College Basketball Picks

You can make many types of wagers for your College Basketball picks today. We’ll review the different types of bets and how American odds work so that you are fully prepared to make your review our expert’s Free College Basketball Picks and make your NCAAB picks.

American Odds

Most online sportsbooks default to American odds, and we list our odds in American style. Every betting line has a favorite, indicated by a minus symbol (-), and an underdog, indicated by a plus sign (+).

American odds are based on probability outcomes and revolve around a $100 figure. If you are betting on a favorite (i.e., Kentucky -125), the favorite’s odds tell you how much you need to wager to win $100. Conversely, if you pick are betting on an underdog (i.e., Michigan +115), the odds tell you how much you could win on a $100 wager.

Betting Lines 

Every NCAA basketball game has three primary betting lines: moneyline, spread, and totals.

Moneyline

A wager on the moneyline is betting on the winner of the game. Simply pick who you think will win; if that team wins, you win.

Spread

When betting on the spread, you are betting on the points differential in the final score. The favorite to win the game will be listed with minus points but plus odds (i.e., Ohio State -3.5 points, +210 odds). If you are betting on a team listed with minus points, the team needs to win by at least the points listed. If you are betting on a team with plus points and minus odds (i.e., Butler +3.5 points, -222 odds), the team can win the game outright or lose the game by three points or less for you to win your wager.

Totals

A total line is betting on the total points scored in a game. You simply choose whether the game will go over or under the posted points total.

Props, Parlays, and Accumulators

There are a few other aspects to NCAAB betting that you need to know before jumping into our NCAA basketball betting previews and predictions.

Prop Bets

Prop bets are bets on in-game action and vary from game to game and sport to sport. Prop bets can include a player scoring a certain amount of points or a defense scoring a certain number of points, among many others.

Parlay

A parlay is when a bettor combines any number of bets into one larger wager for a potentially bigger payout. However, all of your picks in a parlay need to be correct for your parlay wager to win.

Accumulator Betting

Accumulator betting allows players to make a series of small wagers (or legs), combining them into one larger wager. Accumulators are like parlays: all your picks must be correct to win the wager.

However, accumulators are different than parlays in a significant way. Each successful wager becomes the base wager amount for the next leg of the bet. Accumulators will likely be popular betting options during the NCAA tournament.