In the sports world, March Madness is truly unique. After a season’s worth of games from 351 teams across 32 conferences, the 68 best men’s Division I teams clash in a three-week, 67-game tournament for the National Championship.
With so many games in such a short period, there are plenty of opportunities for bettors to wager on the tournament at March Madness betting sites. It can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re new to sports betting.
Luckily, we’ve broken down some March Madness betting options into three tiers for new and experienced bettors alike.
Beginner Bets
Futures Bet on the Tournament Winner
This is an easy bet to make, as you’re simply wagering on which team will win the tournament. Every legal U.S. sportsbook offers an NCAA Tournament futures market on the National Champion.
If your team wins it all, you win. If they fall short, you lose. It doesn’t matter who they beat or how many points they win or lose by.
Over 56 million Americans participated in a bracket contest in 2023, so you’re not the only one with an opinion on who’s going to win the tournament.
While you can place a futures bet on the champion during the tournament, it’s best to place this wager before the tournament starts. That’s when you’ll get the best odds. As teams get eliminated from the tournament, every remaining team’s odds will shorten because your chances of correctly picking the winner will improve.
The top teams in the country will have the shortest odds, but the tournament’s unpredictability makes it difficult for there to be a true favorite. Even No. 1 seeds usually have plus odds going into the tournament, providing a nice payout if you guess correctly.
If you need some ideas, here are the teams that have won the most championships in March Madness history.
Moneyline
When you bet a team to win on the moneyline, you’re betting on them to win outright regardless of the final score. If you place a moneyline bet on the winning side, you’ll win money.
Moneyline odds are based on each team’s chances of winning. If one team is a significant favorite, it will have extremely short (minus) odds on the moneyline. Conversely, the underdog would have extremely long (plus) odds.
But in a tournament like March Madness where it’s so hard to build a perfect bracket, upsets are bound to happen, which can lead to huge paydays for underdog bettors.
There’s no better example of that than No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson upsetting No. 1 seed Purdue in 2023. The Knights entered their Round of 64 matchup as +2000 underdogs at some sportsbooks but ended up beating the Boilermakers (who were -8890 moneyline favorites) by five.
While an upset of that magnitude won’t occur in every tournament, betting the moneyline can prove profitable if you have a good feeling about an underdog.
Over/Under
When you bet the total, you’re betting whether you think the two teams playing in a game will combine to score Over or Under a number of total points set by the sportsbooks.
Say Iowa is playing North Carolina State in a Round of 64 game and the total is set at 175.5. If you bet the Under, then you’re betting that the two teams will combine to score 175 or fewer points. If you bet the Over, then you’re betting they score 176 or more.
The total is based on a number of factors, including both teams’ offense, defense, pace of play and shooting numbers. Consider the profiles of both teams and their playing styles when making these wagers.
While you might be drawn to bet the Over (who doesn’t want to root for points?), Unders can be just as profitable in March Madness. Both teams are playing in a new gym, will be locked in for every defensive possession and are under enormous pressure, which could cause them to miss open shots and free throws.
Intermediate
Spread Betting
Spread betting acts as a handicap for a specific game by introducing a margin of victory. If you bet on the favorite, they must win the game by a certain number of points. If you bet on the underdog, they must either win the game outright or not lose by more than that same number of points.
The bigger the spread, the more lopsided the oddsmakers think the game is going to be. For basketball games, large spreads are usually in the double digits.
You’ll see a variety of spreads in March Madness, especially in the early rounds where low seeds face high seeds. In 2023, for example, Purdue was a 24.5-point favorite when it was upset by FDU. On the other hand, evenly matched games between No. 8 and No. 9 seeds often have spreads of only a few points.
Spread betting can provide more value when betting on favorites. Instead of taking a No. 1 team at -2000 odds on the moneyline (meaning you’d need to bet $2,000 to win $100), you could get them at -110 odds to win by 18 points (meaning you’d need to bet $110 to win $100).
Spread betting also provides more protection for underdogs, since they don’t have to win the game to cover. If they keep the game closer than expected but ultimately lose, you can still profit.
Fair warning: spread betting can lead to some bad beats. A buzzer-beater or a meaningless shot at the end of a game could swing the spread, so be prepared to ride the wave.
Player Props
Player prop bets focus solely on a player’s individual performance. You can bet whether a player will go over or under a statistical number determined by the sportsbook. The main player prop markets are points, rebounds, 3-pointers and assists.
Before you think too hard about betting on a college player prop, make sure they’re legal in the state you’re located in. Some states only allow game or team-specific props, while other states prohibit college prop wagers entirely.
Several states govern college markets differently than professional markets, partly because they’re concerned about problem gambling among youth and fan abuse towards college players.
Live Betting
While many sports bettors place their wagers before a game starts, it’s also possible to bet during the game thanks to live betting. This can be a good way to capitalize on an in-game trend or make watching a game more exciting.
The odds and markets are different and will fluctuate throughout the game, but standard bets like the moneyline, spread and total will be available for most of the game (sportsbooks usually close markets near the end of the game). Some prop bets will also be available if you’re located in a state where they’re legal.
Live betting can be used to hedge your pre-game bet if you’re no longer confident in it. You can also use a live bet to double down on the team you initially bet on if they’re playing well. Either way, you’ll have more information than you did before the game started.
Live bets can be a good way to find value on a pre-game favorite that becomes an underdog if it falls behind. Conversely, live bets can backfire if a team blows a lead or come with worse odds if a favorite takes a big lead.
Live odds will change constantly depending on the score and flow of the game, so timing your bet strategically is important. You’ll need to act quickly and decisively if you see odds you like, as they likely won’t be there for long.
Advanced
Individual Totals, Spreads and Moneylines
While standard wagers are on the full game, you can also place bets on the first and second halves specifically. For example, you can pick a team to win the first half or cover the spread in the second half.
These bets are fundamentally the same as their full-game counterparts – they’re just for a shorter period of time. They’ll also have different odds to reflect that, so an 8-point favorite on the full-game spread would be a 4-point favorite in the first half.
These bets can be tricky and more prone to chaos, as there’s less time for things to even out. An underdog might play well for a half before completely falling apart in the second half, or a team could start slow but finish strong.
You should only make one of these bets if you’ve found a stat that allows you to make the bet comfortably, like if a team has a trend of starting fast and winning the first half.
Alternate Spreads and Totals
Alternate spreads and totals allow you to set your own line if you disagree with the sportsbook. This can be a way to add value or protection to your bets.
For example, say a team is favored to win by five points, but you think they’ll win by 10. You can bet them to cover -9.5 at plus odds and make significantly more money if it comes true.
You can also use alternate lines to make your bets safer with shorter odds. Say the total is 150 points but you feel it’s a bit too high. You can take Over 145 points instead with worse odds, trading some profit for security.
Alternate lines are for more experienced bettors who think they have an edge over the sportsbook or believe the lines are off. They can also be good to include in parlays (see below).
Parlays
Parlays combine multiple bets into one wager, making them more complex than straight bets.
A parlay must include at least two bets (known as “legs”), all of which must come true for the parlay to win. If at least one leg doesn’t win, your bet loses.
That makes parlays riskier than straight bets and less likely to win. The upside is that they come with increased odds and higher payouts. You stand to win more money by combining wagers into a parlay rather than betting on them individually
There are two main types of parlays. One is a traditional parlay, which combines wagers from separate games. For example, you could choose three teams you think will win during the Round of 64 and combine their three moneyline bets into one wager.
The other type of parlay is a same-game parlay, which combines multiple wagers from the same game. Same-game parlays usually include prop bets along with a moneyline, spread or total wager.
Parlays aren’t a good long-term betting strategy because of the risk, but they can be a fun way to spice up your betting and potentially provide a big payout with a low stake.
