NBA vs. NCAA Basketball Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

NBA vs. NCAA Basketball

Well, with the NBA season starting this week, I thought that I'd ask the question which is debated year after year. Which do you prefer, NBA betting or college basketball betting? This is a tough question for many sports bettors around the world and a very interesting one. If you ask the average fan on the street this question you will probably get more people that prefer college basketball betting. If you ask the wiseguys you will probably get an NBA betting answer.

Let's take a look at the major differences between NBA betting and college basketball betting. NBA and college basketball betting are two completely different animals. The NBA has a small number of teams, but a long, drawn out season. College basketball has a huge number of teams, and a much shorter season.  Sports bettors that favor the NBA do so because of the routine, and the known betting factors. They focus on the schedule, the travel, injuries, home/away statistics, etc. The bettors that prefer college basketball focus more on rivalries, revenge, and motivational factors. Bettors that focus on the NBA very often will not dabble too much in the college game, and vice versa.

Another major difference between the NBA and college basketball is scheduling. Usually, college teams play only twice a week, once on the weekend and once during the week. That means that fatigue rarely is a factor. But NBA teams may play as often as four or five times in a week

This is a major difference between NBA and college hoops. The NBA has at most 13 or 14 games in a night, and mainly has 8 or 9 games each night. College basketball has an average of 20-30 games per night. College basketball has over 200 teams while the NBA only has 29 teams.

The atmosphere and the stakes of each college game make the NBA seem tame.  The environment of a college arena is nothing like the NBA. Opposing players must deal with constant noise, smattered with the vicious heckling from the home crowd, a rarity in NBA arenas. No NBA environment can come close to the hostility of an opposing college gym.  The NBA atmosphere is mild at best when compared to the vigor of the NCAA.  It comes down to college pride vs. the money that NBA players are paid for playing.

The stakes of a college basketball game are high every night. With only about 30 games in the season, every one is important.  While in the NBA, they play 82 games and in the end, over half the league makes the playoffs anyway.  One stretch of five bad games can’t make or break your season in the NBA; however, it can destroy the hopes of the college players since every game in a college schedule is a must-win.

A further distinction between the college and the NBA game is the value of the home court. The home court is much more of a factor in college basketball where the elite teams, backed by their frenzied fans, seldom lose. In the NBA, every team is assailable at home.

I've saved the single best reason why I beleive that college basketball is better than the NBA. The underdog. In college basketball we have dominant programs getting beaten by the team that nobody outside their own school or state has even heard of. It's not that uncommon and yet it's shocking and exciting every time it happens. Every year, come March, we all wait to see which high seed is going to be toppled when that lower-ranked under-rated squad gives it their all and comes out on top.

In the NBA, all the teams have practically the same resources and it's no big surprise when any one team beats another. Who wants to watch the same teams play each other in a seven game series and then do that three more times until there's a champion?  Boring! 

Basketball fans of the NCAA live for March Madness, it's the basketball equivalent to the Super Bowl as far as general excitement and anticipation. I'd even go as far as saying it's more exciting because you've got people's alma mater's from all around the country vying for college basketball's top honor.

The college game is how basketball is meant to be played while NBA is merely a stage for superstars. When combined, the atmosphere, emotion, and game play of college basketball provide a high stakes game that the NBA can never match.

Below are 3 great sports books that I can recommend for basketball action.

5Dimes

BookMaker

SBG Global