College basketball is one of the most entertaining sports, mainly because of the unique environments and parity with the amount of upsets throughout the season. The matchups are sometimes cyclical based on conference versus non-conference opponents.
Here are some of the top things to know for NCAAB picks.
Understanding NCAAB Matchups
Common matchups can be tricky to understand. Due to the nature of college basketball revolving around the development of teenagers as they grow into young men, coaching matchups do matter. Looking at head-to-head records is one piece to consider when determining which NCAAB odds to bet on.
But it is simply one data point. Conference matchups should be taken into two- or three-year sample sizes, especially at smaller conferences where players are unlikely to go straight to the NBA and only the elite players look to transfer to a different school. Due to a limited number of scholarships, those rosters are likely to stay relatively the same. Recruiting has changed at the more prominent schools like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. While they attract the top talent in the country, several top players will likely be leaving to play professionally.
Non-conference games will sometimes be called “buy games” because a far inferior opponent will go and play a school from a Power Five conference. Often that means there will be no moneyline, and there is only a spread or over/under to bet on.
When looking at those low- or mid-major teams, an upset could be brewing if there is an experienced roster, especially a team that did really well in conference the year prior. Those teams typically go deeper into the postseason due to chemistry and will often pull off upsets early in the year that will get them on the selection committee’s radar.
Hopefully, this is useful for finding key data points and ones to take lightly with the changing landscape of NCAAB as matchups are reviewed going forward.
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