Handicapping Tips and Strategies for Betting on Basketball

Is betting on basketball part of your regular strategy? Basketball is a very interesting game when it comes to placing bets. It is a fast-paced game with a ton of scoring. There are many opportunities to look at various information that may help someone better place a bet.

Whether it’s college basketball or the NBA, there are plenty of opportunities to place bets during a basketball season. Whether it is a point spread bet, total over/under, or a prop bet for a particular team or player. Top basketball sportsbooks offer a huge betting menu for the sport.

There are many ways to make educated bets to win in the game of basketball. Here are some tips and strategies to help handicap your bets with basketball.

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Betting on Basketball – Favorites and Underdogs

The game of basketball can be quite top-heavy at any level. In the NBA overall, the top eight teams in the league have the best chance to win a championship, and only one team lower than a No. 4 seed has ever won the title.

In college basketball, the top-ranked teams tend to have more depth, more skill, and better recruits each season. Occasionally, a lower seed will go on a Cinderella run, but usually, a team ranked in the Top 10 at the end of the year goes on to win it all. 

Knowing who the favorites are and who are the underdogs in these matchups is crucial to being able to make an educated bet in the specific game someone is looking into. It is important to take time for shopping NBA money lines when betting on basketball. It’s the easiest way to win more bets. Use multiple sportsbooks, it’s easy.

Look at Possessions Per Game

Possessions per game may be a statistic that is quite overlooked when it comes to placing bets. But is one that is very important. Possessions per game have a direct impact on whether a team is known to play fast or slow. 

Furthermore, it is a basic concept that the more possessions a team has in a game, the more scoring attempts will follow suit. With more scoring attempts in a game, the team has a better chance of scoring more points in that specific game. Knowing a team’s possessions per game will give you a great indicator of if the specific game will be high scoring or not.

Online sportsbooks offer a huge basketball betting menu

Home Court Advantage When Betting on Basketball

Home court advantage is more critical in college basketball than in the NBA. However, it is important to take a look at the two teams’ home and away records during the season, specifically against their opponent.

If it is a divisional opponent or a conference opponent there will be more opportunity and information to determine if a team does better on their home court. Or if they have a drop-off away at their opponent’s home court. Knowing if there is a home-court advantage in the specific game being played will only benefit the bettor in a basketball game.

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Position Matchups

Every team in basketball loves to match up their best five players against the opposition’s best five players. Researching who is in each teams’ starting lineup can give you an idea of how many points each player may score. 

There are matchup strengths and weaknesses in every game and taking a deep dive into the two teams’ rosters will help determine what those strengths and weaknesses are. Some players may score a ton of points but be a liability on the defensive side of the ball.

In those instances expect plenty of scoring to be recorded. Each position will have either a favorable or unfavorable matchup and knowing what the matchups are for the game a bettor is playing will further educate them on the bet they are going to make. 

Betting on Basketball When Star Players

Betting on basketball is unlike any sport as star players can take control of a game. They can near-singlehandedly control the outcome. Paying attention to if a matchup has star players in it and if they are playing will help determine what kind of bet to make for the contest. Betting NBA moneylines can be shaped by stars.

Most star players on rosters touch the ball more than half the time their team is on offense so knowing if that player is in the lineup or out due to injury, sickness, or rest is critical to know the potential outcome of a basketball game.

All in all, basketball is a very fun sport to place bets on due to the amount of scoring and star power that the sport has to offer. In college basketball, conference tournaments will begin and end within the first two weeks of March 2022. Once concluded the big March Madness Tournament will begin on March 15th and run until April 4th, 2022. 

The NBA has changed its structure to their playoff format and will once again offer a play-in tournament from April 12-15, 2022. Once that is finalized the playoffs will begin on April 16th and run until June 19, 2022.

The NBA is sure to offer plenty of scoring and matchup storylines heading into the 2022 NBA playoffs.

If you do want to keep learning about betting, take a look at Horse Racing 101. You’ll find horse betting tips, strategies & major dates for 2022.