College basketball is our most profitable sport to wager on. Year in and year out we do very, very well in college hoops. College basketball is becoming one of the most popular sports to bet on due to the fact of the amount of games that are available to place bets on. For a five month span from November to March there are many games which to bet every night.
The most important factor we look at with college basketball is the fact that home court advantage is huge. Quite simply, the college players do not have the same maturity level as the professionals. College kids are affected greatly by being away from their home court and usually play poorer because of it. Teams that are great at home might not be as good away from home.
Another factor that affects the college game more than the pros is the rebound advantage. Teams that are better rebounders (especially offensive) in college more often than not win the game. The reason being is the amount of shots missed in college is more than the pros and the team that can pick up those loose balls will be able to capitalize with a win.
An important factor with college basketball betting is the amount motivation that each team has and cannot be taken lightly. Some underdog teams playing on the big stage in a non-conference game might have more motivation than the heavy favorite to make a good showing in order to enhance their tournament resume. Especially in non-conference games, because it allows the little guy to make some noise. This is huge for us when betting in November and December.
With so many games to choose from we always look around for the best games to lay down money on. With so many games every night the possibilities of which games to bet are endless. We use this to our advantage. In other sports where there is a limited amount of games, the lines can be affected much more by bettors throwing money on one particular team. However with so many games in college basketball every night this does not happen as often. With so many games on the table, even the odds makers have a hard time setting the correct lines and we find these games and jump all over them often the night before the line moves.
Finally, we are very picky and will always pass on a game if we do not have a well thought out play. There are so many choices that we do not have to bet on every game. We only bet the games we are 100% comfortable with and we will often spend entire seasons in mid-major conferences like the IVY, Sun Belt or WAC. As with any sport we do not feel the need to bet on the big name teams. The betting action will always be heavy on the big name teams, like North Carolina, Duke, Michigan State, etc. Remember, the payout is exactly the same on those high profile games versus if you bet games involving mid-major conference teams.