Betting College Basketball No-Name Teams

College basketball season can be a very profitable time for sports bettors around the world that wager with a sportsbook. With over 200 teams on the betting board we often see a bunch of no-name teams and conferences that the sportsbook does not have as good a handle on. The college basketball season is already a busy time of the year for a sportsbook with the NFL, college football, and NBA games to deal with. Sometimes college basketball teams from the lesser-known conferences can slip through the cracks with a sportsbook.

Many bookmakers and sportsbook managers have said that college basketball is difficult for them because they have to worry about so many teams. Bettors can focus on just certain conferences or teams, while a sportsbook has to deal with all of them. Some of the bookmakers at a sportsbook claim that they do a lot of research, reading, watching games, etc., but the bottom line is they don’t do enough. An informed bettor that wants to concentrate on a conference like the Missouri Valley or Horizon League is almost always going to get more information than the sportsbook. More information doesn’t guarantee victory, but it sure helps the cause.

Have you ever noticed that a sportsbook will take lower limits on the added games? Do you know the reason for this? The sportsbook takes lower limits because they know the potential to get one-sided on an added game is a greater risk than on a known conference game. That should tell the average bettor that added games are something that can be invested in with some degree of success at a sportsbook. Some bookmakers at a sportsbook have admitted that their numbers on added games are definitely weak, and therefore, they lower the limits on these games.
Because the numbers tend to be weaker for the games involving small conference teams at a sportsbook we often see much more volatile line movement. A sportsbook must be aware of which teams the professionals are betting on and they must change their lines accordingly. Many a sportsbook has said that college basketball is difficult for them until March Madness arrives because they don’t get enough public money. During March Madness the public comes out in droves and that always is good news for the sportsbook.

The other big factor when it comes to betting these no-name teams at a sportsbook is timing. By the time college basketball conference tournaments and March Madness rolls around the sportsbook has a much better handle on the teams and power ratings have pretty much settled. If you are looking at betting these lesser conference games, then doing so early in the season is definitely a good idea.