Bet On March Madness - Best College Basketball Betting Sites And Strategy

BEST MARCH MADNESS BETTING SITES

Selecting a good sportsbook can make the difference between a seamless, secure, and enjoyable college basketball betting experience and facing significant challenges, financial risks, and even legal trouble.

We've compiled a list of the best sports betting sites for you, along with their key features and promotional offers. 

Below are some of the best online sports betting apps and sites that offer March Madness odds.

BetMGM

Dive into a world of sports betting with BetMGM, where a small wager unlocks big rewards, complemented by an impressive mobile betting experience.

Promotional Offers: $158 in bonus bets for a $5 wager.

Pros: Robust mobile app, variety of free bet options.

Cons: Limited promotional diversity, geographic restrictions.

888sport

888sport stands out for its commitment to enhancing the betting experience with live streaming options, user-friendly interfaces, and a bonus structure that rewards parlay enthusiasts.

Promotional Offers: $5 free bet for a $20 parlay bet.

Pros: Excellent live betting, user-friendly, diverse funding options, live streaming.

Cons: May have fewer promotions compared to competitors.

DraftKings Sportsbook

At DraftKings Sportsbook, bettors are welcomed with open arms and attractive bonus bets, setting a high standard in customer service and market variety.

Promotional Offers: Up to $200 in bonus bets for a $5 wager for new customers.

Pros: Exceptional customer service, wide range of betting markets.

Cons: Bonus turnover requirements can be high.

BetRivers

BetRivers invites sports betting aficionados with a straightforward platform and an enticing welcome bonus, aiming to make your first deposit memorable.

Promotional Offers: $100 Bonus Bet with code "SPORTS" on first deposit.

Pros: User-friendly website, generous welcome bonus.

Cons: Smaller market selection in some areas.

FanDuel Sportsbook

FanDuel Sportsbook paves the way for legal sports betting across numerous states, offering significant bonus bets as a victory lap for your winning wagers.

Promotional Offers: $200 in Bonus Bets on a winning first wager.

Pros: Legal in over 20 US states, leading market presence.

Cons: Odds may not always be the best in the market.

HOW TO BET ON MARCH MADNESS 2024

March Madness is one of the most thrilling and popular sporting events in the U.S. The excitement and unpredictability of the games attract millions of fans and bettors every year. 

If you want to join the fun and bet on March Madness, you will need to know some basics about how March Madness betting works, what types of bets you can make, and where you can find the best March Madness betting odds and tips. 

In this section, we will provide you with a comprehensive March Madness betting guide, as well as some resources to help you make smart and profitable decisions.

Find a legal and reputable betting site that offers NCAA March Madness betting 

The first, and maybe even the most important, step in betting on the NCAA tournament is finding a legal sportsbook. 

As a speculator looking to bet on events in either of the NCAA tournaments, you have to ensure that you reside in a state where sports betting is legal. It’s important to understand that the oddsmaker you register with is allowed to provide online betting services in your region.

Sign up and fund your account

Once you have chosen a betting site, you will need to create an account and deposit some money to start betting. You will usually need to provide some personal information, such as:

• Name
• Email
• Address
• Social security number

You will also have to verify your identity and age and choose a payment method, such as a credit card, debit card, PayPal, or bank transfer, to fund your account. Most betting sites will offer you a welcome bonus or a free bet when you sign up and make your first deposit, so make sure to take advantage of that.

Choose the type of bet you want to make

The March madness tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events in the United States. Betting on the outcome of the tournament, or games that take place during the tournament, can be a fun and profitable activity.

One of the most popular ways to bet on the NCAA tournament involves placing wagers on the teams that successfully advance to a new round (otherwise known as bracket betting).

Bettors can also wager on the outcome of individual matches (moneyline bets), the likelihood that the total points scored in a matchup will exceed or fall short of a certain number (totals bets), specific outcomes that may occur during the course of a game (prop bets), etc.

Later in the article, we dive deeper into the various ways of betting on college basketball. 

Check out the latest March Madness odds and picks

Before you place any bets, you will need to do some research and analysis to find great march madness betting opportunities. You will need to check out the latest March Madness picks and odds, which are the probabilities and predictions of the outcomes of the games and the tournament.

MARCH MADNESS BETTING ODDS

WHAT IS MARCH MADNESS?

“March Madness” is the popular nickname given to the NCAA’s annual single-elimination tournament held between 68 teams to determine the men’s and women’s Division I champions.

This tournament is usually held between mid-March and early April with a total of 67 matches played over a period of three weeks across 14 locations.

WHEN ARE MARCH MADNESS BRACKETS RELEASED?

March Madness brackets are typically announced on Selection Sunday, a show that airs two days before the first round of games begins. The brackets for this year’s (2024) NCAA Basketball Men’s — and women’s — Division I tournament are scheduled to be released on the 17th of March.

WHEN DOES THE 2024 NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT START?

The 2024 NCAA Basketball tournament for the men’s division is scheduled to kick off on March 19th, 2024; whereas the women’s tournament starts a day later. 

The First Four will be played between March 19th and 20th and the first round of the tournament will officially take place from March 21st to March 22nd.

Below is the complete schedule for the 2024 National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament for both men’s and women’s divisions:

Men’s Division 

• March 17: Selection Sunday
• March 19-20: First Four
• March 21-22: First round
• March 23-24: Second round
• March 28-29: Sweet 16
• March 30-31: Elite Eight
• April 6: Final four
• April 8: NCAA championship game

Women’s Division

• March 17: Selection Sunday
• March 20-21: First Four
• March 22-23: First round
• March 24-25: Second round
• March 29-30: Sweet 16
• March 31- April 1: Elite Eight
• April 5: Final four
• April 7: NCAA championship game

HOW DOES MARCH MADNESS BETTING WORKS?

There are several different ways to bet on March Madness. You can make wagers on individual games or place futures bets on which teams will reach the Final Four or win the national championship. NCAA Tournament bracket pools are the most popular option when it comes to March Madness betting. 

BASKETBALL BETTING

AGAINST THE SPREAD

Making a bet against the spread is the most common way to wager on an individual game through a legal sportsbook. Each matchup has a point spread, making one team the favorite and one team the underdog. If you bet on the favorite against the spread, that team has to win the game by more points than the spread in order for the bet to be a winner. 

For example, the point spread in the 2022 national championship game favored Kansas by 4.5 points over North Carolina. Kansas beat North Carolina 72-69, winning by fewer than 4.5 points and failing to cover the spread. A bet on North Carolina against the spread would’ve been a winner, even though the Tar Heels lost the game.

On rare occasions, a game is a pick’em (PK). In those instances, there is no point spread, and the winning team will always cover the spread.

STRAIGHT UP (OR MONEYLINE) BETS

A straight up bet is simply picking the winner. The margin of victory doesn’t matter. If the team you wager on wins, your bet cashes. That doesn’t mean it’s as simple as picking the higher seeded team in each March Madness game.

Moneyline odds are assigned for both the favorite and the underdog by legal sportsbooks. When betting on the favorite, you are risking more money than what you could profit from winning the bet. 

The opposite is true for the underdog. The favorite has minus (-) odds, which indicate how much money a gambler must risk in order to make a $100 profit for a winning bet. Plus (+) odds are used for the underdog.

For example, Kansas had -200 odds as the favorite against North Carolina in the championship game. That means a $200 bet on Kansas to win straight up would’ve resulted in a $100 profit. A $100 bet would’ve come with a $50 profit. 

If North Carolina won, a $100 bet on the Tar Heels to beat the Jayhawks would’ve resulted in a $165 profit because North Carolina had +165 odds as the betting underdog.

If a team has even odds, your potential profit is the same as the amount of money that you bet.

OVER/UNDER (TOTALS)

In an over/under (or totals) bet, the speculator wagers on the total points scored in a matchup exceeding — or falling under — a threshold set by bookmakers. This betting market becomes particularly thrilling amid March Madness due to the frequent upsets in NCAA tournament games.

Example of an Over/Under bet in the NCAA basketball tournament:

During last year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Alabama faced off against Texas A&M-CC in the first round and both teams scored a total of 171 points. 

The over/under line for this game was 153.5, meaning that bettors who took the over won their bets, as the actual score was 17.5 points higher than the line. 

Bettors who took the under lost their bets, as the actual score was lower than the line.

LIVE BETTING

Live betting enables bettors to place wagers on ongoing games or events, providing them with the flexibility to make adjustments based on unfolding developments. 

In most cases, online sportsbooks provide live betting on March Madness games, allowing bettors to stay engaged and react to the dynamic nature of the tournament in real-time. It's also worth noting that live betting odds are volatile and change rapidly to reflect new developments in a game.

Below are some of the betting markets that bettors can take advantage of when betting on live events:

• Moneyline bets
• Over/under (Totals) bets
• Prop bets 
• Point spread bets

PROP BETS

Prop (short for proposition) bets offer another way to bet on March Madness. A prop bet is simply a wager on the possibility of an event occurring within a game, independent of the final score, such as whether a specific player will reach a certain stat milestone.

Example of March Madness prop bets

Team prop: Will South Carolina score more than 90 points in their game against UCLA in the women's tournament?

Player prop: Will Zach Edey grab over 10 rebounds in any game?

FUTURES 

For March Madness, futures bets allow gamblers to wager on how far a team will go in the tournament. The most popular March Madness futures bets are for the national championship, but some sportsbooks will also allow you to bet if teams will go to the Final Four.

Each team is assigned futures odds, which vary depending on how likely they are considered to achieve a feat. 

If you bet $10 on Kansas and the Jayhawks win the title, you’ll win the bet and earn a $130 profit. Any other result, including Kansas losing in the national championship game, is a losing bet.

The bigger the number next to the plus sign means a greater possible profit. Those bets, however, are more difficult to win.

TOP MARCH MADNESS BETTING TIPS

STICK WITH NO. 1 SEEDS

Picking early upsets in your bracket can be fun, but the key to winning a March Madness pool is getting the Final Four and national champion correct. Those picks are worth the most points and can make up for a poor performance in the first few rounds. 

Pick a No. 1 seed as your national champion. Take at least two No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four. Fill out the rest of your Final Four with No. 2 or No. 3 seeds.

More than 60% of the teams that win their side of the March Madness bracket and reach the Final Four are seeded No. 1 or No. 2. Five No. 2 seeds have won March Madness, and only four No. 3 seeds have done it. No team seeded No. 9 or worse has ever won the NCAA Tournament. 

PICK UPSETS STRATEGICALLY 

Your March Madness bracket has to include some upsets. Not only is it part of the fun, but there’s always a handful of Cinderella teams that go on an unexpected March Madness run. How do you know which upsets to pick and how many should you take in each round?

Most of the upset picks in your March Madness bracket should occur in the first round. You’ll want to take at least one No. 10 seed, if not two, to advance to the second round. Close to 40% of No. 10 seeds have beaten No. 7 seeds in their first-round matchups. 

More than one-third of the first-round games have gone in favor of the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds, so take a shot with a couple of teams seeded in that range, as well. 

Going with a team seeded worse than No. 13 to win a game is a risk. Maybe take a shot with a No. 13 or No. 14 seed, but don’t put them into the Sweet Sixteen. Don’t bother picking a No. 16 seed to win. It’s only happened once in March Madness history. 

GO WITH EXPERIENCE 

If you’re not a college basketball fan, the one bit of research you might want to do before filling out your bracket is to find out which of the top-seeded teams have experience. The national champion is usually led by players who have spent a few years playing college basketball and have already gotten a taste of March Madness in the past.

The biggest individual stars in college basketball are often freshmen and sophomores, but they usually don’t lead teams to titles. Just look at the most recent teams that have won March Madness. The 2022 Kansas team had no freshmen in the starting lineup. 

Four of their starters had spent at least three years in college, and their best player was a senior. The 2021 champion Baylor Bears had all juniors and seniors in the starting lineup. Four of the starters on the 2019 champion Virginia team had at least three years of college on their resume.

Experience also applies to head coaches. More often than not, the team that wins March Madness is led by one of the top coaches in college basketball. Every coach except for one that won the championship from 1999-2018 is already in the Basketball Hall of Fame or well on their way to being inducted at some point. 

Virginia coach Tony Bennett has been one of the sport’s top coaches for a decade. Baylor coach Scott Drew has been the Bears head coach for 20 years.

Now that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Villanova coach Jay Wright are retired, Kansas’ Bill Self might be the unquestioned best coach in college basketball.