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College Basketball Odds

Live college basketball odds are always available at OddsTrader. You can keep up with your favorite teams, or consider using our stats-driven NCAAB computer picks to help you make smarter wagers. New bettors can read on to learn how to read NCAAB odds and the types of bets they can place.

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NCAAB Sat 12/21

LIVE2nd HALF2:33 Yale 6-5 71 -
UTEP 8-3 73 -
LIVE2nd HALF6:38 Portland State 6-5 48 -
Cal State Bakersfield 6-6 42 -
LIVE1st HALF5:20 Kennesaw State 7-4 24 -
San Jose State 6-6 29 -
LIVE1st HALF4:22 California 7-4 14 -
#23San Diego State 7-2 18 -
SUN 12/2212:00 PM Illinois State 7-4 - -
Cornell 7-3 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Kent State 8-2 - -
#6Alabama 9-2 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Illinois 7-3 - -
Missouri 10-1 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Purdue Fort Wayne 9-4 - -
#24Michigan 8-3 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Sacred Heart 4-7 - -
Miami (OH) 6-4 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Binghamton 7-6 - -
Army 5-5 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Morgan State 6-8 - -
#3Iowa State 9-1 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Bryant University 6-7 - -
Towson 4-8 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Central Arkansas 3-8 - -
#14Oklahoma 11-0 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM Iona 3-8 - -
Colgate 3-9 - -
SUN 12/221:00 PM New Hampshire 2-11 - -
Stonehill 6-7 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM Montana State 5-7 - -
TCU 6-4 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM Detroit Mercy 5-8 - -
Wisconsin 9-3 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM Pennsylvania 4-7 - -
George Mason 7-4 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM William & Mary 5-6 - -
Virginia Commonwealth 9-3 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM UC Santa Barbara 7-4 - -
Missouri State 6-5 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM American University 6-5 - -
Virginia 6-5 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM Radford 10-4 - -
South Carolina 8-3 - -
SUN 12/222:00 PM Mercyhurst 6-8 - -
West Virginia 8-2 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Oral Roberts 3-8 - -
Oklahoma State 7-3 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Brown 7-3 - -
#8Kansas 8-2 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Oregon State 8-2 - -
Charleston 8-2 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM New Orleans 2-8 - -
LSU 9-2 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Prairie View A&M 1-10 - -
Rice 8-4 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM McNeese State 5-5 - -
Louisiana-Lafayette 3-9 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Alcorn State 0-11 - -
UAB 6-6 - -
SUN 12/223:00 PM Houston Christian 4-8 - -
North Texas 8-3 - -
SUN 12/223:30 PM Charleston Southern 3-10 - -
Georgia 10-1 - -
SUN 12/224:00 PM Saint Louis 6-5 - -
Grand Canyon 7-4 - -
SUN 12/224:00 PM Rider 4-7 - -
North Carolina State 7-4 - -
SUN 12/224:00 PM Southern University 5-6 - -
USC 8-4 - -
SUN 12/224:00 PM Grambling State 2-9 - -
#19Cincinnati 9-1 - -
SUN 12/225:00 PM Wyoming 6-5 - -
Cal State Fullerton 4-8 - -
SUN 12/225:00 PM Loyola Chicago 9-1 - -
Oakland 3-7 - -
SUN 12/226:00 PM Le Moyne 5-8 - -
Notre Dame 6-5 - -
SUN 12/227:00 PM Georgetown 9-2 - -
Seton Hall 5-7 - -
SUN 12/227:00 PM North Alabama 8-4 - -
Loyola Marymount 7-4 - -
SUN 12/228:00 PM Utah State 10-1 - -
Saint Mary's 10-2 - -
SUN 12/229:00 PM Nebraska 7-2 - -
Murray State 6-4 - -
SUN 12/2211:30 PM Charlotte 6-4 - -
Hawaii 6-3 - -
FINAL Syracuse 5-6 60 -
Maryland 10-2 87 -
FINAL Princeton 9-4 83 -
Rutgers 7-5 82 -
FINAL Chattanooga 8-5 65 -
Indiana 9-3 74 -
FINAL Saint Joseph's (PA) 8-4 82 -
Virginia Tech 5-7 62 -
FINAL SMU 10-2 103 -
Boston College 7-5 77 -
FINAL #5Duke 10-2 82 -
Georgia Tech 5-7 56 -
FINAL #11Connecticut 10-3 78 -
Butler 7-6 74 -
FINAL #9Marquette 11-2 72 -
Xavier 8-5 70 -
FINAL Penn State 10-2 75 -
Drexel 8-5 64 -
FINAL North Florida 7-6 45 -
#7Florida 12-0 99 -
FINAL Vermont 6-8 54 -
Dartmouth 5-7 84 -
FINAL South Carolina State 6-8 47 -
Northern Kentucky 7-6 58 -
FINAL Mississippi State 11-1 79 -
#21Memphis 9-3 66 -
FINAL Fairfield 5-7 74 -
Monmouth 2-10 88 -
FINAL Niagara 5-7 52 -
St. Bonaventure 12-1 71 -
FINAL Sam Houston State 6-6 78 -
Pittsburgh 10-2 110 -
FINAL Youngstown State 8-5 72 -
USC Upstate 4-11 64 -
FINAL Hampton 7-5 76 -
Loyola (MD) 5-5 68 -
FINAL Quinnipiac 5-7 80 -
Central Connecticut State 8-4 84 -
FINAL OT Manhattan 6-5 86 -
Presbyterian 7-7 81 -
FINAL Navy 3-9 60 -
Coppin State 1-12 68 -
FINAL St. Francis (PA) 5-9 77 -
Robert Morris 8-5 90 -
FINAL Lamar 6-6 57 -
Texas Tech 9-2 101 -
FINAL OT UMBC 7-7 73 -
Marist 8-2 76 -
FINAL Maine 8-6 72 -
Stony Brook 4-8 74 -
FINAL Lehigh 4-6 60 -
LIU 4-11 59 -
FINAL Evansville 3-9 43 -
Ball State 5-6 80 -
FINAL James Madison 6-6 49 -
South Alabama 8-4 77 -
FINAL Florida Atlantic 7-6 69 -
#20Michigan State 10-2 86 -
FINAL Canisius 0-13 59 -
Bradley 10-2 92 -
FINAL Wright State 7-7 82 -
Eastern Michigan 6-5 86 -
FINAL Louisville 7-5 90 -
Florida State 9-4 76 -
FINAL Texas-Arlington 6-7 56 -
Liberty 12-1 79 -
FINAL Wake Forest 9-4 62 -
#25Clemson 10-3 73 -
FINAL East Tennessee State 7-6 66 -
Kansas City 8-7 73 -
FINAL Georgia State 4-8 57 -
Troy 8-4 77 -
FINAL Mercer 6-6 97 -
Winthrop 10-4 102 -
FINAL Fairleigh Dickinson 4-10 60 -
Minnesota 7-5 74 -
FINAL High Point 12-2 94 -
Southern Illinois 5-7 81 -
FINAL UNC Asheville 8-5 74 -
NC-Wilmington 9-3 85 -
FINAL Texas A&M-CC 7-6 51 -
#15Houston 8-3 87 -
FINAL Albany 7-7 83 -
Fordham 8-5 87 -
FINAL Boston University 5-7 71 -
Massachusetts-Lowell 10-4 83 -
FINAL Jacksonville State 7-5 91 -
Eastern Kentucky 6-6 80 -
FINAL Chicago State 0-14 57 -
Cal State Northridge 8-4 81 -
FINAL St. Thomas (MN) 10-4 93 -
Bowling Green 4-7 68 -
FINAL Immaculata 0-1 48 -
La Salle 8-5 108 -
FINAL OT Mount St. Mary's 8-4 78 -
Miami (FL) 4-8 74 -
FINAL UC Irvine 10-2 54 -
Duquesne 4-8 70 -
FINAL North Carolina A&T 3-10 67 -
Arkansas 10-2 95 -
FINAL PS Penn State-Fayette 0-1 52 -
Wagner 7-5 83 -
FINAL Marshall 7-6 66 -
Southern Miss 5-7 68 -
FINAL Coastal Carolina 6-6 67 -
Arkansas State 10-3 97 -
FINAL UC Davis 7-5 46 -
Pepperdine 6-7 85 -
FINAL OT Old Dominion 4-8 80 -
Louisiana-Monroe 4-10 75 -
FINAL UC Riverside 8-5 53 -
UNLV 6-5 66 -
FINAL #18UCLA 10-2 74 -
North Carolina 7-5 76 -
FINAL Furman 12-1 77 -
Harvard 3-8 63 -
FINAL Gardner-Webb 5-8 84 -
East Carolina 8-5 79 -
FINAL Austin Peay 4-8 55 -
Vanderbilt 11-1 85 -
FINAL Bellarmine 3-10 55 -
Colorado 9-2 79 -
FINAL Mississippi Valley State 2-10 48 -
Tulsa 5-7 93 -
FINAL Texas Southern 2-10 65 -
Abilene Christian 8-5 69 -
FINAL Kentucky Wesleyan 0-1 71 -
Western Kentucky 9-3 91 -
FINAL East Texas A&M 2-11 62 -
South Florida 6-6 88 -
FINAL Air Force 3-9 59 -
Boise State 9-3 77 -
FINAL Georgia Southern 7-6 61 -
Texas State 8-4 83 -
FINAL Tennessee State 4-9 68 -
Morehead State 6-6 74 -
FINAL Western Illinois 7-6 65 -
Lindenwood 6-7 71 -
FINAL Central Michigan 5-6 41 -
Arizona 6-5 94 -
FINAL Northern Iowa 7-5 68 -
Washington State 10-3 76 -
FINAL Arizona State 9-2 78 -
Massachusetts 5-8 62 -
FINAL DePaul 8-4 64 -
Northwestern 9-3 84 -
FINAL Villanova 8-5 79 -
Creighton 8-5 86 -
FINAL Northern Arizona 8-4 83 -
Southern Utah 8-6 75 -
FINAL Idaho 5-8 95 -
Pacific 5-9 72 -
FINAL Lafayette 5-7 64 -
Portland 5-8 74 -
FINAL Samford 10-3 97 -
Alabama A&M 4-8 90 -
FINAL #16Purdue 8-4 69 -
#2Auburn 11-1 87 -
FINAL Tennessee-Martin 5-8 77 -
Southern Indiana 6-6 46 -
FINAL SIU-Edwardsville 7-6 64 -
Southeast Missouri State 6-6 80 -
FINAL Colorado State 7-5 66 -
Nevada 8-4 64 -
FINAL California Baptist 6-6 86 -
Fresno State 4-8 69 -
FINAL Northern Colorado 8-5 82 -
Denver 6-9 75 -
FINAL South Dakota 9-6 81 -
Santa Clara 8-5 98 -
FINAL Bethune-Cookman 3-9 63 -
Davidson 9-3 76 -
FINAL Queens University of Charlotte 7-6 62 -
#17Ole Miss 11-1 80 -
FINAL Howard Payne 0-2 83 -
Tarleton State 4-10 100 -
FINAL IUPUI 5-9 69 -
Florida International 5-7 75 -
FINAL Green Bay 2-12 62 -
Drake 11-0 72 -
FINAL Montana 7-5 67 -
San Francisco 9-3 71 -
FINAL Virginia Military 6-7 71 -
Richmond 5-7 78 -
FINAL Utah 8-2 88 -
Iowa 8-3 95 -
FINAL Jacksonville 6-6 66 -
UCF 9-2 86 -
FINAL Ohio State 7-4 85 -
#4Kentucky 10-1 65 -
FINAL Temple 7-5 79 -
Rhode Island 11-1 85 -
FINAL Kansas State 6-5 65 -
Wichita State 9-3 84 -
FINAL UNC Greensboro 6-6 69 -
Elon 8-4 73 -
FINAL Akron 7-4 68 -
Jackson State 0-12 50 -
FINAL #10Oregon 11-1 76 -
Stanford 9-3 61 -
FINAL UC San Diego 11-2 77 -
San Diego 3-9 71 -
FINAL Bucknell 4-8 65 -
#13Gonzaga 9-3 86 -
FINAL Utah Valley 7-6 64 -
Weber State 6-7 62 -
FINAL Cal Poly 6-8 82 -
Nebraska-Omaha 5-9 86 -
POSTPONED Eastern Illinois 3-8 - -
Arkansas-Little Rock 7-5 - -

College Basketball Odds

Interpreting odds for the first time can be an intimidating process. But like everything else, practice makes perfect. We’ll teach you how to understand college basketball’s betting language, NCAAB betting odds, how to bet on NCAAB games, increase your chances of winning wager and ultimately grow your bankroll when betting on this popular sport.

By the end of this guide, if you’re not ready to make the right picks but want to wager, our NCAAB computer picks page can help. But before you place your first NCAAB bet, let’s go over what the experts already know.

How To Read NCAAB Odds

NCAAB odds are usually expressed in three different ways:

American Odds
Decimal (European) Odds
Fractional (British) Odds

How To Read American NCAAB Odds

American odds are the most common format used by top U.S. sportsbooks. Odds start with either a minus (-) or a plus (+) and are always a whole number (+235, +120, +150, -225, -845, etc.)

The odds tell you how much you need to wager to earn $100, which team is the favorite and which team is the underdog:

Positive (+) odds show theamount of profit for a $100 bet
Negative (-) odds show the amount needed to bet to win $100

The positive odds are easy to calculate. The odds represent how much you’ll win if you bet $100. In this example, we win $255.

To calculate the payout for odds of +255, simply use the following formula:

Payout = (Odds / 100) * Wager

For negative numbers, the value of the odds tells you how much you need to bet to win $100. In this scenario, we need to risk –$185 to win $100.

To calculate the payout for odds of -185, just apply the following formula:

Payout = (100 / |Odds|) * Wager

How To Read Decimal NCAAB Odds

The most common format used by European sportsbooks is decimal odds. Decimal odds are always positive and decimal numbers.

Below is the formula for calculating the profit and return for decimal odds of 1.98:

Profit = (Odds – 1) * Stake
Return = Profit / Stake

So…what’s the difference between return and profit?

Return is how much profit you made plus your original wager amount
Profit is how much money you won by placing your wager

How To Read Fractional Odds for NCAAB

Used primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland, fractions represent the profit you would earn for a successful bet.

The following formula is how to calculate the profit for the fractional odds of 7/1:

Profit = (Numerator / Denominator) * Stake

What are the different types of NCAAB bets?

The leading online sportsbooks offer 200+ betting options on a single college basketball game. Commonly placed NCAAB bets include:

Moneyline Betting

For the easiest way to bet on a college basketball game, look no further than college basketball moneyline bets. Simply put, it’s a prediction on which team wins the college basketball game. The sportsbooks assess the two teams, determine an underdog and a favorite and then release the moneyline odds.

For example:

North Carolina Tar Heels +165 at BetMGM
Kansas Jayhawks -200 at FanDuel

In this hypothetical game, the Kansas Jayhawks are the betting favorites. A $100 bet on the Kansas Jayhawks would earn you a $50 profit if they won the game. On the other hand, a $100 bet on the North Carolina Tar Heels would earn you a $165 profit.

Point Spread Betting

With college basketball point spreads the oddsmakers at betting sites will assess the weaknesses and strengths of the teams, focusing on offensive and defensive stats, recent results, head-to-head matchups, injuries and so on. They determine which team is stronger and they assign a points handicap to that team.

This results in a point spread and it allows the sportsbooks to “level out the playing field” for both teams.

North Carolina Tar Heels +4.5 (-115) at BetMGM
Kansas Jayhawks -4.5 (-105) at FanDuel

In this example, the sportsbooks have priced the Kansas Jayhawks as the favorite to win. You have two options:

Bet on the North Carolina Tar Heels at +4½, meaning they would need to win the game or lose by no more than 4 points for the bet to cash.
Bet on the Kansas Jayhawks at -4½, meaning they would need to win the game by 5 or more points for the ticket to cash.

There is always a favorite and an underdog in an NCAAB game. If both teams are deemed to be evenly matched, there will not be a point spread and you can bet on either team to win (moneyline.) That is known as a pick’em and it is rare.

Point Totals (Over & Under Wagers)

College basketball totals are another popular NCAAB bet. All you have to do is estimate how many total points will be scored in a specific college basketball game. The sportsbooks will release a total points line on each game. For example:

Over 151 points (-110) at BetMGM
Under 151 points (-110) at FanDuel

If you expect North Carolina and Kansas to have a combined score of at least 151 points, you can bet on the over. You should bet on the under if you believe the game will see 150 points or fewer. If the game lands exactly on 151, there would be a push and both sides of the bet would be no actioned, meaning bettors get their money back.

There will be a standard total points line, but you will also find alternate total points lines. They allow you to move the betting line down or up, which updates the odds. You will also find alternate points lines for both college basketball teams.

How To Bet on Props

NCAAB prop bets provide you with hundreds of additional betting opportunities on any given college basketball game. Prop bets focus on a proposition – whether something will happen during a game – and they are often unrelated to the final result. Prop bets in college basketball often fall into two distinct buckets:

Game Props/Team Props
Player Props

Player props focus on individual performance stats. You can bet on the total number of points, three-point field goals, assists, blocks, steals, rebounds, etc. You can also bet on the following stats:

Made free throws
Steals + Blocks
Points + Rebounds + Assists
First Basket (player who scores the first field goal)
Method of First Basket
Turnovers
Double Double
Triple Double

Game props might include betting on the highest-scoring half or whether the game goes into overtime. You can also bet on the following game props:

Team to Score the First Basket
Exact Score
Team with the least turnovers
Team with the most blocks
Team with the most steals
Team with the most three-point field goals
Team with the most made free throws
Exact Margin of Victory

How To Bet on Futures Odds

Sportsbooks release NCAAB futures odds on a wide range of markets before the regular season begins, including odds for March Madness. The odds for these college basketball bets update often and will be available to bet on throughout the season. Examples of college basketball futures bets include:

Odds to win the NCAAB Championship
Odds to win each Conference
- Odds to win the ACC Tournament
- Odds to win the Big 10 Tournament
- Odds to win the Big 12 Tournament
- Odds to win the Big East Tournament
- Odds to win the Pac-12 Tournament
- Odds to win the SEC Tournament
- Odds to win the Mountain West Tournament
- Odds to win the WCC Tournament
- Odds to win the A-10 Tournament
- Odds to win the C-USA Tournament
- Odds to win the MAC Tournament
- Odds to win the American East Tournament
- Odds to win the ASUN Tournament
- Odds to win the Big Sky Tournament
- Odds to win the Big South Tournament
- Odds to win the Horizon Tournament
- Odds to win the SoCon Tournament
- Odds to win the Sun Belt Tournament
- Odds to win the WAC Tournament

The odds on these markets change over the length of the college basketball season, depending on how poorly or well the NCAAB teams are playing.

How To Bet on the First Half or Second Half

You can also bet on the first or second half of a college basketball game, including the big games during March Madness and the National Championship. Sportsbooks release the exact same key betting options — spreads, money lines, totals and props — and both halves of a college basketball game. See the following for an example of a second-half bet:

North Carolina Tar Heels (+2½) at BetMGM
Kansas Jayhawks (-2½) at FanDuel

In this example, the Kansas Jayhawks are the favorite team to win a basketball tournament. A $110 bet on Kansas would earn you a $100.00 profit if they covered the first-half spread, whereas a $110 bet on North Carolina would also earn you a $110 profit.

What other types of NCAAB bets exist?

Beyond traditional moneyline wagers and points spread bets, college basketball fans can bet on their favorite NCAAB teams in a wide range of other ways, including the following popular types of bets:

Live Betting

NCAAB betting sites allow you to keep betting on games after they have started. This type of betting is also known as “live betting” because moneylines, total points lines, props and alternate lines will dynamically update as the college basketball game progresses.

You can continue betting until the game ends, but make sure to do your research. You want to avoid betting with your pride at all costs. If not, there’s a slight chance you’ll win but odds are, you’ll eventually deplete your bankroll.

Let’s say the Michigan Wolverines are playing the Duke Blue Devils and the college basketball betting odds to start the game are:

Michigan (+3 -110)
Duke (-3 -110)

In the first half with 10 minutes remaining, the point spread odds have adjusted to reflect the performance of Duke to start the game against Michigan. The in-play odds have adjusted to favor Duke by –7, while the pregame odds were –3.

Parlay Betting

A parlay bet lets you combine predictions on multiple games into a single bet. Because it’s harder for you to win a parlay, the odds of you winning are much greater. For example, let’s say you like these three wagers:

Duke Blue Devils (-3.5 -110)
Michigan Wolverines and Duke Blue Devils (Under 150 Total Points)

If you combined them into a two-team $100 parlay, you would earn a profit of $264.46. The winnings from each leg roll over onto the next leg, meaning the profit compounds inside the parlay, leading to large payouts. However, if one leg fails, the parlay fails and you lose the wager. Alternative options include:

Conclusion

With this guide, you’ve gained a solid foundation in understanding and betting on college basketball. We’ve covered the basics of reading odds, the various types of bets you can place and even advanced strategies to enhance your betting experience.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your betting tactics, the information provided here will help you make informed decisions, increase your chances of winning and possibly grow your bankroll.

Remember, successful betting involves research, understanding the odds and responsible wagering. So use this guide as your go-to resource for NCAAB betting and always bet with confidence.

College Basketball Odds: Frequently Asked Questions

How do basketball odds work?

Basketball odds indicate the probability of an outcome and the potential payout. Negative odds (-) show the amount needed to bet to win $100, while positive odds (+) indicate the potential win from a $100 bet. Understanding odds helps in evaluating potential returns and making informed betting decisions.

Where can I bet on the NCAA Tournament?

You can bet on the NCAA Tournament at various legal sports betting sites and apps in states with legal sports wagering, such as FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, bet365 and others. These college basketball betting sites offer welcome promos and competitive odds for NCAA basketball betting.

What type of bet is best for basketball?

The best type of bet for basketball largely depends on individual preferences and knowledge of the game. Popular options include point spread, moneyline and totals (over/under) bets. Additionally, prop bets on specific player or team performances are also favored by many basketball bettors.

Are moneyline bets worth it?

Yes, moneyline bets can be worth it, especially in situations where there is a clear favorite or underdog. They offer a straightforward way to bet on the outright winner of a game, providing simplicity and potentially attractive odds for informed sports bettors.

What are college prop bets?

College prop bets are specific wagers on individual player or team performances during NCAA basketball games. These bets can involve various aspects such as points scored by a player, rebounds, assists or even team statistics like total three-pointers made. Prop bets add excitement and variety to college basketball betting.

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