NBA Betting Vs. College Basketball Betting

Which do you prefer, NBA betting or college basketball betting? This is a tough question for many sports bettors around the world and a very interesting one. If you ask the average fan on the street this question you will probably get more people that prefer college basketball betting. If you ask the wiseguys you will probably get an NBA betting answer. And if you ask the sportsbooks you probably won't get an answer at all.

Let's take a look at the major differences between NBA betting and college basketball betting, both from a player's and a sportsbook's perspective. From the player's point of view, NBA and college basketball betting are two entirely different animals. The NBA has a small number of teams, but a long, drawn out season. College basketball has a huge number of teams, and a much shorter season. College basketball also has March Madness, but that is a topic all of its own. Sports bettors that favor the NBA do so because of the routine, and the known betting factors. They focus on the schedule, the travel, injuries, home/away statistics, etc. The bettors that prefer college basketball focus more on rivalries, revenge, and motivational factors. Bettors that focus on the NBA very often will not dabble too much in the college game, and vice versa. This is really more common than in football where bettors play the pros and colleges equally. Basketball is different in that sports bettors really concentrate on one or the other. Another difference between NBA and college hoops is that the schedule of games is vastly different. The NBA has at most 13 or 14 games in a night, and mainly has 8 or 9 games each night. College basketball has an average of 20-30 games per night and on Wednesdays and Saturdays routinely has well over 50. That is a huge difference. Compare this in a small way to pro football versus college football, but take it to a much larger scale. The colleges have a huge Saturday while the NFL has a regular Sunday slate. This happens in basketball three or four times a week.

We have looked at the perspective of the sports bettor when it comes to NBA and college basketball betting, but what about the view from the other side of the counter? Sportsbooks have a mixed reaction to basketball. They like NBA sides; hate NBA totals, like college basketball big conferences, hate the smaller ones. The reason for the dislike of NBA totals comes down to the incompetence of line services that provide sportsbooks with their numbers. Wiseguys have better numbers for NBA totals than do the books, so, sportsbooks usually lose on totals. NBA sides are much easier to handle since there is less movement, and books like that. In college hoops the bookmakers prefer the well-known conferences like the Big 10 and Big 12 to conferences like the Ohio Valley or Horizon League. Conferences that the public follows are also easier to follow for the books. Lesser-known conferences get limited action, and that action is very often one sided.

When it comes to NBA betting versus college basketball betting it is all a matter of choice. Some players prefer the stability of the NBA, while others like the variety of college basketball. We know that bookmakers only care about one thing, and that is winning. Neither NBA or college basketball makes or breaks their year, but both are integral parts of the overall picture.