NCAAM Odds: How to Bet on Men’s College Basketball Lines & Spreads

NCAA Basketball Odds, Lines, and Spreads

If you want to find the latest and most attractive NCAAM odds on the betting market in the USA, this is most certainly the right place. Get ready for some astonishing insights that will help you on your way to increasing your earnings from online sports betting on college basketball.

Here you will see the NCAA odds by the top online sportsbooks in the country, refreshed and updated constantly so that you compare their prices, detect the biggest value and take advantage of it. You will also learn how to use men’s college basketball lines and NCAAB odds in your favor by understanding the terminology and how they work. Last but not least, you will see ways to pick the best online sportsbook possible for betting on NCAA basketball lines.

The information you’ll find on this page will help you enjoy wagering throughout the season between early November and March Madness by winning your bets at the best prices regularly. The NCAA winning odds are here, so let’s not waste more of your precious time!

Types of College Basketball Betting Lines

The ability to benefit from college basketball odds and lines is inseparable from the capability to read them properly. That’s why we at How To Bet will show you examples of the main betting markets in order for you to gain a deeper understanding of what each type of NCAA basketball odds means. And we’ll start with the most basic one…

NCAA Money Lines

When looking at NCAA basketball odds, it doesn't get any easier than the moneyline market. This is because it is arguably one of the most simple bets to make. Your job here is simply to decide which team will win the game in question. That's all. Keep in mind that the size of your wager doesn’t change the risk-reward ratio in this market.

Odds will be presented for each team, with either a minus sign for the favorite (-) or a plus sign for the underdog (+).

Here's an example of what a market of NCAA money lines might look like:

Starting with the Blue Devils, they are quoted at a negative 225. The minus sign shows that they are the favorites for the game. The key for (-) odds is that you will need to bet the figure stated in order to make a profit of $100 if the team wins. In this example, you would need to bet $225 on the Duke Blue Devils to make a profit of $100 if they win.

Looking at the North Carolina Tar Heels, they have a positive 135 as their NCAA winning odds for the game. The plus sign shows that they are viewed as the underdogs. The key for (+) odds is that you need to bet $100 in order to make a profit equal to the figure stated. In this example, a bet of $100 would give you a profit of $135 if the team wins. 

NCAAM Odds for Point Spreads

This might just be the most popular wager in college basketball. If you are interested in how much a team will win the game by, then point spreads are right for you and you should definitely check out the NCAAM odds of your chosen sportsbook. In this type of bet, you are somewhat concerned about who will win, but ultimately it is more about how well or how badly a team will win or lose.

Again, the minus sign is reserved for the favorite (-) and the plus sign is attached as a handicap to the underdog (+), while the numbers represent the points differential in the game set by the sportsbooks. The odds are put in brackets.

Using the same teams as in the previous example, let us look at this spread bet:

You may have noticed that the odds are -110 for both teams. This is very common odds for this type of bet because the sportsbook has set a spread to try and give both wagers a similar chance of winning.

In this case, the spread is 8.5 points. If you bet on the favorites, they will have 8.5 points deducted from their game total before your wager is settled. Similarly, if you go for the underdogs, they will have 8.5 points added to their game total before your bet is assessed.

In this scenario, Duke must win the game by 9 points or more for a bet on them to succeed. A bet on the Tar Heels will succeed if the team wins the game, and it will also succeed even if they lose, as long as they don't lose by more than 8 points.

Further Info on Point Spreads

Some sportsbooks may offer alternative point spread options that go beyond the official line. In our example above we had the line set at 8.5 points, but you may find sports betting sites and apps that give you flexibility with college basketball lines of 6.5, 7.5, 9.5, 10.5, etc. Some could also offer you the possibility to sell or buy points / half-points to alter the spread in different directions which is a nice option to have if you see things your own way.

And another important thing we at How To Bet consider obligatory to mention here. In the case when you have the favorite winning the game by the exact margin set by the sportsbook (when the handicap isn’t offered in half-points), we have the so-called ‘push’ and all wagered money is returned. The same thing is valid for the final score if there’s overtime in the NCAAB matchup.

NCAA Odds for Totals Betting

The totals market is similar to the point spread market. Your primary focus here is on the overall score of the matchup rather than who wins or loses. You have to predict whether the total points scored in a game will go over or under the college basketball lines your sportsbook offers. That’s exactly why this bet is also referred to as the Over/Under. 

For instance, say you have a matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Connecticut Huskies. Both teams are within the top 25 in scoring average for the season, so a high scoring game is a good possibility. 

You might see a total bet at 145.5. If you choose Over, then the total score of the game must be 146 points or more. If you go for the Under, it means that the game total must be 145 or less. 

Keep in mind that whichever option you go with, it doesn't matter who scores what. So if one team scores 145 points and the other only gets 1, you would win your bet if you chose the Over. For that reason, punters often turn to NCAAM odds for totals betting if they don’t want to pick a winning team out of fandom or lack of clear vision for the victor in the matchup.

NCAA Future Odds

The markets related to futures betting are focused on events that will take place or be decided at some point in the more distant time ahead. Like, for example, making some wagers in November on future March Madness betting odds. That’s why these longer-term college basketball lines are strictly in the moneyline territory and they payout handsomely. 

For NCAA future odds, you will see some options for games that have not occurred yet such as:

• National Championship 
• Conference Winners
• Final Four
• Elite 8
• Invitational Winners

Lines for these examples typically get released at the beginning of the season for teams. Because of that, the NCAA future odds can change drastically as the season goes on. This means that a long shot to win could have better odds if they start the season off strong and look attractive going into a tournament. 

NCAA Odds for Prop Bets

If you want to know how to bet on NCAA basketball for the most fun, props are your thing! They are largely exotic wagers and sometimes do not rely upon the outcome of a game. For example, one prop might require you to predict who will score the first bucket. Another might involve prediction which team will be in the lead going into halftime. 

These college basketball betting lines are sometimes tricky to wager on because you have to account for a lot of information that only becomes apparent in real-time. However, they can present useful opportunities to win some money back with in-game betting. Because of that, you should definitely check the NCAA live odds for props if your other wagers are not going as planned.

For example, if you bet on a moneyline for Team A to win, but they are down 15 points throughout the game, you could place some prop bets that favor Team B.

NCAA Basketball Live Odds 

These college basketball odds and lines are some of the most popular for bettors in the USA. When an event is about to start and while it proceeds, there will be possibilities to adjust your wagering according to what happens on the court. If you are losing a bet you placed before the start of the game, you may place another one to cover your losses in case you sense an opportunity arising. So follow the NCAA basketball live odds and take advantage whenever you feel there’s something worthy to pounce on. We at How To Bet update our odds table constantly to help you make the most of the ever changing situation in college matchups.

College Basketball Lines and Odds for Parlays

With parlays, one combines two or more bets into one betting ticket multiplying the NCAAM odds for each, which increases the potential earnings. This means that the more wagers you place in your parlay, the higher the payout. The tricky part here is that you have to win all your bets in order to get the money in the end.

Punters are allowed to create their parlay by combining all kinds of betting markets and some sports betting operators even present you the chance to make a ‘same game parlay’. This gives you the opportunity to profit if you made a thorough research for one specific game or simply have a hunch for how the matchup will develop.

Picking the Best Sportsbooks for NCAA Basketball Odds

Now that you know how to bet on NCAA basketball, the next part of the scenario is picking the right online sportsbook. Here’s some fundamental advice on how to do make your decision before you get to the point where you look to compare their college basketball odds and lines:

• Make sure they are licensed and regulated properly in your state – Some sports betting sites and apps are just plain and simple scams, so be careful with your personal and financial information. Don’t get fooled by super attractive bonuses and promotions.
• Compare their bonuses and promo offers – When you are 100% sure that the chosen sportsbook is legitimate and trustworthy, see which one offers the best incentives for both newcomers and loyal users. You should even join more than one so that you take advantage of as many bonuses and free bets as possible.
• Shop around for the best NCAA basketball odds and lines – After you’ve got your generous bonuses, it’s time to search for the highest prices among the different online sportsbooks. How To Bet is here to help you in that regard, as we follow a huge number of sports betting sites and apps and update their NCAAM odds all the time. This way we save you precious time and assist you in making the most money possible.

Further Notes for Betting on College Basketball Odds and Lines

• Bet settlement in men’s college basketball is done strictly in accordance to results and statistics that are provided by the official NCAAB governing body (www.ncaa.com) and their official data supplier.
• Half Betting NCAAM Lines – Each half must be completed for your bets to stand.
• 1st Half NCAA Basketball Lines – Based on score strictly for the first half.
• 2nd Half NCAA Basketball Lines – Based on score strictly for the second half, inclusive of overtime (if not stated otherwise).
• Double Result (Halftime/Fulltime) NCAAM Odds – Based on score at half time and full time of a game, inclusive of overtime (if not stated otherwise).
• Overtime counts for all NCAAB odds markets (if not stated otherwise).
• All bets are pronounced void if a NCAAB game does not start as officially scheduled and is consequently postponed – This is determined by the time-zone of the scheduled venue.

Best Ways to Use the How To Bet’s NCAA Basketball Odds Page

It’s a rarity not to find differences in NCAAM odds between sportsbooks, so How To Bet’s idea for this particular page is to help you shop for the best college basketball lines today and increase your earnings. See how to make the best use of our NCAA basketball odds page.

• Regularly check our constantly updated odds widget and make some money – Bookmark this page and come back often to see the NCAAB lines movement. We follow a huge number of online sportsbooks in the USA which allows us to save you precious time and win you extra money. Look out for the Best Odds (in bold), but also for Odds Drifting (in red) and Odds Shortening (in blue).
• Filter games by specific betting markets – You pick between moneylines, point spread, or totals. Our NCAA odds page is customized according to your preferences.
• Filter online sportsbooks by state – Not all states in the country have legalized online sports betting. That’s why our college basketball odds and lines page will allow you to see the operators’ prices available to you depending on your location.