College Basketball Odds: NCAAB Betting Lines, Spreads and Totals

A moneyline bet is the simplest wager you can make on any sport, including college basketball. A moneyline bet is a wager on a team to win. Moneyline odds factor in each team’s skill, past performance, coaching, injuries, and more to offer balanced potential payouts. Betting the underdog has a higher upside but is less likely to succeed. Wagers on the favored team are likelier to win but pay less overall. See our moneyline calculator for more information.

The plus (+) indicates an underdog. The minus (-) is a favorite. The figures indicate the amount you would have to wager to win $100.

Moneyline Examples:

• UConn -550
• UCLA +120
• Marquette -140

In these examples, you would have to bet $550 to win $100 on UConn. You would win $120 on a $100 bet on UCLA. You would need to wager $140 to win $100 on Marquette.

When teams are mismatched, point spread betting becomes a more viable option. Spread betting gives an advantage to the underdog team in the form of added points, while the favored team gets points taken away.

Point Spread Example:

• Iowa Hawkeyes -5.5 (-112)
• Iowa State Cyclones +5.5 (-108)

In this example, Iowa is expected to win by more than 5 points. A bet on the Iowa point spread would win if the Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones by six points or more. In other words, subtract 5.5 from Iowa’s final point total, and the bet wins if they still have a higher score than the Cyclones. On the other hand, Iowa State can win outright or lose by fewer than 5.5 points to cover the spread and win the bet.

Totals bets are also called “Over/Under” bets. In totals betting, it doesn’t matter which team wins. Instead, you’re looking for both teams to combine for more or less than a set number of points.

Totals Example:

• Indiana vs. Rutgers
• Over 115.5 (-115)
• Under 115.5 (-105)

In this scenario, the “Over” hits if Indiana and Rutgers combine for 116 points or more. A final score of 65-60 would total 125, which handily beats the “Over” threshold. Conversely, a final score of 58-50 would total 108, which means the “Under” wins. Note that it doesn’t matter which team scored which points. The final total is all that matters.

Futures bets are placed on outcomes beyond that day’s events. Sure, moneylines and other bets are placed on future results, but actual “futures” bets are typically defined by long-term results, such as a specific team to win the championship or one player to win MVP. College basketball odds for futures betting are most common on the annual March Madness tournament. Use our futures calculator to weigh your wagers.

Futures Example:

Odds to win 2025 March Madness

• UConn: +900
• Kansas: +1000
• Duke: +1000
• Alabama: +1100
• North Carolina: +1600
• Houston: +1800
• Gonzaga: +1800

The list goes on to include dozens of additional contenders, but these bullet points are enough to capture the essence of futures betting. We pulled these odds in Sept. 2024, so the season hadn’t even begun. Predicting an outcome far in advance with so many variables is difficult, and the odds reflect that. A correct futures bet can pay out big money, but it’s usually very unlikely to hit.

Parlays combine multiple wagers into a single bet. Every bet within a parlay is called a “leg,” and each leg has to win for the parlay to pay out. For this reason, parlays are high risk and high reward. Our parlay calculator shows your payouts.

Parlay Example:

• UConn moneyline: -298
• Illinois -5: -110
• Indiana moneyline: +105
• Total odds: +422

Combining these three bets gives a larger overall potential payout, but three things need to happen for the bet to succeed. This only pays out if UConn and Indiana win while Illinois covers the 5-point spread.

Parlays can also be built with multiple bets from the same game. Same-game parlays, as they’re called, are increasingly popular among sports bettors.

There are two main categories for college basketball props: game props and player props. Game props are bets on outcomes not necessarily related to the final score of the game. For example, “Will there be overtime?” is a typical prop. Player props, meanwhile, are bets on a specific player’s performance. For example, you might see odds on a player to score 3+ three-pointers in a game.

Player props are increasingly becoming unavailable in various states, though many sportsbooks still offer them.

Live, in-play, or in-game betting are bets placed while a game is still in progress. Live betting has numerous benefits. For example, you might get an advantageous line on your team if they’re trailing in the first half. Live bets are the same as other bet types listed above, but they’re placed during a game instead of before it.