You may agree with the public money and want to follow it. However, the site's odds will certainly be lower because of the risk to their overall returns.
Alternatively, you may want to "fade the public" and deliberately bet against the college basketball consensus. This "contrarian" method is common among professional gamblers. They look for value in markets where most of the money has gone on the home side or a hot favorite. The smart cash, the pro gambler feels, should go on the other team.
Sports betting apps alter their NCAAB odds to save their position. A heavily-backed home side may end up odds-on.
That doesn’t mean they have a better chance of winning, but it could just represent the sheer amount of money being bet on them. This can happen if a home team attracts a large number of bets from gamblers in the same state. This is the ideal time for a savvy gambler to bet the other way.
Prop Betting Restrictions in College Basketball
In many legal sports betting states, U.S. sports bettors to place single wagers on college basketball teams. You can bet on individual game results or team props within a single game. You can also bet on big end-of-season championships such as the NCAA March Madness Tournament.
But recently, there has been a nationwide push to restrict some types of bets on college basketball. Some states let you bet on every outcome, including prop bets. Other states, meanwhile, have implemented restrictions on prop bets in an effort to protect college players.
Props are markets on specific outcomes during a game. Oftentimes, prop bets will have little bearing on the result of the game itself.
Team prop bets are wagers on specific team totals. Props can include wagers on points for specific quarters or halves.
Individual player props are typically Over/Under bets on markets such as Total Points and Total Rebounds.
It’s important you know the rules in your state before placing any bets, and you should always check the individual NCAAB betting site to see what types of bets are offered. Click EXPAND to learn more:
| State | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Arizona Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Arkansas Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| Colorado Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Connecticut Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Delaware Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Florida Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Illinois Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Indiana Sportsbooks | Pregame College Props Only |
| Iowa Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Kansas Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| Kentucky Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| Louisiana Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed (Starting Aug. 1) |
| Maine Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Maryland Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Massachusetts Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Michigan Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| Mississippi Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Montana Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| New Hampshire Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| New Jersey Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams* |
| New Mexico Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| New York Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| North Carolina Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed* |
| North Dakota Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed |
| Ohio Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Oregon Sportsbooks | No College Betting Allowed |
| Pennsylvania Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Rhode Island Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| South Dakota Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Tennessee Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Vermont Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Virginia Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Washington Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Washington D.C. Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| West Virginia Sportsbooks | No College Props Allowed |
| Wisconsin Sportsbooks | No Props on In-State Teams |
| Wyoming Sportsbooks | All College Props Allowed* |
*considering legislation to partially or totally ban prop betting on college players
NCAAB Betting Strategy
NCAA basketball offers gamblers a wealth of betting options. You’ll have hundreds of college basketball betting markets to choose from on individual games, and not just on the straight moneyline, totals, and point spread markets. Here are a few simple tips to get you started.
Study Individual Matchups
Most good college basketball betting sites offer in-depth stats and analysis on individual matchups in college basketball. This information is free and provides an insight into how well teams perform against one another. Statistics also provide records on how star players perform against each other.
You'll find average points, assists, and shooting percentages. All this information is vital when calculating moneyline bets or props.
Look for Home-Court Advantage
Home-court advantage is often overlooked when making college basketball bets. Players perform better on home turf and also benefit from being surrounded by a full house of their own fans.
NCAAB sides enjoy a bigger percentage of home wins compared to their professional NBA counterparts. While some teams enjoyed a home win percentage of 66-67%, others had winning percentages of 80% or greater.
Bet Against the Spread
There is little value in NCAA basketball moneyline bets. That’s why it can pay to find decent prices in the point spreads. Betting against the spread (ATS) can reap dividends if you know where to look.
You will get much better college basketball odds on hot favorites who have a heavy point handicap prior to the start of the game. This is where you can make profits if you know which favorite to back.
Similarly, an NCAA basketball underdog may have a better chance of winning you your college basketball bet if they start with a healthy points advantage. You may not like the look of Syracuse at +200 on the moneyline, but with a +6.5 point headstart, the odds-on price looks more appealing.
What is NCAA Basketball?
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is one of the major bodies governing college basketball in the United States. Hundreds of colleges take part in separate conferences across three divisions (I, II, and III). Division I comprises the biggest schools with large support programs for athletes.
