Submitted by rsteel on
After missing out on the tournament last year it will be nice to have it back under slightly different than normal conditions.
Obviously filling out a bracket is a different beast than handicapping individual games of the tournament with point spreads. Next week’s grapevine I will help you with your bracket this week we will deal with the spreads.
1) Forget about the conference tournaments underway. March madness is a different beast. There is no carryover of momentum for teams that performed well in those tournaments. In fact some coaches could care less about those tournaments and focus on getting their teams ready for the big dance.
2) March madness games are held this year in one general area. Neutral court no travel no family friends biased crowds. Assign no points value for the venue.
3) Free throw shooting is what wins and covers spreads. Look for teams that have a decided advantage in free throw shooting %.
4) In all sports defense wins championships. Look for underdogs who play great defense going up against a flashy offensive team. The offense is what attracts the public money it is the defense which puts money in your pocket.
Teams that were overvalued or undervalued heading into the tournament tend to stay that way. Do not get caught up in the hype about seeding’s. We are sports bettors our concern is the point spreads. The public bets March Madness usually after never having bet a college basketball game all season. The public will gravitate towards favorites, big name schools and overs.
Also refer back to my grapevine of November 22nd 2020 about NCAAB betting basics. Many of those concepts still important as you handicap the games for the tournaments.
Let the MADNESS begin! MLB regular season just a few weeks away.