NCAA Basketball Betting Guide
Bettors now have a variety of choices for legal retail and PA online sportsbooks for college basketball betting. And, unlike neighboring New Jersey, all college sports are available for wagering. Opportunity abounds for college basketball betting throughout the regular season and during the NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness.
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Best College Basketball Betting Apps in Detail
For betting on college basketball, DraftKings and FanDuel sportsbooks have the most popular platforms, with Fanatics Sportsbook a new contender on the scene.
Those three platforms are my personal favorites. DraftKings and FanDuel are the industry titans. They have some of the best promotions and offer tons of betting markets, specifically deep ones for college basketball. Building parlays is simple with both apps, and both operators offer plenty of futures bets, too. Fanatics Sportsbook provides a similar, easy-to-use interface. One of the biggest differentiators about this platform, though, is its integration with the Fanatics industry as a whole. Regardless of whether you win or lose a bet with Fanatics Sportsbook, you will get up to 10% back in FanCash. That FanCash can be redeemed for merchandise (think of hats, jerseys, etc.), giving you somewhat of a cashback feature if you’re a regular Fanatics customer.
1. DraftKings Sportsbook app
DraftKings Sportsbook app in PA offers point spreads, moneylines, and totals for every college basketball game, plus alternate point spreads and alternative totals options. You can also partake in live, in-play betting on select games with bets including 1st- and 2nd-half winners.
Futures bets are also available on the app, including:
- Which team will win the national championship
- Which teams will make the Final Four
- Which player will win the John R. Wooden Award for College Basketball Player of the Year
The DraftKings app is available on iOS and Android.
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2. FanDuel Sportsbook app
FanDuel offers the core wagers for all college hoops games: point spread, moneyline, and total points. Also, there are individual over/under totals for the home and away team. If you don’t get a chance to place your bet before tip-off, FanDuel offers live, in-play betting on select games. Futures bets include:
- Odds on making the Final Four
- Odds on winning the national championship
- Probability of receiving a No. 1 seed
- Picking the conference of the national champion (Big 12, ACC, Big East, etc.)
There are also futures wagers on individual conference winners for the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, and other conferences. FanDuel offers pricing for the individual player to be honored with the Wooden trophy.
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3. Fanatics Sportsbook app
For those in PA looking for another great option for college hoops, Fanatics Sportsbook is another solid choice. The site offers a wide range of bet types across all the college games, plus futures that include:
- Conference champions
- Final Four participants
- National championship winner
During March Madness, Fanatics offers additional specials and promos related to the tournament. You’ll also see the site divide up trending bets by region, offer helpful parlay-building tools, and provide great in-game live betting, including “Lightning Bets” on upcoming play results. Fanatics is an app-only site, meaning you can only access it via mobile (and not over a computer). The app is available for both Apple and Android devices.
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NCAA men’s basketball tournament schedule: Key dates
The NCAA selection committee meets to decide which 68 schools to include in the March Madness betting pool every year. Of the 68 schools, 31 qualify automatically by winning their conference tournament. The other 37 spots are awarded based on a complex set of rankings (aka NET rating) incorporating overall performance and schedule strength.
Some key schedule dates for college basketball in 2025:
- March 16: Selection Sunday
- March 18-19: First Four
- March 20-21: First Round
- March 22-23: Second Round
- March 27-28: Sweet Sixteen
- March 29-30: Elite Eight
- April 5: Final Four
- April 7: NCAA Championship
College basketball betting beginners’ guide
Much like other team sports, the core bets for college basketball are point spreads, moneylines, and totals, aka over/unders.
NCAA futures and prop bets
As described above, there are futures for the national champion, making the Final Four, garnering a No. 1 seed, and being the player of the year. FanDuel also has futures bets listed for conference champions and which conference will win the national title.
See the current futures odds on your favorite college team at DraftKings Sportsbook or FanDuel Sportsbook above.
Prop bets are also available for individual games. An example of this is whether a team makes over or under a certain number of 3-pointers during the game.
Five basic college basketball betting tips
- Pick a team, and know your stuff: There are over 350 Division 1 college basketball teams, and games are on the schedule seven days a week. You can’t possibly collect enough information to make solid betting decisions for every game and team, so pick a team or two, oversee them, and try to make the best bets you can based on the information available.
- Watch the games, and check the box scores: Watch the games and then form an opinion on potential weak spots or betting opportunities. Check the box scores to identify first-half and second-half trends, player minutes, three-point shooting, rebounding advantages, etc.
- Take advantage of free info: A lot of great resources are available, including ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and local sports affiliates, which follow the local teams closely. Check the summary, stat, and trend sheets available from the NCAA website as well.
- Follow the local media: The school’s Twitter account, local news beat writers, student newspapers, and local TV/radio stations all follow the team closely. You may receive dozens of tips and injury news throughout the season that can help you make better betting decisions.
- Find situational betting opportunities: “Trap” games come up often. If a team has a big game coming up against a long-time rival, they’re usually ripe for an upset in the game or two leading up to it. Likewise, if a team has a knockdown, drag-out OT battle and then plays again in a day or two, a letdown is possible. Check the team’s schedule and results, and you’ll find some distinct spots where a betting advantage will show itself.
Get started betting on NCAA basketball in PA
Before March Madness officially tips off, keep your finger on the pulse regarding all things college hoops. Look for teams that are getting hot at the right time and which programs win conference tournaments. Plus, read up about different NCAA Tournament promos from operators. That way, you’ll be ready for NCAA basketball betting in Pennsylvania when the tournament is finalized.
NCAA College Basketball FAQ
That’s a big yes. All Division 1 men’s teams are available to bet on in Pennsylvania at a licensed operator. Unlike in New Jersey, all of the colleges and universities located in Pennsylvania are also eligible for betting action.
New Jersey will not take bets on NJ college sports teams or basketball games, including in-season or postseason conference tournaments that take place within the Garden State.
The NCAA selection committee has 10 members responsible for selecting, seeding, and bracketing the field for the NCAA Tournament.
Their conference nominates each committee member. Those who are selected will then serve five-year terms and represent a cross-section of the Division 1 membership.
The process for setting NCAA basketball lines is like other pro or college sports. Essentially, casinos and bookmakers try to set a line that balances the dollars being wagered on each side, so the casino has no principal risk. After the opening line is set, the line will then fluctuate as money comes in on either side of the bet.
For example, a line may open with Virginia as a -5 favorite versus North Carolina. But if the public feels that North Carolina has a great chance to cover the spread (or even win the game outright), a majority of the money might come in at North Carolina +5 and balance out the line. Then, the bookie would adjust the line down, e.g., Virginia -4.5 or -4, to balance out the money totals.
Since betting is regulated at the state level, each bookie in each state has a different liability for each game. In Nevada, there may be less money coming in on the Villanova side of a game, so Villanova will not be as heavy a favorite, where Nova fans could push the line in a different direction than in states like Nevada or Indiana.
The second-half lines are typically set as part of the in-game betting offering. The line will be a stand-alone number for the second-half scoring, regardless of the final total score. A team may be trailing 42-28 at halftime. They outscore their opponent 36-30 in the second half to “win” the second half betting line but lose the game 72-65.
Villanova has won three (1987, 2016, 2018), and LaSalle has won one (1954).
