Stakes are High in Conference Tournaments
Last Chance for Schools To Make Case for Big Dance
There is a lot on the line this week as conferences play their postseason tournaments.
For some schools, it is a matter of trying to solidify their seeding for March Madness.
For others, it is the last opportunity to make a case for a tournament bid.
California at Virginia Tech Betting Analysis
Still hard to fathom that Cal is playing in the ACC tournament. The Golden Bears are, however, and they will face Virginia Tech on Tuesday.
Neither school is expected to do much in the ACC tournament, March Madness odds, for both are +25000.
One school will advance. Both finished the regular season at 13-18. Cal was 15th in the conference and Tech was ninth.
Look for the Hokies to be the choice on college basketball lines, and expect them to advance to the next round.
Virginia Tech won the regular season meeting at Cal, which is coming off a four-OT loss to Notre Dame.
LSU at Mississippi State Betting Analysis
The SEC tournament will be a gauntlet for whoever wins it. This conference is packed and stacked.
March Madness predictions will have plenty of SEC teams advancing in brackets. However, LSU and Mississippi State aren’t likely to be among them.
The schools play on Wednesday. While the Bulldogs are coming off consecutive losses, they did beat the Tigers by 12 points in the regular season.
Mississippi State is a good choice to use when playing NCAAB picks and parlays. The Bulldogs are significantly better than the Tigers.
Seton Hall at Villanova Betting Analysis
The Big East Tournament is legendary. This edition should be tense and see some great hoops. One of the early-round games has Seton Hall against Villanova.
Expect this to be one-and-done for the Pirates, who are having an awful season at 7-24.
The Wildcats are not having a great run themselves, finishing at 18-13. Villanova won both regular season meetings by 12 points and then by five.
March Madness predictions won’t see the Wildcats doing much and they had better win this game if they hope to get an invite to the NCAA tournament. Look for Villanova to survive and advance.
Marquette at Xavier Betting Analysis
One of the better matchups in early rounds takes place on Thursday in the Big East Tournament.
Marquette is coming off being stunned at home by St. John’s in its regular season finale. In college basketball lines and predictions, don’t be surprised if this is a close game.
How about if each of the regular-season meetings were decided by two points?
The Golden Eagles won once and the Musketeers took the other. Will this be a third game decided by a basket? College basketball odds figure the line to be a tight one and the game will also be a nail-biter.
March Madness Odds Betting
March Madness only comes once a year, and everyone loves the excitement of the March Madness odds during the tournament and all the betting opportunities it brings. Still, the college basketball season has plenty of ways to wager on games.
How to Bet on College Basketball Games
The easiest way to bet on college basketball is by picking out a single game and making some wagers. NCAA basketball lines are set for every game across the country throughout the regular- and postseason, so you have plenty of options, even within each game.
Point Spread Betting Explained
There are two options for betting which team will win for the game result. The first is the point spread set at BetUS Sportsbook for every game. The team expected to win is favored by a certain number of points, and they need to win by at least that many for you to get a bet that pays out.
Make sure to get your bets in before the opening tip.
It could be as small as a single point or, in some cases, as many as 25 to 30 points, depending on the amount of a mismatch the game is.
But if you’re confident that that team will win and “cover” or win by that many points, that’s the best way to go because it will give you better odds than if you bet on a straight-up win.
Taking the underdog will give you a chance to win if that team loses by fewer points than the point spread. A five-point underdog losing by one, two, three, or four points would deliver a winner.
Moneyline Betting: A Straightforward Option
Also, the moneyline sets college basketball odds for which team could win without a point spread involved. If you have San Francisco to upset Gonzaga and feel like you don’t need the help of a point spread, you can bet on the moneyline and get much better odds for the upset win.
Comparing Point Spread and Moneyline Odds
To show the difference in the odds on a moneyline bet compared to a point spread bet, let’s look at that San Francisco vs Gonzaga game a little closer. Let’s say Gonzaga is favored by 5½ points. If you bet on San Francisco getting those 5½ points added to its score, you’d likely get -110 odds.
But, if you bet on San Francisco on the moneyline, which doesn’t get any points, meaning a straight-up win is required, you could have odds like +180. That’s certainly a better payout if you believe San Francisco will win outright.
Betting The Totals
There are other ways to bet on the game from a team standpoint. Let’s say you think Michigan State vs Illinois will be a high-scoring game, but you’re not sure which team will win. You can bet the total.
A total bet – or over/under – is taking the total number of points that will be scored in the game as set by the sportsbook and make your bet on whether the actual point total will be over or under that predicted number.
Michigan State and Illinois may have a total set at 165½, but you think it will be more of a defensive struggle. You can bet the under and cheer on the defense throughout the contest, hoping for a final score that adds up to 165 points or less.
You’ll usually get identical odds for either the over or under bet, but sometimes, the odds can vary slightly depending on how the betting has gone on the game thus far.
There are also total bets that you can make for each team, as well as for the first or second halves. If you think the Illini will start fast offensively, you can bet the over on their set first-half total.
There are a multitude of college basketball bets you can make on the totals, with BetUS Sportsbook providing all that you could ask for.
