March Madness should be getting all sports bettors revved up to win some extra money!
Cabin-fevered college basketball enthusiasts and avid sports bettors will get to watch the competition play out this year over the course of 67 exhilarating games. Bettors and punters will certainly have their pick of some great moneylines, prop bets, futures, and totals for this year’s tournament.
It’s hard to believe that March Madness has been played annually for over 80 years now! Since 1939, this event has been a raptly anticipated tradition for adoring fans. Assembling complex tournament brackets and wagering on the March Madness office pool are annual rituals that are deeply embedded into the fabric of American culture. Staking some money on this single-elimination tournament is a staple for US sports bettors far and wide!
We have some great tips to take your March Madness betting game to the next level. Discover five amazing sportsbooks where you will get the best NCAA basketball odds and competitive bonuses to build your bankroll!
Betting on March Madness
There are a multitude of sports betting genres to keep the average March Madness bettor busy for the entire month! These are some of the most common and popular wagers that are typically made every year on college basketball.
NCAAB Prop Bets
These are wagers that deal with occurrences and non-occurrences that transpire throughout the course of the game and have nothing to do with the outcome or who wins.
These proposition bets can take the form of:
- “Which team will win the tip?”
- “Which team scores 10 pts first?”
Proposition wagers can delve into more specifics of each team or of individual players. These can involve the over/under for a team’s expected performance or the number of rebounds or assists that XYZ player will get during the game.
Futures Bets
This is the wager most people think about when they think of betting on March Madness. This bet is for who will win the National Championship. This proves to be a difficult one, but the winner is handsomely paid for their ESP.
Some futures bets cover other realms of the tournament besides the outright winner. Winners of the Final Four or Elite 8 tend to be the subject of futures betting as well.
Live Betting
Live betting is the most effective vehicle for wagering on the March Madness Tournament when a bettor is swamped with viewing multiple games at once.
Live betting has recently been a huge coup for real money March Madness wagering by allowing bettors to keep up with the tournament action like never before!
Moneylines
Moneylines are wagers that are placed on the outright winner of each game. All they need to do is correctly pick the winner of that game.
Point Spreads
These are the handicaps between both teams. They’re designed to even the playing field by ensuring each team has an almost even chance of winning. This is actually the most popular form of sports betting.
Beginner Betting Tips
Welcome to the world of real money March Madness betting! If you’re not sure how or where to begin your journey, we have some solid beginner betting tips to get you pointed in the right direction.
Set a Budget and Stick to It
First things first, do not get in over your head. Set aside an amount of money that you are comfortable with losing and use that as your budget. Never go beyond those limits! The last thing you want is to lose more money than you anticipated.
Look for March Madness Bonuses
Look for some free money cash bonuses being offered at March Madness online sportsbooks! Players can use match bonuses to build their bankrolls with free money for the price of meeting a deposit requirement. Our top-rated sportsbook, BetUS, is offering a 125% bonus up to $3,125! Take advantage of these offers to bulk up your bankroll.
Join Free Brackets
There is absolutely nothing to lose when your entry fee is $0! And there is no risk from your end whatsoever. There are plenty of free bracket tournaments to be discovered online at college basketball sportsbooks. Sites like BetUS offer an assortment of brackets that include some insane prizes like $10,000 for filling out a perfect eight-team or 16-team bracket!
Spread Out Your Bets
This is one of the pillars of successful sports betting. Spread your bets across the board on quality games where there is a better chance to win! You don’t want to have your money riding on one big game, but you also don’t want to bet every game down the line. The former puts you in a position of high risk and the potential to lose big! The latter may come with many small victories, but large losses, giving players a sensation of winning while becoming unprofitable.
Find Value in Smaller Games
While it’s important to spread your bets, make sure you’re wagering on games that have value. With these games, bettors can keep their accounts profitable. Although there are 67 tournament games, it doesn’t mean each one is worth your time.
Look for betting lines that are way off from what you would expect because this is where you’ll find opportunity! Larger shifts can occur during smaller, low-profile games. This can prove to be lucrative for punters because it takes less money to bet on these games. Strike when the iron is hot!
Look at More Than the Team’s Record
A team’s overall record does not provide you with the big picture. What matters is how a team is performing as they enter the tournament. Teams with a strong record early in the season can fizzle out going into March Madness.
Expert Betting Tips
Maybe this isn’t your first rodeo. You have been betting March Madness for years and are looking for a refresher’s guide or some new tips with a bit more meat to it. Here are some tidbits that are geared toward March Madness veterans.
Do Not Psych Yourself Out
Yes, March Madness games carry higher stakes than regular season games. At the end of the day, these are all college basketball games so there’s no need to lose your confidence or edge. Stick with the betting strategies that have worked for you throughout the regular season and move forward in faith.
Map Out Your Strategy Before the Lines Drop
Seasoned professionals know to have their next few moves already planned in advanced. Good bettors form an idea of the game’s outcome and can picture where the line will be based on each potential outcome. Having your research done in advance allows you to hit the ground running when sportsbooks put out lines. You may just be the first to spot large opportunities before anyone else!
Study Past Performances
Nothing is more telling of a baller than how they perform when their back is against the wall. Some of the greatest moments of basketball have occurred when players rose to the occasion or kept their cool in a moment of uncertainty. Take a look at these moments from the regular season to get a sense of how certain players will perform in the tournament. You will be able to spot patterns and habits of behavior. History is known to repeat itself!
See how they respond and function when playing somewhere far from home, a place where they could be disliked intensely. Even when the animosity in the air is thick, the best players can perform at the same level they do when surrounded by fans. Look for these standouts!
Every Little Point Counts
Many of the tournament games are only won by a few points. Free throws can make or break a team to take it all! Teams that are able to sink free throws like no other go further than the rest. Good teams typically cover point spreads with free throws. Keep an eye on teams with strong rebounding records, as this also opens the door for more points to cover the spread!
Hedge Your Bets When Needed
Futures betting for March Madness or assembling your bracket before the tournament requires bettors to make their predictions of a winner in the early stages. This is not always easy to pull off because players are never correct in their forecast 100% of the time.
Hedging involves placing a bet against yourself in the event that your pick is not likely to win the tournament. You could recoup money from a potential loss and guarantee yourself some form of winnings.
Balanced Teams Are the Key
You will know the teams that don’t have what it takes when you see them. They are the teams that are aggressive in one realm of the game and absolutely worthless or mediocre in another.
Check Teams’ Travel Schedules
The home-court advantage phenomenon can manifest in any March Madness game just as it would during any regular season match. If a team is playing a game in a region that is not far from their home court, it will not be difficult for their fans to make the drive to catch the game.
This is not something that is typically factored into March Madness odds, so be on the lookout for each teams’ schedule because home-court advantage can rear its ugly head.
Good Teams Outperform Expectations
The best teams for March Madness betting are the ones who cover the point spread and also going beyond what the oddsmakers and sportsbooks expected. This means they are beating the teams they are expected to beat by a large margin. They are the teams that keep their cool and pull off the highly-anticipated upsets that fans look forward to.
Fade the Public
March Madness sportsbooks and gambling sites are under pressure to publish odds and betting lines to keep up with the rapid fire of 67 tournament games. There could be three or four games simultaneously playing at any given time throughout the month and, in the rush to get the information to the betting public, mistakes in data can occur.
These are the moments when eagle-eyed March Madness punters can capitalize on discrepancies and place bets against the public’s expectations. Opportunities like this can pay handsomely, but bettors need to have a keen eye to spot these kinds of errors.
Building Your Bracket
March Madness is notable for its ubiquitous bracket bet tradition. Every year, tournament brackets can be found in nearly all corporate workspaces, office pool parties, and online sports betting sites all across the country. For some, the appeal of participating is a communal aspect. But for others, it presents a fun challenge.
Bettors and punters want to see their brackets do well. This forces them to care about teams they may not necessarily think about. All games suddenly matter. Here are some tips to making a successful bracket that is sure to wow your peers.
Look for the Winner First
Fill out the bracket backwards. Instead of filling out the first round of games and attempt to map out some 60-odd more, begin your bracket with your prediction of the winner. Then, map out your Final Four and expand backwards to your Elite 8.
Later games are worth more in points, so pick your winner and top four carefully. Players still stand a great chance to win some big cash if they guessed at least one of these correctly, regardless of their accuracy for the lower half of the bracket.
Check Multiple Sportsbook Lines
This is a sure-fire method to find upsets throughout the tournament. Sportsbooks don’t create their lines based on each team’s record. Use any discrepancies to your advantage.
Examine Each Game Individually
Don’t get super aggressive with picking out underdogs and upsets. While they are inevitable, they do not statistically happen as often as players imagine or wish. We encourage punters to look for opportunities, but don’t let the search for every possible upset impede on the quality of your bracket.
Review Matchups From Previous Years
Take a look at matchups between teams from prior years. Often times, these teams have already competed against each other before! This could be a clear indicator of what to expect when two teams duke it out once again. Understandably, the condition or quality of each team can change over a season. Keep these in mind as you place your wagers as well.
Find Teams Shooting Three-Pointers
March Madness championship teams have nearly always been shooting three-pointers above the league average. Your best bet to a winning bracket is to have at least a Final Four or an Elite 8 comprised of three ball proficients!
- 8% of tournament championships were won by a #1 seed team.
- The Atlantic Coast Conference has won the most NCAAB March Madness Championships with 16.
- 84% of teams that experienced an undefeated season end up winning the NCAAB tournament.
- Only once has a #1 seed lost the first round.
- #5 seed teams never win the NCAAB tournament.
- 1% of teams with only one loss make the Final Four.
- Duke is the Upset King of a #1 team with nine.
Best March Madness Betting Sites
|
Rank
|
Betting Site
|
Bonus | Bet Now |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
BetUS
|
100% up to $2,500 | Go to Site |
| 2 | 
MyBookie
|
50% up to $1,000 | Go to Site |
| 3 | 
BetNow
|
100% up to $1,000 | Go to Site |
| 4 | 
Bovada
|
50% up to $250 | Go to Site |
| 5 | 
BetOnline
|
50% up to $1,000 | Go to Site |
Why Use These Sites to Bet on March Madness?
Our top-rated March Madness online betting sites offer avid basketball bettors all the amenities of a VIP and every resource possible to create hefty payouts during this year’s tournament. These March Madness gambling apps hit all the marks for excellence in game coverage, competitive bonuses, and diversity of betting lines!
Wide Coverage
Savvy bettors know to search thoroughly, turning over every stone in the hunt for good value before placing wagers. There are 67 games in this year’s tournament for Division 1, including all play-in games. Our recommended March Madness betting sites offer players the ability to place bets on every single one of those games! There’s no telling where value will be found in amongst the betting lines, so our favorite sites allow you to check them all out!
Unique Bets for All 67 Games
Our favorite March Madness sportsbooks give players a large array of bet types to choose from!
- Spread Bets: Choosing a team that will perform better than expected
- Moneylines: Picking the winner of any single game
- Futures: Predicting the overall tournament winner
- Props: Predictions on occurrences or nonoccurrences throughout the season
Big Bonuses
Bonuses at March Madness betting sites allow players to build up their accounts with free money! Yes, free money. The larger the bankroll, the larger the potential for players to pursue bigger wagering opportunities while betting on 2021 March Madness!
- BetUS: 125% up to $3,125
- MyBookie: 50% up to $1,000
- BetNow: 100% up to $1,000
- Bovada: 50% up to $250
- BetOnline: 50% up to $1,000
Top-Notch Service
Players now have access to March Madness online sportsbooks’ customer service and support centers 24/7! Representatives are always available to address any questions, needs, or concerns via email or a phone call. Most betting sites for March Madness come equipped with a live chat feature where customers can talk to a support agent directly.
March Madness: Complete 2021 Schedule
You can catch all the March Madness mania on TBS, CBS, truTV, and TNT. You can also view all 67 games at the March Madness Live digital platform. All are made available by CBS Sports and Turner Sports.
| EVENT | TIME AND DATE |
| Selection Sunday | 6 p.m. EST March 14 |
| First Four (4 games) |
4 p.m. EST March 18 |
| First Round (32 games) |
12 p.m. EST March 19 12 p.m. EST March 20 |
| Second round (16 games) |
12 p.m. EST March 21 12 p.m. EST March 22 |
| Sweet 16 (8 games) |
2 p.m. EST March 27 1 p.m. EST March 28 |
| Elite Eight (4 games) |
7 p.m. EST March 29 6 p.m. EST March 30 |
| Final Four (2 games) |
5 p.m. EST April 3 |
| NCAA Championship Game | 9 p.m. EST April 5 |
March Madness FAQ
Ready to get in on all the March Madness betting action? Check out one of our favorite March Madness online sportsbooks to begin your journey!
https://www.thesportsgeek.com/blog/march-madness-2021-betting-tips/
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