Betting Systems - March Madness Part I

March is a time for winter to exit and spring to enter. It is when baseball season starts its spring training. It is also a time for some madness, specifically college basketball madness. The beginning of the month is marked by the different college basketball conferences to hold its end of the season tournaments; the winners of these tournaments also get an automatic bid into the big dance (NCAA tournament). Specifically, the NCAA tournament consists of 65 teams who compete in an elimination type tournament whereby there are 4 regions (West, East, South, and Midwest). There are consequently 4 different sets of seeding within the four regions. Below and in subsequent articles are suggestions as to how and why to bet on certain teams. Oddsmakers heavily scrutinize March madness, similar to other high interest games. The lines that are released by oddsmakers are usually very sharp and one should be wary to bet with the public during this time of year.

There are certain factors to consider in choosing which side to bet on during the tournament. The biggest factor is the shooting percentage angle. This angle also selects the eventual winner of the entire tournament. It states that in the championship game, the team with the higher shooting percentage will win such a game. In determining and playing futures bet, one should select a team that has one of the highest shooting percentage averages and is also a top-seeded team (#1-3)—such teams have a great chance of advancing deeper into the later rounds. The rationale behind playing on such teams is simple: since defenses became better as the tournament progresses, teams that have a good outside shot are better adept to win the close games. Teams who also have a strong inside presence also will have a better time than those teams who do not. Teams with big men who can dunk the ball will score with ease, and as such will win more games than not (similar to the NBA).
In closing, March madness is a great time to bet on college basketball. It is a tournament that consists of 65 teams (1 play-in game) and is an elimination type tournament whereby a team wins and advances or looses and goes home.