How to Bet on the 2022 March Madness Tournament

By Hank Blaine • February 16, 2022

Now that the Super Bowl is in the books, it’s time to turn our attention to the second most important betting event of the year, the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament. Also called March Madness, the tournament takes place after conference throw downs, which is why in our How to Bet 2022 March Madness blog, we discuss the best way to make money from conference tourneys before moving to the Big Dance. Check out how to bet March Madness.

2022 March Madness Betting Tips

#BracketPreview ?

The Selection Committee will release its top 16 overall seeds Saturday at 12:30pm ET on CBS. ? pic.twitter.com/KBHZtiFh1y
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 14, 2022

1. Take the points during conference tournaments

Conference tournaments happen after the regular season, which means teams have faced their opponents at least twice already. Familiarity gives underdogs a shot against the spread. Not only that, but dogs always seem to end up playing in conference tournament semifinals. So when handicapping the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, Big East, and ACC tournaments, start by leaning towards taking points on dogs.

2. Make underdog moneyline plays in the first two rounds of the tournament

Once the actual NCAA Tournament starts, it makes sense to back underdogs to win straight up. Plenty of quality, high-ranked teams head into the NCAA Tournament not playing their best basketball.

In addition, the Selection Committee loves to test some teams early. So the committee will place a high-seeded squad against a dog that matches up well with them. By the time the Sweet 16 begins, underdogs don’t stand much chance of beating their higher-ranked opponents. It happens. But it doesn’t happen a lot. In the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, though, dogs have their day.

3. If filling out a bracket, concentrate on 1-seeds and 2-seeds to make the Final Four

It’s rare that team not seeded first or second makes the Final Four. At times, a 3-seed, 4-seed, 6-seed or even higher can stamp their ticket. But that hasn’t happened as often as we’re led to believe. Most of the time, the top seeded squads make the Final Four. Last year, 11-UCLA beat out 1-Michigan to win the East Region. The other Final Four participants were 1-Gonzaga, 1-Baylor, and 2-Houston. Also, Gonzaga and Baylor, two 1-seeds, battled it out in the championship.

Again, an underdog can upset higher seeds and make the Final Four. But it doesn’t happen as often as some might believe.

4. Underdogs don’t win often after the first two rounds, but they do cover the spread

Even though underdogs don’t win straight up after the first couple of rounds, they do win against the spread. Make sure to keep that in mind when handicapping games versus top seeds and dogs. Once the Sweet 16 starts, top seeds often win straight up. But underdogs can cover.

5. Go with teams that have faced challenges but haven’t gotten beaten up during the regular season

There’s a reason many Big Ten teams fail in the tournament. 1-Michigan fell to 11-UCLA last season in the Elite Eight. 2-Ohio State lost to 15-Oral Roberts in the first round. 2-Iowa lost to 7-Oregon in the second round. Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa beat each other up during the regular season and in the Big Ten Tournament.

So by the time the Big Dance began, all three high-seeds were gassed. Illinois, another 1-seed from the Big Ten in last year’s tournament, lost to Loyola-Chicago in the second round. Granted, teams do best in the tournament after facing at least some regular season adversity, but you want the teams you back to be relatively fresh once the tournament starts. Look for squads like Gonzaga, who plays nobody in their conference, and Arizona, UCLA, and USC, the Pac-12’s three best teams, to have the easiest time in the tournament.

Teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC could struggle. Those conferences are ultra-deep, which means a conference tournament could take a lot out of the conferences’ National Championship contenders.

This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at NitroBetting news. Stay tuned for more NCAAB game previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest Basketball betting odds on the sportsbook.