College basketball is even more exciting when you have skin in the game.
With dozens of games every night across conferences and divisions, there is no shortage of gambling options for college basketball junkies. Plus, when the weather typically gets worse in the United States, the action heats up with conference tournaments and the marquee sports-gambling event, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
But betting on college basketball, particularly when you’re trying to craft a winning parlay, can be complicated. Here’s a guide to making it work.
What is a Parlay Bet?
A parlay bet is when a bettor combines two or more betting outcomes in a single wager. Parlay betting is beneficial for wagerers trying to enhance odds since multi-market bets are less assured than some single-bet wagers.
Parlay betting is made for events like conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament since there are around-the-clock games that are nationally televised and played at only a handful of venues, making them easier to track than regular-season games.
Combining markets is as simple as choosing multiple teams you think will win. For instance, if you think Kentucky will win its SEC Tournament opener but also believe in Texas A&M to win the second game of that session’s doubleheader, you can parlay them at longer odds and root for both to win.
Parlay betting isn’t resigned to only teams that win. If you believe Kentucky will win but aren’t sure about Texas A&M, you can combine Kentucky to win and the total number of points in the second game — either over or under — to put together a parlay you prefer.
How College Basketball Parlay Betting Works
College basketball parlay betting is the same as parlay betting for any sport. You choose multiple outcomes that you think will be successful for the wager to “hit” or pay out. If one or more outcomes fails then the whole wager fails.
There are many ways to parlay bet on college basketball. For instance, you can combine two moneyline bets — or choose two-or-more teams to win their games on a given night. You can combine moneyline with against-the-spread picks — choose one team to win and another to cover a certain number of points. You can combine a moneyline and a total, choosing a team to win and either over or under a certain number of points in a different game.
Or you can choose a Same Game Parlay, where you can combine multiple markets like the winning team, a prop bet and the game’s total number of points.
Keep in mind college prop betting isn’t allowed everywhere, and in states like New York or New Jersey you are not allowed to gamble on in-state college teams.
Best NCAA Basketball Betting Sites
Caesars Sportsbook
Caesars is one of the nation’s most well-known casinos and is evolving into one of the country’s best sportsbooks since it completed its purchase of U.K.-based William Hill in August 2021.
The sportsbook offers an array of college basketball betting markets — including games in mid-major and low-Division 1 conferences — every day and interested college basketball bettors can earn rewards at Caesars properties just by depositing and placing bets.
Caesars Online Sportsbook also provides competitive odds and has a robust customer-service infrastructure so bettors can rest easily knowing they’re dealing with one of the most reputable books in gaming.
Unibet Sportsbook
Unibet provides lines and odds for every Division 1 game on a night-in, night-out basis and allows bettors to combine outcomes across conferences.
Unibet also has an assortment of teasers for each game where fans can find the spread they prefer for all the games Unibet offers and provides up to 30 percent profit boosts on three-, four-, or five-leg parlays of a certain amount of odds.
BetMGM Sportsbook
BetMGM is a marquee sportsbook that was established online in 2018 under the brand of one of the most widely known casino companies in the world.
BetMGM online is available in more than a dozen states and provides a variety of options for college basketball bettors. They also give users a slew of promos, including free bets and odds boosts. They even lets bettors watch live streams of games directly on their website.
FanDuel Sportsbook
FanDuel is the No. 1 sportsbook in the United States and offers elite odds and a terrific app. It also is one of the most widely available apps/online sportsbooks in the nation.
FanDuel has all the games every night and was the inventor of the Same Game Parlay, which enables bettors to combine multiple outcomes in the same game. FanDuel also offers Same Game Parlay+, which lets bettors combine multiple outcomes from two-or-more games, the first app to do so.
DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings is one of the leading sportsbooks and makes it easy for college basketball bettors to parlay outcomes with a slew of player props for marquee conference games and markets for every Division 1 game.
DraftKings makes it easy for bettors to combine outcomes with easy teasers for spreads and totals, and Same Game Parlays are a cinch for most major conference regular-season, conference tournament and postseason tournament games.
BetRivers Sportsbook
BetRivers (Sugarhouse in New Jersey) features about 100 betting markets for every Division 1 college basketball game, making them one of the most robust sites around for your basketball parlays. They also offer an array of future bet options, including the NCAA champion, conference champions and even the Wooden Award winner each year.
BetRivers/Sugarhouse also provides users with easy-to-find tips and betting advice for each game, which seeks to give prospective enhanced knowledge before he or she places that parlay bet.
PointsBet Sportsbook
PointsBet has one of the best parlay sites for college basketball bettors, with the Quick Parlay feature that posts each game and the favorite’s and underdog’s moneyline odds, spread line and total and allows users to dream up a seemingly infinite-leg parlay while keeping them abreast of the ever-decreasing odds.
If you’re having trouble finding a specific game, PointsBet also provides users with a convenient search option that works better than other apps and sites.
How to Pick the best CBB Parlay Betting Site4
Picking the best parlay site for your college basketball bet can be simple. The best site includes:
- Odds: The best odds ensure the largest payout. It isn’t that complicated.
- Better lines: If you want to dream up an against-the-spread parlay, find the site with the most friendly lines for your potential bet
- Parlay insurance: Some sportsbooks will give bettors risk-free parlay bets or will reimburse parlays that lose by one single market
- Parlay boosts: Sites offer promotions like odds boosts for certain parlays. Or they’ll curate a basketball-specific or even multi-sport parlay and boost the odds for that.
NCAA Basketball Same Game Parlays
Same-Game Parlays are combining multiple markets from the same event. Same Game Parlays are perfect for major single event days, like the NCAA Championship Game or for a conference-tournament final.
Dreaming up a Same Game Parlay involving a moneyline or spread, the game total or player props like a star player’s total rebounds, assists or points is as easy as researching and tapping a few clicks.
College Basketball Betting Strategies
There are several strategies when putting together a college basketball parlay. You can combine 3-4 huge favorites to get plus-odds on a number of likely blowouts. If you have the time you can dig into the numbers and craft a perfectly researched parlay.
You can try the lottery-ticket approach, where you make a 15-leg parlay with insanely long odds — that pays out more than many winning lotto draws. Or you can just randomly put together multiple teams and hope for the best.
The best strategy is to come up with a parlay you love so you won’t be second guessing yourself. You’ll never go wrong by betting on events you love.
Benefits of Betting College Basketball Parlays
Betting college basketball parlays is fun! It’s never been easy to track or watch multiple college basketball games at a time, which makes parlay betting even more fun.
Plus, parlays enable you to get good odds on two or more events that are likely to cash in, thus boosting payouts. Winning big when your favorite team and/or alma mater wins makes betting on college hoops even more fun.
States Where You Can Bet NCAAB Parlays
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Why Choose More Than One Site
Choosing more than one site or app is integral when crafting your best college basketball parlay. Is the parlay you love odds boosted on one site? Can you get a profit boost bonus? Or are there better moneyline/spread odds that would produce a bigger payout?
If so, then that should be a major determining factor about which site to choose. It’s beneficial to sign up with each major sportsbook to cash in on new signup bonuses and also odds shop to max out the earnings on that college basketball parlay.
