The college basketball season is around four months long. Non-conference play starts in early November and runs until the end of the calendar year. January marks the start of regular conference play and this runs until early March.
College Basketball Season – Finishes With NCAA Tournament
The college basketball postseason starts with more than 30 conference tournaments in Division I play. This sets the stage for the annual NCAA Tournament as one of the biggest betting events of the year.
What makes college basketball different from pro leagues and even college football is the sheer number of betting opportunities. More than 350 teams play in Division I as part of those 30+ conferences.
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While the actual season is not that long, the intensity of daily betting opportunities remains high from start to finish.
Winning Betting Strategy for College Basketball
A big part of developing a winning betting strategy for college basketball hinges on where you decide to bet the games. In today’s marketplace, all online sports betting sites are not created equal.
You basically have two distinctly different categories of online sportsbooks. The first is global sites that are based offshore in jurisdictions such as Costa Rica. These online books cover the entire US market from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between.
The other category is US-based sportsbooks that operate on a limited state-by-state level. They also operate under a much more strict set of regulations that can have a major impact on how you can bet on college basketball.
There are more than a few states that place restrictions on betting in-state teams. There are plenty differences when you look at Offshore vs. US Sportsbooks.
College Basketball Season Betting Lines
While overall availability is a glaring difference between the two, this is not the biggest advantage offshore sportsbooks have over their US-based counterparts when it comes to betting on college basketball games.
The biggest edge lies in the actual betting lines. This covers point spreads, total lines and money line odds.
In a quick comparison of all three betting lines across a number of different offshore and US online books, you can quickly note the differences. None is more glaring than money line odds for college basketball games.
For example, the money line odds for betting the favorite at one of the most popular US books are set at -120 in a tight matchup. That same money line at a popular offshore book is set at -110. Betting the game at the offshore book cuts your financial risk in half.
The larger the spread, the bigger the difference when it comes to the corresponding money line odds. This lets you reduce your financial risk when betting favorites while increasing your potential return when it comes to betting underdogs.
Offshore Sportsbooks Offer Best Betting Lines
Even lower volume recreational bettors can benefit from competitive betting lines over the course of the entire college basketball season.
Another edge is the depth of betting options for college games. Most US books will stay away from obscure matchups between Mid-Major programs. While these games remain “off the board”, the top-rated offshore books will most likely offer a betting line on the game.
Some of the best betting value on the board can be found in college basketball games between teams in small Mid-Major conferences. The only consistent way to tap into this value is through an online betting account at an offshore sportsbook operating an online betting platform.