Smart Wagering Tips for College Basketball 2021-22

Tue, Nov 16, 2021
by CapperTek

By Doug Upstone of Doc’s Sports

As we embark on a brand new college basketball season, it’s time for a refresher on elements that can make you more profits for this upcoming season. These are in no particular order.

1)   Where you need to start is knowing the number of returning starters for each team, especially if the point guard and or a talented big man is back. Why this matters is because every successful club has a floor general who is directing the team. Additionally, having a reliable scorer in the paint or an intimidator and shot blocker on defense sets up the offense.

2)   After the success of Kentucky and Duke in particular, in bringing in freshmen who have NBA talent, that revolutionized the sport and they were immediate Final Four contenders. However, since, those programs have slipped from their lofty status as the competition began looking at player development and keeping a player for two or three years and expanding his talents. Over three years, if a program can put together a good mixture of seniors to freshmen and are not dependent on first-year players almost exclusively, this is proving to be a more successful way to win and make a deeper tournament run. Do your research for college basketball picks and identify teams on the rise with experience, they are more reliable.

3)   The early part of any college basketball season is treacherous from a wagering perspective. Most of the televised games involve Top 25 teams, which is what many people want to bet on. Because of so many changes to rosters on an annual basis due to graduations, the transfer portal and incoming freshmen, half the teams selected for the Top 25 are based on speculation, not results. To start, it is better to watch games and learn about the teams and determine who has come together quickly and who hasn’t. You can save a lot of money against the betting odds by taking a disciplined approach of being selective. And if you don’t really like betting on college basketball until conference play, then don’t make coin flip bets until you are willing to be committed to winning.

4)   Situational handicapping and scheduling are very important. In the last few years, teams like Gonzaga and Michigan State come to mind of having teams that were over-scheduled in Nov.-Dec. In Gonzaga’s case, coach Mark Few was trying to build his team’s resume, because once the West Coast Conference started, his club would have fewer opportunities. They ended up playing too many tough opponents in a short window that involved NBA-like travel and failed to cover many spreads. Tom Izzo had a similar experience with the Spartans recently.

Every team will have a conference slate where they have to play four times in eight or nine days. Depending on how difficult those games were that could make those tired clubs Play Against material at the end of this stretch, particularly so if on the road.

Conversely, these squads will have a window where they play a game and be off for eight or nine days. This can be a fresher and the coaching staff can revisit many of the fundamentals and these teams could string together two, three or more outstanding efforts and beat spreads.

Consider all these tips when looking to put together a stellar college hoops season.

Doug Upstone of Doc’s Sports has - 23 Documented No. 1 Titles - 96 Documented Top 10 Finishes - 27 Handicapper of the Month Awards. (Latest: MLB Oct. 2021) Doug as a professional handicapper/writer has written for various well-known sports betting websites and several football newsletters.