March Madness Betting Tips

  1. March Madness Betting Sites
  2. March Madness Betting Strategy

Every person interested in basketball probably have heard about National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its main event called March Madness.

This is the culmination of whole NCAA basketball season. March Madness is full of unexpected results, game-winners and true emotions.

These games are different compared to many leagues due to the fact that there 68 teams from various conferences competing for the trophy. Some of those teams face off many times throughout the season, while others rarely play strong opponents and are simply happy to make it into March Madness.

March Madness serves as its own annual prolonged holiday for sports bettors and college basketball fans. With legalized online sports betting in more states than ever before, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues to be a massive gambling event from Selection Sunday through to the Final Four. March Madness brings friends, family, and coworkers together every year as they pool together and fill out brackets for the renowned college basketball tournament. Picking out who moves on every round, who makes the Final Four, and who ultimately wins the national championship is a lot of fun, even if you don’t know anything about college. March Madness Betting Tips: 5 Ways to Improve Your Winning Chances March Madness is about to start and each year we are all loving the action we are getting from the games. While some people might be getting enough juice from the on-screen action, we know some of you want much more than that – getting a reward for your passion too. Early Round March Madness Betting The first round is the only one in which bettors know fairly well in advance how the two competing teams will be seeded – the first seed always plays the sixteen seed, etc. Historically, for bettors, the best chance for a return is to focus on the four fifth-versus-twelfth se.

In March you can see real madness since armies of fans watch their supported teams and the format of competition is extremely enjoyable and simple. Get one loss and go home.

This year March Madness starts on March 13-14. During the First Four stage of the competition, theoretically weakest 8 teams start their journey. 4 of them will join other 60 teams, which already have secured their places in 4 different regions.

First and second stages will take place on March 15-18. Then, on March 22-25 there will be region semifinals and region finals.

Finally, there will be Final Four. Last year the final had 77 thousands of spectators at the venue.

Considering March Madness’ popularity SmartBettingGuide.com provide you with some betting tips.

Here are the main ones:

  1. Start from the start. Yes, this may sound strange and like a common sense but your betting goal should be to utilize first stages of the competition. At that time most surprises happen and you can find value in a number of games. One of the most popular tips that you will ever hear is to avoid teams in 8th and 9th seeds. Very often level of those teams is very similar but outcomes are hardly predictable. According to March Madness’ historical statistics, betting for games with these teams (during the first stage of the competition) rarely brings good value. Much better choice are matches where 5 and 12 seeds meet. One third of 12th seeded teams start their March journey with a win.
  2. Make an analysis. Put an emphasis on result differences compared home and away games. We all know it is important to analyze games that you are going to bet on but home/away games is the most important thing. Some teams have great fans, great venues and play much better at home. Teams like these may not handle March Madness games in neutral venues.
  3. Do not trust player/team stats. Statistics are an important tool used to make betting predictions but you should not rely on it. According to some researches, people who fill up box scores tend to favor the game home team. It is very often while accounting assist stats. If you do analyze stats, be more attentive to away games. Another reason not to rely on stats too much – NCAA teams play only handful of games throughout the season, therefore we do not have enough data to make good conclusions. Finally, March Madness puts huge pressure on top players who want to showcase themselves to various NBA scouts, so it is not unusual to see top players playing worse than you would expect (while others step up).
  4. Pay attention to the winners of smaller conferences. People often think that only teams of strongest conferences can win huge games. It is a wrong thinking. Sometimes winners of weaker conferences are stronger than average teams of good conferences. You can use that to your advantage. When you see the brackets, pay some attention not only to the seeding number but as well to regular season results.
  5. Make conference power rankings. There is a belief that certain popular conferences are always stronger than some other, but do your calculations. Check the results, compare non-conference games. If you understand that A and B conferences are about equal and the third team of A conference is playing the first team of B conference, then you might consider betting on the team from conference B.

Useful links:

College basketball plays host to one of the most popular postseason tournaments in sports: NCAA March Madness. Every year, millions of NCAA basketball fans fill out brackets and place bets with the hope that they can predict the season’s eventual champion.

March Madness Betting Tips

Sure, a perfect bracket will certainly win a prize worth several thousand, or possibly even a million-plus dollars, but payouts can be earned much easier by using legal March Madness betting options to wager on college basketball odds.

March

Betting odds for March Madness games won't appear until after Selection Sunday, but NCAAB championship futures are available nearly year-round, making it easy for casual bettors and seasoned vets to study, contemplate, and wager.

To compliment that information, we have created this guide to assist with March Madness betting odds. Here, we offer legal info, betting odds, historical data, and more to help ensure you have everything you need to be the most informed NCAAB bettors possible.

Is It Legal To Bet On NCAA Tournament Odds?

Yes, it is. Not only is online sports betting legal throughout most of the United States, but many states have legalized domestic sports betting within their jurisdictions. If you are in one of those states, all that is required to bet on the NCAA March Madness College Basketball Tournament is a visit to a local venue.

US bettors can wager on March Madness at international betting sites like the ones we feature in the table below, and there are no federal laws that forbid it. CT and WA have passed laws forbidding local online gambling, but many of our top-rated betting sites accept members from those two states.

That's why we recommend reading through all regional gaming laws, as well as the terms and conditions of offshore sportsbook membership, before placing any good March Madness bets.

Best Online Sportsbooks For March Madness Betting Odds

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Odds To Win The 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship

March madness gambling tips

Each year, sportsbooks will roll out money line odds for which team will win the March Madness Tournament and become the men's basketball national champion. These March Madness money line odds indicate how much can be earned by betting on them, and what their odds of winning are.

Since there are so many teams included in the betting line, even the most favored team will be listed with positive odds, meaning that there'll be a payout higher than what bettors risk no matter which team they select.

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship betting odds featured below is on the boards all year, and typically gets posted at legal NCAAB sportsbooks right after the national champion is crowned for the previous season. The only downside is that bets can take months to payout.

🏀 Odds via Bovada:

  • Gonzaga +250
  • Baylor +250
  • Michigan +350
  • Ohio State +1200
  • Villanova +1600
  • Illinois +1500
  • Texas +2500
  • Iowa +1600
  • Alabama +1800
  • Houston +2500
  • Florida State +1600
  • Texas Tech +4000
  • Creighton +3000
  • Virginia +3000
  • Oklahoma +3500

Legally Betting On The Sweet 16

The official title of the third round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament is the Sweet 16 because that's exactly how many teams are remaining. Legal betting odds for the Sweet Sixteen feature money lines, point spreads, and totals for all 8 games. The right to venture on to the Elite Eight is on the line, and bettors have the right to earn large cash paydays on the proceedings.

Elite Eight Odds: How To Bet On The Elite 8

At the point in the March Madness Tourney, teams are only two wins away from winning it all. NCAAB bettors can win it all, too, because legal online Elite Eight sportsbooks feature action on all four games involved in the Round of 8. Standard college basketball bets are available, as well as props and parlays. All that is required is a membership and money to bet with.

NCAA Final Four Odds To Win

March Madness Betting Sites

The semifinals of March Madness are otherwise known as the NCAA Final 4. The winners of each semifinal game advance to the National Championship for a chance to cut down the nets, but first, the Final Four odds must payout. Four college basketball teams enter the semis where it's win or go home. Whether it's a Cinderella squad or your alma mater, odds for all Final Four college basketball games can be found at the online sportsbooks we recommend.

Odds To Win March Madness Final

There are two ways to bet on the college basketball national championship - betting lines, or NCAAB National Championship futures. The college basketball futures are listed in a collapsible menu above and list each of the top team's chances at winning it all this year in money line odds.

Lines for the National Championship Game for NCAA Basketball are released following the conclusion of the Final Four. Once that happens, betting lines will be produced featuring a point spread, money line odds for each team to win, and an over-under for the March Madness title game.

Bitcoin Betting On NCAA Tournament Odds

Bitcoin (BTC) and other forms of cryptocurrency are the preferred legal methods of banking at offshore betting sites.

Bitcoin sportsbook deposits can be made quickly and will allow patrons to bet on March Madness online within minutes. Bitcoin withdrawals are the only transaction method that can be completed within 24 hours of its request - an exclusive in the online betting industry. Crypto also features built-in encryption for the ultimate in secure transactions.

Other cryptocurrencies we've seen in play at online betting sites include Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Tether, and Cardano (ADA).

Mobile March Madness Betting Apps

You never know where you might end up when watching college basketball's final 68-team tourney, but as long as you have an up-to-date smartphone or tablet with you, you can access the ultimate March Madness betting apps on the planet.

Don't worry about visiting the Google Play or App Stores, just click any of the sportsbook links in the table above using a mobile browser (Google, Safari, Opera, Chrome, Firefox), and your portable device brings all the options of Las Vegas and places them in your hand. Odds for NFL games, college football futures, and casino favorites like poker and blackjack, can be found there as well.

NCAA Tournament Sportsbook Promotions

One of the many benefits of doing business with an online sports betting site is that they routinely offer sportsbook sign-up bonus offers and promotions that stack your bankroll with extra cash for wagering on March Madness. Sportbook bonuses differ depending on which betting site you visit, but they can reach as high as 4-figures.

Accepting a bonus is not required to become a member at a NCAAB betting site, so read through the attached conditions first.

Live Betting On March Madness

Ok, we just told you how to bet from anywhere with an internet connection using your smartphone. Now we're going to let you in on the secret to betting on any tournament game at any time you want, even when the clock is ticking - live betting odds.

Bet at the time of your choosing, be it in the middle of halftime or with minutes remaining. The point spread, over/under, and money line odds adjust as the game progresses, and the only limiting factor is the final buzzer. Some online books feature a live betting or an in-game odds section, while others simply allow the pregame lines to go live.

How To Bet On March Madness?

As discussed previously, US bettors that want to know how to bet on March Madness can visit a domestic sportsbook or wager at one of the international college basketball betting sites we recommend in this guide. Futures bets can be made on the eventual champion, or March Madness betting lines allow for wagers to be made on individual games inside of the tournament.

March Madness Betting Strategy

Individual game bets allow for action to be placed on point spreads, money line winners, over/unders, prop bets, and even allows for live bets to be placed in-game. While not exactly betting, the most popular option for predicting March Madness results is completing brackets where each fan attempts to attain a perfect bracket. It's never happened, but if and when it does, the winner will earn a hefty payday.

Tips For March Madness Betting

Bankroll management is a priority when declaring your March Madness betting strategy because there are so many games that funds can get depleted quickly. Declare a budget for March Madness betting odds and ensure that it is sourced from disposable incoming - meaning assets remaining after all bills have been paid.

Set a betting limit of 3%-5% of your total bankroll for each game. This will allow at least 20 bets to be made, assuming all of them fail, which is not a likely outcome. It will keep bettors from making hasty wagers and will keep gamblers in the action much deeper into the tournament.

We also suggest belonging to more than one sportsbook because odds are different at each site. If the Duke Blu Devils are favored by 10 at one book and by 12 at another, selecting the line that favors them by 10 will provide an easier path to a win. Being mindful of these three bankroll management strategies will go a long way toward maximizing

Important March Madness Dates

The 2020-21 NCAA college basketball regular season runs from November 25 through March 7. After the end of the regular season, though, the real action begins in mid-March. The following dates are ones to remember when betting on the March Madness tournament.

2021 March Madness dates

  • Selection Sunday: March 14, 2021
  • First Four: March 16-17, 2021
  • NCAA Tournament Round 1: March 18-19, 2021
  • NCAA Tournament Round 2: March 20-21, 2021
  • Sweet 16: March 25-26, 2021
  • Elite 8: March 27-28, 2021
  • Final Four: April 3, 2021
  • Championship: April 5, 2021

2021 March Madness Brackets

Every year, 70 million March Madness brackets are completed and entered into contests. Even former President Barack Obama filled out a bracket on ESPN each year he was in office. The tournament bracket is a grid of every matchup in the single-elimination tournament.

“Bracketologists” must then predict as many correct winners as possible from the First Round all the way through the Championship game. This is no easy task. There has never been a verified perfect bracket, probably due to the 1 in 9.2 quintillion probability of it actually happening.

Teams With The Most March Madness Appearances

  1. Kentucky Wildcats - 58
  2. North Carolina Tarheels - 50
  3. Kansas Jayhawks - 48
  4. UCLA Bruins - 47
  5. Duke Blue Devils - 43
  6. Syracuse Orange - 40

Past NCAAM basketball championship winners

The Oregon Ducks were the first team to ever win the men’s college basketball championship in 1939. Since then, many teams have gone on to hoist the trophy and cut the nets, including 11 from UCLA, eight from Kentucky, six from North Carolina, and five each from Duke and Indiana.

The following list is the most recent winners from the beginning of the 21st century:

  • 2020: Canceled Due To COVID-19
  • 2019: Virginia
  • 2018: Villanova
  • 2017: North Carolina
  • 2016: Villanova
  • 2015: Duke
  • 2014: Connecticut
  • 2013: Louisville (later vacated)
  • 2012: Kentucky
  • 2011: Connecticut
  • 2010: Duke
  • 2009: North Carolina
  • 2008: Kansas
  • 2007: Florida
  • 2006: Florida
  • 2005: North Carolina
  • 2004: Connecticut
  • 2003: Syracuse
  • 2002: Maryland
  • 2001: Duke
  • 2000: Michigan State

NCAAB Pages

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