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We are about to start on another college basketball season and a complete one at that. Many factors go into the right way to wager on this sport and we are providing the best along with safeguards to minimize loss and hopefully enhance winning.
Betting college basketball offers challenges like having over 350 teams in D-1, all trying to reach the NCAA Tournament of 68 special slots. On any given Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, once we get more into December and later conference play, there are 50 to over 100 possible contests to choose from. That can be overwhelming.
Here are wagering tips to help you against the NCAAB odds you will find at Oddstrader
The Top 25 is Worthless to Start the Season
With players leaving early, transfers, and talented (yet unproven) freshmen garnering headlines, the only thing everyone needs to know is that each team has flaws. Coaches use the first part of the season to find chemistry, understand how all these players might work best together, and develop a bench.
This makes handicapping these teams uncertain and here are differences to look for are:
Does a team have an experienced point guard who can score? Does a team have more than two true scoring options and is this team known for playing good defense? If you know these answers and are selective in your approach, you will make better college basketball picks to start the season.
Look for Veteran Teams That Improved Last Year
You might have noticed the last few years, the programs that annually bring in two to four touted freshmen are not making as many Final Four as they did in years prior. Those that might get drafted for the NBA want to go to a successful program, but they also want to stand out, and being on a loaded squad might not allow their talents to shine, at least in their opinion.
Being a star in high school is not automatic at the next level and many players more than ever are evaluated on potential and are not close to finished products. We have seen this, especially with Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas most recently.
If a team has a good group of players ranging from seniors to sophomores that have a good point guard, wing scorer, and big man that can score near the basket and play defense in the paint, this could be a Play On team.
If you can find these clubs as short favorites or underdogs and this group made a noticeable improvement from the year prior, take a close look at this bunch when reviewing what sportsbooks offer.
Seek Value with Knowledge
Looking at 50 or more games on multiple days can be mind-numbing unless you have a lot of skill to know what to look for. Instead, a safer path is to pick a conference or three by the region you live in. These would be ones you are very interested in that you can find/read daily information that fits your schedule or those that you are already interested in.
Understanding teams’ style of play and the coaches can give you a huge edge because you have a pulse on the conference. Also, picking or following a smaller conference can turn mediocre days into winning ones. Because the top sportsbooks have lines on every contest, it is impossible to know all the details of every conference.
There are bad numbers sometimes put out on say the Big Sky compared to the Big Ten. If you put in the same effort in the Big Sky as a power conference, you are more regularly able to find value and beat the numbers you’ll find at Oddstrader.
What You Put in is Often What you Will Get Out
If you want to be more than a recreational gambler, you have to at least have the characteristics of a smarter bettor. That would include watching as many games as possible, or recording them and watching for specifics already knowing the final score.
Here, you are looking to know why a team won or lost and have information on this you can refer to later when seeing this team play. Knowing your win-loss record and keeping specific records helps create discipline that will allow you to become better with time, which in turn will make you cash or cut your losses.
Remember you can always check back for more betting strategy info at the OddsTrader blog.
