While at first glance the disparity doesn’t seem that big, the fact of the matter is that the bigger picture paints a much different outlook. While 46-percent success rate for favorites is awful, that leaves a 54-percent win rate for those that bet the underdog to cover. Over the long run, betting that 54-percent win rate will generate a guaranteed profit based on putting the same amount down on every wager. It may not seem like a big difference at first, but when you add up the difference between the wins and the losses on an even scale, there is a substantial amount of profit to be made. There are several trends and systems out there for betting on college ball, but this one seems to be the strongest just based on the pure numbers and ability to guarantee the profit, so it should be worth looking at on Betonline.

In the college basketball game, some people think that it happens a lot more than the NCAA wants to know or let on, although it’s something that Super Bowl betting players won’t have to worry about next weekend. The theory is that is a lot easier to get a favorite to throw a game than it is to persuade the underdog and simply put, there is more money in it that. For example, if you have a team that is favored by 16 or 17 points at home, someone will approach someone on that team (chances are, it’s a player because they’re easier to influence than a coach). If you can get the team to get onboard, or even just a player or two (players that are a major part of the team and can influence a game with poor play), there is your chance.

Of course, most of the time it is simply a matter of a team underestimating their opponents, or the underdogs simply came to play. But the thought of point shaving should always be in the back of your mind when making college basketball betting picks.

While the fact that the tournament is held in the month of March lends to its nickname for obvious reasons, the Madness part of the name comes from the chaos that ensues following the opening tipoff in the round of 64. The NCAA added four more teams to give ôWild Cardö programs the shot at competing, but with the bracket going generally as projected in that round for its first year, the Madness doesnÆt really begin until the round of 64. The field of teams is divided in to geographical regions of four, and then seeded from one through 16 based on their records and overall talent. That is when the real fun begins, as every year lower seeded teams rise to the occasion and play spoiler to provide a ton of upsets, as the madness carries through the month of March as one of the busiest times for pay head bookies looking to keep up with the chaos.

Who Needs It?

Players that use price per head bookie services will tell you that desperation is a huge motivator, and some teams may need to go far in their conference tournament to get off the bubble and earn a ticket to the Big Dance, while some teams may not need it. Look at what teams need to get in and which teams may gear down in preparation for the conference tournament.

Experience Is Key

All teams need a player or two who has the experience in a tournament setting, where you likely will have to play games on successive nights to win it all (see UConn winning five games in five nights to win last year’s Big East tournament before winning the NCAA Tournament). These older players have the focus to get their younger teammates over the hump.

Favor The Low-Scoring Games

In every sport, the action slows down in the postseason and the same holds true in the NCAA, where teams value their possessions more. Games tend to be low-scoring, especially in the first half when nerves are a factor, so remember this before you make your NCAA basketball betting picks.

The top four teams will get to take home a trophy, although most fans (and players that use price per head services) only recognize the winners, but only the winners will receive their trophy on the night that they win (the champions receive a gold trophy, the second-place get the silver National runner-up trophy, and all Final Four teams get a bronze Final Four trophy). The champions will also receive a national-championship ring, and the next day, they will also receive the Siemens/NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) trophy for winning the national title.

But the tradition that fans that aren’t even familiar with college hoops recognize is when the winning team cuts down the nets at the end of the national-title game. It began back in 1947 by North Carolina State coach Everett Case, who cut down the nets when his team won the Southern Conference.

Finally, there is the Most Outstanding Player award, which is given to the best player of the Tournament. It hasn’t been given to a member of the runners-up since Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon, so there is an excellent chance that the winner of the MOP will come from the national champions, so remember this when making your college basketball betting picks for these awards.

The NCAA Tournament is broken up into four regions of 16 teams each year, and the NCAA tries to break it up geographically, although those that use price per head bookie software know that is getting tougher as teams from all over the country are qualifying for the dance. The names are supposed to correspond to the location of the places that are holding the Tournament, and you’ll see such names as “South”, “Southeast”, “Southwest”, “East”, “Midwest” and the like. In last year’s Tournament, the regions were broken up by East (Newark, NJ), West (Anaheim, CA), Southwest (San Antonio, TX) and Southeast (New Orleans), but you shouldn’t be surprised to see other names pop up as well.

The overall mission of the selection committee is not to keep teams in their regions, but to make the regions as equal as possible in terms of competition and sometimes, that means taking teams out of a location that would be beneficial to them and their fans. For example, the 2010 Tournament features Kentucky as the top seed in the East (Syracuse), Syracuse as No.1 in the West (Salt Lake City) and Duke as the top seed in the South (Houston).

There are many factors to consider, but make sure you know your regions before making your NCAA basketball betting picks.

The first decision to be made is figuring out if there will be an entry fee for the bracket, and you should have that sorted out well before the Tournament starts; try to collect the money two weeks prior to tip-off so you can concentrate solely on the task at hand, and that is beating your friends, family and co-workers in your bracket. Those that use bookie software can tell you how much of a hassle it is to collect money.

Then you have to figure out the scoring system, and you should aim to reward players in the later rounds, especially in the Final Four and the title game, and you have an escalating scale as well. You also have to decide on whether or not you include the play-in games in your bracket. You should end out an email of each weekend’s results so everyone knows where they stand.

Now, all that is left is to figure out what teams you’re going to pick in your bracket and at college basketball betting sites.

Texas North Carolina Odds – Wednesday, 7:00 PM ET

The Longhorns (8-2 as of Friday) have lost a pair of neutral-site games against Oregon State and North Carolina State, but they did beat UCLA in their first true road game of 2011. If you’re using price per head services, you may have J’Covan Brown as a darkhorse for national Player of the Year as he’s one of the top scorers in the country, but is it enough? Texas will host Temple before heading to Chapel Hill.

The No.6 Tar Heels (8-2) have lost a neutral-site game against UNLV (even though the game was in Las Vegas) and fell by one point at Kentucky, the only team that many feel can hang with the Tar Heels, and North Carolina’s problem is defense. They can score with anyone in the country, but they don’t put the same effort into defense. Once that happens, the Tar Heels could be unbeatable.

North Carolina should be the favorites in a meeting of national powers, but if they’re not careful Texas will engage them in a shootout and we’re not sure the Tar Heels want to get into that. The ability is there to defend, but the Tar Heels to assert themselves on that end of the floor. We’re sticking with the favorites, North Carolina, in our college basketball betting picks.

Ohio State Kansas Odds – Saturday, 3:15 PM ET

The No.2 Buckeyes (8-0) have rolled through the season so far, and even though All-American center Jared Sullinger sat out their last game with back spasms, Ohio State will have their big man back on the floor and he does so much for their status among those who use pay per head services. Sullinger demands a double team and he’s a good passer out of the post, which opens up the floor for a solid supporting cast led by William Buford and Aaron Craft, but the X-factor is forward Deshaun Thomas.

The No.13 Jayhawks (6-2) have lost twice to other ranked teams, falling to Kentucky and Duke on neutral courts, but at home in “The Phog”, Kansas can play with anyone in the NCAA. Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor are the leaders of this year’s team, which isn’t as naturally talented as most Kansas teams, but they’ll provide a tough test for Ohio State.

Kansas should be slight favorites at home, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ohio State favored. The Buckeyes have lost all three of their meetings with Kansas, and this will be the first meeting in 11 years for the two powerhouses. Ohio State is poised and they won’t be rattled by the Kansas crowd, so look for them to make a statement and cover the college basketball betting spread easily.

South Carolina North Carolina Betting – Friday, 10:00 PM ET

The Gamecocks struggled to beat Mississippi Valley State, which doesn’t bode well for their chances with your price per head bookie. South Carolina is led by Malik Cooke, but he’ll need a lot of help throughout the season if the Gamecocks are going to make noise in the SEC. North Carolina will provide a stiff test of how much they need to work on before they begin the conference portion of their schedule.

The No.1 Tar Heels roll over Tennessee State in their last game, and even though we know that North Carolina can score with anyone, the key to their success this year will be defense. They allowed 42 points in the first half against Tennessee State, but North Carolina tightened the screws and held them to 27 points after halftime.

Look for the Tar Heels to be favored by at least 20 points against the Gamecocks, who fell 86-75 at North Carolina in their other meeting with the ACC giants and if they can keep this from being a blowout, they should consider it a win. If North Carolina plays defense against the Gamecocks the way they did against Tennessee State in the second half, they’ll cover the spread easily for those who bet on sports.