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College Basketball Odds: Best NCAAB Betting Odds & Lines (2024)

There are many elements to the college basketball odds, ranging from the opening college basketball lines to NCAAB odds on which team will win March Madness. This guide aims to help sports bettors navigate that world of NCAA basketball odds by providing some insights on how college basketball betting lines work, the online sportsbooks that offer them and the welcome offers and promotions you can use on the most popular college basketball betting types.
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Fact checked by Michael Kates
Updated May 7 2024, 09:39AM EDT
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How College Basketball Odds Work

It's easy to understand how college basketball lines work at sports betting apps as long as you know the difference between minus odds (designated by a - sign) and plus odds (designated by a + sign). The minus odds in a moneyline wager indicate that this team is favored to win (for example, Duke might be listed at -200 odds), while plus odds indicate that the squad is the underdog.

The lower the minus odds in the NCAA basketball lines, the more that team is favored to win, and vice versa for the plus odds. Minus odds indicate how much you must wager to win $100 because you are wagering on the team that is favored to win, while plus odds indicate how much you would win for a $100 wager.

College Basketball Favorites

College basketball favorites are the teams that are consistently favored to win at online sportsbooks. These clubs will often have very low minus odds in the NCAA basketball betting lines for moneyline wagers, but they can often be some of the best college basketball bets today because of how favorable the matchup is. The favorites typically include such programs as Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky. 

Duke and North Carolina are both expected to make some noise in March Madness this spring and North Carolina betting apps launched just prior to the ACC Tournament. Fans in NC can now access leading sportsbook offers such as the BetMGM North Carolina bonus code.

College Basketball Underdogs

Favorites aren't the only way to go when looking for college basketball best bets, as wagering on NCAAB underdogs on college basketball betting sites can be a highly profitable betting avenue if done successfully. This is often done via point spread picks on college basketball betting lines, something that will be covered in greater detail momentarily.

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Where to Find the Best NCAA Basketball Odds

There are numerous places where you can find the best NCAA basketball betting lines and there are also multiple college basketball betting promos you can use to start making those wagers. Here is a summary of what those sportsbooks can offer when you are looking to make NCAA basketball picks as well as what those introductory sign-up offers provide.

1. BetMGM

BetMGM has an expansive array of college basketball picks and makes it very simple to place NCAAB parlays through its Easy Parlay feature. 

BetMGM also has many promotions that offer items such as same game parlay boosts or bonus bets. The BetMGM bonus code provides new customers with a first-bet offer up to $1,500.

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2. Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook is well known for its incredible volume of odds boosts and quick pick parlays, as it lists dozens of these every day in a variety of markets that includes NCAA basketball picks. Caesars Sportsbook also has some of the most compelling giveaways in the industry and the highly popular Caesars Rewards program. 

Using the Caesars Sportsbook promo code will help you with your opening wager, because if this initial pick loses, you will receive a bonus bet refund of that opening bet amount, up to $1,000.

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3. Fanatics Sportsbook

The Fanatics Sportsbook offers a host of NCAA basketball lines for bettors to wager on. The Fanatics Sportsbook promo code gives new customers up to $100 a day for the first 10 days after you open your new account.

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4. DraftKings

DraftKings is a great place to make NCAAB prop bets, as it has pretty much every player prop bet you can think of (including stat categories not available through other sports betting apps) as well as team and game props. DraftKings also provides alternate spread and total wagers that provide another avenue to find the best college basketball bets today. 

The DraftKings promo code can also help you get out to a strong start, as it provides first time customers with $150 in bonus bets instantly with a $5 or more first bet.

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5. FanDuel

Navigating through NCAAB odds for futures wagers is incredibly easy at FanDuel, as it has streamlined this feature through both its website and mobile apps. FanDuel also gives bettors an easy way to view what percentage of college basketball picks in a given game are being wagered on moneyline or point spread picks for either squad. 

The FanDuel promo code lets you benefit from any wager, as this deal allows new customers to bet a $5 opening bet and get $150 in bonus bets ($300 in MA & OH) if their first wager wins.

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6. ESPN BET

ESPN BET has hit the ground running, as it is already offering a full slate of NCAA basketball lines for games in every conference. The ESPN BET promo code grants new customers a First Bet Reset offer that pays back a losing first bet with up to $1,000 in bonus bets. 

ESPN BET is expanded its footprint into North Carolina just in time for March Madness as NC launched sports betting on March 11, 2024. You can find details about the ESPN BET North Carolina promo code here.

👀 What to Look for When Choosing NCAAB Odds

Opening Lines

The opening lines for NCAAB odds are the initial odds when a college basketball game is posted on a betting board. These lines generally do a good job of representing what the betting public thinks about a given matchup at that time. 

For example, if Duke is playing North Carolina and the opening college basketball betting lines have the Blue Devils at -3 points, it means that Duke is a slight favorite at that time, but injuries or other player news could shift those lines. Typically opening lines are available a day before a game but sometimes they are not out until game day.

Consensus Lines

The consensus lines for college basketball odds show what percentage of the betting public is wagering on either side of that bet. This can often help bettors select the college basketball best bets of that week, because if 80% of bettors are wagering on a team, the odds are strong that this is a chalk wager (i.e., one that is considered to have a high percentage chance of winning). Some bettors like to "fade" the public as a strategy.

Live Odds

Sportsbooks will post live odds on NCAA basketball games after the opening tipoff and then adjust those odds throughout the game. An instance of this might be that Kentucky is favored by three points over Florida at the start of the game but then gets out to a 25-18 lead in the first half. At that point, the live odds could have the Wildcats listed at -10 points, as that point total accounts for their current lead and the perception that Kentucky was already three points better headed into the matchup.

Futures

NCAA basketball futures are wagers are bets on something that will occur in the long-term future. At the beginning of the college basketball season, this can include wagers such as national champion, which team will win the SEC or Big Ten postseason tournament, whether a team will win a certain number of games or if a club will qualify for the NCAA basketball tournament.

These will often be shown in list form, with the team most favored to win being placed at the top of that list (e.g., Kansas +1000 to win the national championship).

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What Type of Bets To Make On College Basketball Games?

There are dozens of bet types that you can make on college basketball games. Here are five of the most popular of these, along with examples of how to wager on them.

🏀 Most Popular College Basketball Bets

Point Spread

The point spread is the most well-known wager, as it uses a plus/minus point system to balance out every matchup. For example, if Michigan State faces Michigan and the Spartans are considered to be a better squad, the point spread might list Michigan State at -10 points. 

This means if you make a point spread wager on the Spartans, Michigan State must win by 11 or more points in order for your wager to win. You can also bet the other side, which in this case would be Michigan +10, and that bet would win if the Wolverines won outright or lost by nine or fewer points.

Moneyline

This is in many ways the simplest of the college basketball picks, as a moneyline bet is wager on which team will win the game outright. The payouts for this type of wager will be smaller if you bet on a favorite and much smaller if you wager on a heavy favorite because that team is very likely to win. The flip side is that payouts for a winning pick on an upset are also much higher because that team has a much smaller chance at victory.

Totals (Over/Under)

A totals bet (often known as an over/under wager) is a bet on how many total points will be scored in a game. This is a popular wager type because it doesn't require either team to win, but rather for your bet to be on the right side of the over/under. To illustrate, if Arizona and Arizona State had a total points mark of 140 points and you bet the over, that wager will win if those clubs combine to score more than 140 points.

Prop Bets

Prop bets are wagers on a specific statistical occurrence in a game. This can include things such as will a player score 20+ points or snag 8+ rebounds but can also be on items such as a race to 10 points (meaning which team will score 10 points first) or if a game will go into overtime. The player prop bets use the over/under system, which means you can gain a win if your wager is on the correct side of where that player's statistics ended. Note that not all states allow prop betting on college athletics.

Parlays

Parlays are where you place multiple wagers (known in parlay parlance as legs) in one bet. These bets only win if all of the legs of the wager are winners, but the payouts in the event of a winning parlay are much higher than straight bets on individual events. You can also make a same-game parlay that includes multiple legs on a single game rather than bets across multiple contests.

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🪙 Other NCAA Basketball Bet Types

Those aren't the only NCAA basketball bet types, as sportsbooks also offer many other types of college basketball wager types. Some of these include the following.

March Madness Odds

This is a great way to augment the ubiquitous bracket pools that everyone gets into at this time of year, as March Madness odds allow you to bet on individual NCAA Tournament games as well as a national champion. This can allow you to have an added interest in games, but without having to worry about the bracket downside if that standalone wager goes south.

First-Half Lines

First-half lines will often differ from the full-game lines, as this type of wager takes into account if a team is expected to get out to first-half lead. This might result in a team that is listed at -10 points to be favored by -17 points, with the expectation that this club will get out to a big lead and then coast to a win despite losing the second half scoring battle.

Live Betting

Many savvy sports bettors go with the live betting route, as these types of wagers are only available after the game has started. Using this method allows bettors to see how each team is playing and then adjust their bets according to how the game is playing out. This can often require quick decision making, as the live betting odds are adjusted in real-time as the score and game clock changes.

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How to Read College Basketball Odds

  1. All bets use a minus/plus system to indicate the level of payout if that wager wins.
  2. Point spread wagers also use a plus/minus system, with the underdog receiving points (Kansas State +10, for example) and the favorite having points subtracted (Kansas -10 points).
  3. The lower the minus number in the payout odds, the lower the payout for that bet will be, because that team is favored to win.
  4. The higher the plus number in the payout odds, the higher the payout will be, because that team is considered an underdog.

How to Bet on NCAA Basketball Odds

To bet on the NCAA basketball odds, you just need to sign up for one or more of the sportsbook promo codes listed above. Doing so is easy, as each of them can be accessed by completing these steps.

  1. ✅ Click the BET NOW button to access the sign-up page for the online sportsbook you wish to sign up for.
  2. ✅ Fill out the general personal information requested by that sign-up page, such as name, address and email address.
  3. ✅ Where applicable, type in the bonus or promo code, as this will lock in the sign-up offer.
  4. ✅ Verify that you are physically located in a state where that sports betting app is licensed to operate, and then confirm that you are 21+ years of age.
  5. ✅ Connect a banking method to your new account and make any required minimum deposits.

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Start Placing Bets on College Basketball Odds

Much like with NBA odds, the beauty of betting on college basketball odds is the sheer number of opportunities - with 300+ Division I schools and games almost every night from October into March. 

There is nothing like the deluge of games during March Madness and the NCAA Tournament. Sign up today for some of the welcome offers you see on this page by tapping a BET NOW button and start placing bets on college basketball odds now.

College Basketball Odds FAQs

It is easy to start betting on college basketball odds, as all you need to do is sign up for one of the sportsbooks detailed here. If you do that with the sportsbook promo codes shown in this guide, you can also get hundreds of dollars of opening wager protection or bonus bets that are provided to new customers.
It is very simple to read college basketball odds once you recognize that minus odds indicate a favorite and plus odds indicate an underdog. The lower the minus odds, the more favored that team is. This also applies to point spreads, as the higher the negative number, the more points that the favored team needs to win by in order to win the wager.
A moneyline bet in college basketball is a wager on which team will win the game outright. For a moneyline wager, the payouts will be smaller if you bet on a favorite because that team is more likely to win. On the other hand, payouts for a winning underdog wager are higher because the team is less likely to win.
A spread in college basketball refers to the point spread for a particular matchup. Say Kansas faced Clemson and oddsmakers felt Kansas would likely win this game by 10. They would then make the Jayhawks a 10-point favorite on the spread and bettors could wager either side of this bet and have a reasonable chance to win the wager.
Wise sports bettors know that to find the best college basketball odds, it's a good idea to shop around, as various sportsbooks will have different odds levels for the same game. This is why it is a percentage play to sign up for multiple offers, as doing so will provide you with many college basketball odds options that you can choose from when placing aN NCAA basketball bet.
College basketball futures bets come out as soon as the previous season ends. Once the season starts, odds are typically posted starting late in morning of the day of the game, with some of the odds types being released in the early afternoon.
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KC Joyner  for ˽ýӳToday.com
KC Joyner 24 Articles written
KC Joyner is one of the pioneers of the football analytics movement. He was a Senior Writer for ESPN, covering fantasy football, the NFL, college football, and the NFL draft for 14 years. He has also penned material for The Athletic, The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. KC’s Scientific Football book series broke new ground in the football analytics world and was purchased by nearly half of NFL teams.