March Madness is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
Key Points
– To have success betting on March Madness, bettors need to do their homework.
– A number of factors like defense and location will affect the outcome of NCAA tournament games.
We are less than a month away from every basketball fan’s favorite time of year – March Madness. It’s also a bettor’s dream with 67 games played over four weekends.
Betting on March Madness is like betting on any other sporting event. In order to have success, you have to put some time and effort into it.
Here’s how you can do that.
Start with Defense & March Madness
It’s been said a million times. Defense wins championships and it’s true. Look at what Baylor did to Gonzaga in last year’s national final. Teams that play great defense – think Virginia and Texas Tech in 2019 – are always in games.
In 2019, Virginia played Texas Tech for the national title. Both teams were among the top defensive teams in the country. This season, the Red Raiders are 16th allowing 61.3 points per game. They just pulled off the season sweep of Baylor and the 11th-ranked team in the nation is now 20-6.
Virginia is not enjoying as good a season – they are 16-10 overall – but they are seventh in the nation in scoring defense (59.7 ppg).
Teams with defenses like this are teams bettors can back against the spread. That becomes an even bigger deal when these teams are the underdog.
Location
In the real estate world, it’s all about location. It’s the same in the NCAA tournament. Here’s how it works.
The distance from a team’s home arena and the number of fans that show up at an NCAA tournament games is inversely proportional. For example, if a team plays a first-round NCAA tourney game closer to its home arena, more of its fans show up.
This is important because players tend to feed off of the crowd. Having a strong fan base in the crowd fuels a team’s energy and can play a role in a game’s outcome.
Down the Stretch
When preparing to bet on March Madness, it’s worth looking at how teams performed over the final weeks of the regular season and in their conference tournament. The best college basketball sportsbooks offer sharp, early lines.
Teams that finish strong are typically poised to do well in March Madness. On the other end, teams that struggle over the end of the regular season usually don’t do well in the NCAA tournament.
Remember when teams play too. Teams that play games on consecutive nights do not do well when playing teams that are well-rested.
March Madness Eliminate Emotion
When you begin making your final betting decisions, you have to take the emotion out of the equation. Stay away from betting on teams just because you like them. Don’t bet on your favorite team just because it happens to be your favorite.
The same is true of public favorites. The betting public loves the favorite and they tend to love the Over when betting totals. When possible and it makes sense, bet against the public.
Keep in mind the saying “if it’s too good to be true.” When something looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Stay away from randomly backing favorites regardless of the line. There are always upsets in the NCAA tournament. That’s why they call it March Madness.
Ultimately, it comes down to doing your homework. Put the work in and you will reap the benefits of betting on March Madness.
Last time we looked at betting NBA Point Spreads. Go learn more about it now.
