NCAA Handicappers

College Basketball Handicapping Trends: Any handicapping system for college basketball is probably going to involve some study of trends for home and road games. Few sports seem to be as affected by home-court advantage as college basketball. However, developing a home-road handicapping system for NCAA basketball requires digging a little deeper. After all, the point spreads already factor in a certain number of points in favor of a home team. Do home teams have a greater advantage in certain conferences? Do certain star players tend to struggle with reduced minutes from foul trouble on the road? Do particular referees tend to give more of an advantage in foul calls to a home team? Do some teams tend to see large leads shrink late in games at home because they insert walk-on players into blowout games?

Because 100 or more college basketball games can have a point spread on a given weekend, developing a handicapping system for NCAA basketball is a challenge. It's tough to have a strong knowledge of every team, so some handicappers limit themselves to teams from a particular conference or region. One interesting aspect to college basketball handicapping systems is the fact that teams tend to play conference or in-state rivals two times in the regular season. Some coaches are better than others in rematches, which is a trend worth considering. Studying coaches can be helpful with college basketball trends, too, as college basketball tends to be a sport driven by great coaches.

Finally, you'll see several handicapping trends for college basketball that rely on historical results. It's worth remembering, though, that basketball rosters tend to turn over quickly, especially with great players that leave for the NBA after one or two years. It's tough to rely on historical trends that extend backward for several years in developing a handicapping system for college basketball, especially when many of the players involved in creating the trends are no longer in school.