Free College Basketball Underdog Picks

College basketball incites great interest and passion for sports fans. And there are plenty of games each day to satisfy fans with 353 Division I college basketball programs. It also means there are hundreds of games and betting lines to examine each week.

While that can sound overwhelming, it's one of the best sports to wager on as the oddsmakers can't keep pace with all the daily injuries and changes. It's also why you'll see dramatic line shifts, as a handful of sharp players will pounce on the weakest lines from the moment the odds are posted.

Even if you don't have deep pockets like the established Wise Guys, you can still pocket cash by identifying the best favorite, underdog, or total.

Why Use Free College Basketball Underdog Picks

The underdog will have a plus sign at the wagering window. Dogs give you two ways to win. If Kansas is a 4-point favorite over North Carolina, the Tar Heels are the underdog at +4. If you back North Carolina, you cash a winning ticket if they win the game or lose by less than 4, such as a 73-71 final.

The oddsmakers don't necessarily think the favorite is going to win the game. They put together betting numbers based on power ratings, home court, plus who the fans and the betting public think is going to win. That's an important distinction.

That's why during March Madness you see big-name schools as the favorite against smaller schools, even though that small program is very good, has an NBA-caliber star player, or matches up well. And that's why you see underdogs, even big ones, keeping games close and pulling upsets all the time.

To begin the process of approaching games from a handicapping perspective, it's a good start to stop thinking like a fan. Reading about free College basketball underdog picks from an established professional bettor each day is a great way to get you started towards thinking like a handicapper.

Betting Value in Free College Basketball Underdog Picks

With so many games on the NCAA college hoop schedule, the best way to focus on wagering value is to narrow down your handicapping to a limited group of teams, such as a couple of conferences and/or the Top 25. Successful sports betting is about searching for edges. And you do that by studying and absorbing a lot of information on teams, including stats, matchups, coaching, and situations.

I mentioned that oddsmakers set lines partly based on what they believe the public thinks about a team. That means you'll find teams that should be favored but aren't. Naturally, that provides wagering value on the underdog. Situations are also part of the value equation. If a strong squad is playing the worst team in the conference but has a showdown on deck in a battle for first place in the conference, will they play focused to blow out the bad team? Or will their interest be more about the big game on deck?

And it's not just the players but the coaches. Coaches can limit the minutes of the best players to save any wear and tear for the bigger game approaching. This means that the weak underdog can have value as the favored opponent "looks ahead".

Wunderdog Free College Basketball Underdog Picks

Unleash the dogs! The free college basketball underdog selections that I unleash are examined from multiple angles based on my personal database along with a keen eye developed over 20+ years of handicapping expertise.

In addition, I follow hourly line movement which allows me to calculate the mathematical edges at the sportsbook window. A home underdog, for instance, has edges on their side not visible in the stats, such as playing on a court they're very comfortable with along with thousands of cheering fans rooting them on.

And all my selections come with the reasons why to help you not only build your bankroll but your handicapping knowledge.

Free College Basketball Underdog Picks vs. Premium Picks

Free College Basketball Underdog Picks Pros:

• Free info from a successful betting professional
• With 353 college hoop teams, it saves you time unearthing wagering opportunities
• Insight into daily line movement

Free College Basketball Underdog Picks Cons:

• The handicapper may focus on big-name programs while ignoring small college conferences
• The reasons may be murky or nonexistent
• Sports wagering websites can hide losers and crow only about winners

Premium College Basketball Underdog Picks Pros:

• You gain "S.E.T.": Speed, Efficiency, Time
• Dogs offer value on the point spread and with moneylines
• Top plays on the betting board teaming with angles and reasons

Premium College Basketball Underdog Picks Cons:

• The extra cost eats into your betting bankroll
• Put the breaks on if a service claims, "This game can't lose!"
• Be selective and provide reasons as not every game will have wagering value

How To Win With Free College Basketball Underdog Picks

Information is the mother's milk of successful sports betting. With so many games on the college basketball card, it's essential to sift through all that information to identify the correct nuggets that will influence the outcome of the contest and the spread. Underdogs have especially potent two-sided value.

Many dogs match up well enough to cover in a close game or are capable of pulling upset. Just look back at any of the early rounds in March Madness and you'll find big underdogs playing great games against marquee programs. It's all about finding underdogs with favorable situations or matchups, then examining the betting line to see if the variance is significant enough for a play.

Free College Basketball Underdog Picks Betting Strategy

Home Underdogs

Because of the atmosphere and the age of the athletes, college basketball can find many teams playing great at home but much worse on the road. College athletes aged 18-20 don't have the maturity or confidence of NBA players, so playing on the road in a hostile environment can have a negative effect on them.

The atmosphere is wild, too, with thousands of college kids screaming for their team and against the opposition. Not all players and fans involved are even thinking about the point spread on a game, but the home/road breakdowns can significantly influence it. In one recent season, Stony Brook was 13-4 straight up at home but 5-9 SU, 4-10 ATS on the road.

Temple also had a losing road mark but was 11-3 SU/10-3 ATS at home while Fordham was 3-9 on the road but 10-4 SU/ATS at home. One of the worst teams in the Atlantic 10 that year was St. Joe's. A closer look, though, finds that the Hawks were 1-10 SU on the road, but had a winning home record. All of that can mean outstanding wagering opportunities where home underdogs are actually primed for an unexpectedly strong performance.

Look-Ahead Spots

This happens all the time in college basketball. A "cupcake" is a small program or a bad team. A strong team will be a big favorite facing a cupcake but has a huge showdown on deck against a rival, a Top 25 opponent, or one of the best teams in the conference. The game against the cupcake is referred to as a "Look-Ahead" spot in betting parlance.

The players probably aren't taking the opponent that seriously or the coach has a history in that situation of playing reserve players more while limiting the minutes of starters. The betting line is based on overall stats, so the oddsmakers are expecting the star players to play most of the game when they'll actually be playing much less. The opponent, meanwhile, can be 100% focused on trying to do all it can to measure itself against the best or to try and pull an upset that would give it national recognition.

That's a strong motivating force for a team during a losing season. They can look back and think, "We may have had an 8-18 season, but we knocked off two Top 25 opponents - and as double-digit underdogs!" Motivation and home court are two huge factors when identifying live underdogs and Look-Ahead spots.

College Moneyline Dogs

Covering the point spread is only one of several ways to cash betting tickets and increase your bankroll. Moneyline is offered on most games, which means you ignore the point spread and simply pick the winner of the game. This is the same as hockey and baseball, with a college basketball 5-point underdog also offered at around +200 on the Moneyline.

The underdog would have to pull the upset to win the game to cash on the Moneyline, but the payoff is around 2-to-1 on your wager. College favorites at that point spread win the game at roughly a 67-33% clip on average, so underdogs pulling the upset happen. The key is to pick the right underdogs in the right situations.

Home dogs are one. Another is with an underdog that is well-coached. There are plenty of coaches that have a history of getting the most out of their teams, getting them to hustle all game. Another is defense. Teams that play at a consistently high level defensively are almost always capable of keeping games close and alive to pull off an upset in the final minute.

Free College Basketball Underdog Picks Subscription

Identifying live dogs is about finding the right information before the games start. You can receive my college basketball releases on a regular basis to help add layers of insight to your sports betting game.

You can compare your dogs with ones I've unearthed, or take a second look and dig deeper with underdogs I have that you overlooked or ones we disagreed on. The initial step begins with a Free College basketball picks subscription service packed with valuable information.

You're at liberty to play alongside me, or not to wager at all but simply read the insight of a professional bettor with over two decades of winning expertise. Either way, you're much better prepared when the lines come up at no risk or cost to you.