NCAA Basketball Betting with FanDuel: A Comprehensive Guide

March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for college basketball fans, with the men's and women's national tournaments taking place. College basketball offers more betting opportunities than almost any other sport. Whether you're a seasoned bettor or a first-timer, understanding the ins and outs of NCAA basketball betting can enhance your enjoyment and potentially lead to profitable outcomes. This guide explains the various bet types, offers tips for success, and highlights key differences between men's and women's college basketball tournaments.

Understanding NCAA Basketball Tournaments

The two tournaments may follow the same general format, but they aren't carbon copies. Here are the differences between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments.

Men's vs. Women's College Tournament Differences

If you switch between a men's and women's college basketball tournament game, you'll notice how the games are structured.

Game Structure

Both games still consist of 40 total minutes of game action, but the men's and women's tournaments have different ways of getting there.

The women's tournament uses the 4-quarter system most associated with basketball worldwide. Each quarter is 10 minutes long. There are media timeouts at the first dead-ball under the 5-minute mark of each quarter, and right after the 1st and 3rd quarters.

Men's college basketball still uses the half system. There are two 20-minute halves, with media timeouts following the first dead-ball after 16, 12, 8, and 4-minute marks.

Fouls and Free Throws

Because the women's side uses quarters and the men's side uses halves, they have different rules relating to fouls.

On the women's side, teams are allowed four team fouls before the opposing team enters the bonus. From the fifth team foul of the quarter onward, the team that got fouled will shoot two free throws even on non-shooting fouls. Team foul counts reset to zero at the beginning of each quarter.

The men's side is a bit more complicated. At the seventh foul of the half, the opposing team will enter the bonus. But the standard bonus in men's college basketball is only a one-and-one; for non-shooting fouls, the opposing team will have to make the first free throw to be awarded a try at a second free throw. This continues until the 10th team foul of the half, at which point the opposing team enters the double bonus where they attempt two free throws like the women's standard bonus. Team foul counts reset to zero at the beginning of the second half.

Minor Rule Changes

The men's and women's tournaments both follow standard basketball protocol, with two notable differences aside from the game format and foul rules.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

You likely won't notice it on TV, but the women's tournament uses a slightly smaller ball than the men's. Both are smaller than the standard NBA basketball.

In terms of rules, the biggest difference to be aware of is the lack of a 10-second violation in the women's game. For the men, teams only have 10 seconds to cross the ball past half-court at the change of a possession, beginning the second the ball is possessed in the backcourt by the offense. If the offense is unable to get the ball past half-court in 10 seconds, the other team takes possession of the ball.

That is not present in the women's tournament. Teams can use as much time as they want to cross half-court.

Host Sites

Something that you'll notice on the brackets themselves are the host site names. Where games are played differs quite a bit between the men's and women's sides. For the women, the first two rounds are hosted by the four highest-seeded teams in each region. So, the 1, 8, 9, and 16 seeds will play their first and second round games at the home site of the 1 seed. The 2 seed will host the 7, 10, and 15 seeds. The 3 seed will host the 6, 11, and 14 seeds. The 4 seed will host the 5, 12, and 13 seeds. Then, round of 16 and round of 8 games are split into two sites.

For the men's tournament, first and second round games are played at pre-determined sites. Then, each region heads to a separate site for the Round of 16 and Round of 8.

NET Rankings Explained

The NCAA started publishing its NET Rankings for men's college basketball teams in December and will update them daily until Selection Day on March 16th.

What is a NET Ranking?

The NET Ranking System is used by the NCAA to evaluate the quality of college basketball teams and rank them based on a number of factors.

How are NET Rankings Determined?

The exact algorithm for NET Rankings is not public knowledge. Although, we do know (from information published by the NCAA) that the NET algorithm includes two components: Team Value Index (TVI) and Adjusted Net Efficiency Rating. Team Value Index favors teams who beat quality opponents, especially when playing on the road.

Adjusted Net Efficiency is net points per 100 possessions, adjusted to consider the strength of the opponent and the game location (home, away, neutral).

It's also worth noting that all games carry the same weight. Therefore, a game played at the beginning of the season is "worth" the same as a game at the end of the season.

What's the Point of NET Rankings?

The purpose of NET Rankings is to sort teams into the four quadrants, which the NCAAB Selection Committee uses when choosing selections and seeding.

What is the Quadrant System?

The quadrant system is organized based on game location and the opponent's NET ranking. Quad 1 is the highest quality of games, while Quad 4 is the lowest quality.

Each Quadrant Explained:

Quad 1: Home games against a team ranked No. 1-30 in the NET, neutral site games against No. 1-50, and away games against No. 1-75.
Quad 2: Home games against a team ranked No. 31-75, neutral games against No. 51-100, and away games against No. 76-135.
Quad 3: Home games against teams ranked No. 76-160, neutral games against No. 101-200, and away games against No. 135-240.
Quad 4: Home games against a team ranked No. 161-353, neutral games against No. 201-353, and away games against No. 241-353.

How Do NET Rankings Affect March Madness?

NET Rankings are just one of the metrics the Selection Committee uses to determine the 68-team March Madness field - but it is a main factor.

When Did NCAA Start Using NET Rankings?

NET Rankings replaced Ratings Power Index (RPI) by the NCAA back in 2018. Therefore, 2025 will be the seventh season using the NET Rankings System. Since its adoption, the system has evolved slightly. For example, in 2020, it was "simplified" from a five-component metric to the two-component metric that we know today.

Types of NCAA Basketball Bets

Betting on NCAA basketball can be a little intimidating for first-timers. Between all of the sportsbook bonuses, there are many ways to get your NCAA basketball betting journey off to a good start. Before diving in, it's crucial to understand the different types of bets available. Here's a breakdown of the most common options:

Moneyline Bets

This is the most straightforward bet. An NCAA moneyline bet is simply a bet on a team to win the game. The bigger the underdog, the more you would collect if they win, but if a team is a huge favorite, you will only get a fraction of your wager back in profit. Moneyline bets are best used for underdogs that you believe can win, or games that are fairly close in odds.

For example, if Marquette (-200) and Murray State (+165) are playing a hypothetical game, Marquette is the favorite. So if you were to bet $100 on Marquette to win, your return would be $150. This includes your original $100 bet plus $50 of winnings. If you were to bet on Murray State, the underdog, your returns would be $265: your $100 bet plus $165 in winnings.

Point Spread Bets

Wagering on the point spread is the most popular form of betting on basketball. It is essentially a form of handicap betting. You are betting on a team to win by a certain number of points determined by the sportsbook in order to make the game even.

For example, Villanova is a 5.5-point favorite in their match-up with St. Mary’s. To win your bet on Villanova, the Wildcats would have to win by 6 or more. The half-point is included so there are no ties. Villanova will either win by 6 or more or they won’t. If the spread was 5, the bet would be a push if Villanova ended up winning by exactly 5. If you bet on St. Mary’s +5.5, the Gaels would have to outright win, or lose by less than 6.

Typical odds on spread bets are between -105 and -120, but the standard is -110. This is referred to as “the juice” on the lines resulting in you having to wager $105-$120 to earn $100 profit.

Totals (Over/Under) Bets

A total wager is a bet placed on the combined score of both teams. Sportsbooks will offer a total number and you are betting on the total score to either be over that number, or under that number.

For example, the game between Belmont and Temple has an O/U line of 155.5. If the final score is 80-75, resulting in a total score of 155 between the two teams, the under bet would win. But if the score is 81-75, resulting in 156 points total, the over bet would win.

Similar to spread betting, there are typical odds of -105 through -120, resulting in the sportsbook taking “juice.” Also, it is recommended to shop around as different mobile sportsbooks will offer more friendly O/U lines and sometimes less juice on the bets.

Futures Betting

Future bets are a form of prop bet where you are wagering on who will win the championship. For NCAA basketball, both conference and national championship odds are usually available for most teams. Depending on who the favorites to win are, you will get different odds. If you believe that Duke has a good shot to win the NCAA championship, you can bet on that outcome at any time before the NCAA Tournament.

For example, Duke has +1300 odds to win the championship. This would mean that on a $100 bet, you would receive a $1400 total payout ($100 bet back + $1300 in winnings). If you are a fan of Gonzaga winning it all, your $100 bet will earn you a $950 payout with Gonzaga’s odds of +850.

As the season progresses, the odds will change as teams win and lose. With some of the teams offering a payout of over 5000/1 to win it all, futures bets can be a fun way to place bets on a few longshots and really root for the underdog.

Half Betting

If you don’t want to wait for the full game to be played, or think a team is a better 2nd half team and want to bet on one half of the game, there is the option on most sites and sportsbooks to break an NCAA game into two. All of the previous betting options are available to bet on including half moneyline, point spread and totals.

When betting on the second half of a game, it’s like resetting all stats from the first half. For example, if you bet on Temple first half moneyline, and they are winning 36-25 at the half, you would win the bet. However, if you bet on Temple second half moneyline, and Temple wins the game 70-65, you would lose the second half moneyline because Temple scored 34, and Belmont scored 40 in the second half.

Prop Betting

This is where sports betting gets really fun. Prop betting is anything outside of the normal betting markets. Each site or sportsbook will offer different “prop” bets. A few examples of popular NCAA Tournament prop bets are:

A certain player to score X amount of points
First team to score
What # seed will win the tournament?
Number of #1 seeds in the final four
Alternate lines or winning margins
Certain players to win awards
When teams will be eliminated

There are no limits to what different prop bets will be offered. Online sportsbooks will offer more prop betting options, so be sure to shop around to find the right prop bet for you. Many states do not allow prop betting on college basketball, so be sure to check to see if the sportsbooks in your state offer college props.

Parlay Betting

Parlays are bets that combine two or more point spread, total, or moneyline bets onto one betslip. To win the parlay, all bets on the parlay bet must win. With the higher risk, comes higher rewards.

For example, most sportsbooks offer odds of +260 on two-team parlays. This means that if you bet $55 on Belmont spread at -110 and $55 North Carolina spread at -110 separately your total profit on the two bets would $100 for a total return of $210. If you were to place a $110 bet on the two same games in a parlay, this would increase the odds to +260, netting a $286 profit. You would earn a higher payout on the same total bet, but only if both win. You would get no return if only one or both lose.

The more games you add to a parlay, the more the odds increase. With the bigger odds increase comes more risk that something could go wrong.

Same Game Parlay

A same game parlay (SGP) lets you combine multiple bets from the same matchup into one ticket for a bigger potential payout. Instead of betting separately on, say, the point spread, the total, and a player prop, you bundle them together. For example: Duke -4.5, Over 142.5 points, and your team’s leading scorer to go Over 15.5 points. Because every leg adds risk, sportsbooks offer higher odds than you’d get betting each market on its own. SGPs are popular for televised or rivalry games and for tailoring a bet to how you think the game will play out (fast-paced shootout vs. defensive grinder).

Teaser Bets

A teaser is a type of parlay in which a bettor can adjust the spread for all of the games involved by a certain amount of points. Like with a normal parlay, each leg must be a winner in order for the overall teaser to cash. Of course, the payout will be less than a standard parlay since a bettor is increasing the likelihood of its success by adjusting the spreads.

In a 3-team, 6-point college basketball teaser, you can tease each leg 6 points in either direction. You could move Florida -7 vs Wichita State spread to Florida -1, an Iowa -2 vs Texas spread to Iowa +4, and a USC +3 vs Virginia spread to USC +9.

Tips for First-Time NCAA Basketball Bettors

Shop around for best odds, lines and sign up bonuses or promotions
Bet with your head, not your heart
Bet within your bankroll
Check out RotoGrinders’ extensive NCAA basketball coverage

General Strategies

Take advantage of early-season odds. It is tough-impossible even-for oddsmakers to be sharp on every team in the early stages of a season.
Hammer the home team. In general there is a bigger home-court advantage in college basketball than there is in the NBA-and sometimes the odds don’t reflect it.
Pay attention to advanced metrics. Focus on advanced metrics throughout the season and especially during the month of March.
Fade the public in big games and when the most popular teams are playing. Value can often be found in opponents that are not as well known.

tags: #NCAA #basketball #FanDuel #explained

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