One thing that we like to talk about is value. You always want to look for the best possible value when making your bets. One excellent way to do this is to bet against the name brand teams. Names get all they hype, and making winning NCAA basketball picks has nothing to do with hype. Instead, it has almost everything to do with actual value. You will want to make NCAA basketball picks on teams that have long-term value. If the name on the front of the jersey is powering the temporary value of a team, then you should consider betting against them.

One needs to look only to UNC last season for a great example. Though they continued to lose to almost everyone, the lines were slanted toward UNC all year. It was as if the betting public expected them to morph into a new team all of a sudden. As you know, this never happened. Big money was made fading UNC last year. Your goal, of course, is to find the new UNC. Find that team with name brand value and make your NCAA basketball picks accordingly. You will thank yourself.

When you bet NCAA basketball this year, you will want to lookout for teams in transition. There are some squads who have moved from one coach to another. All too often, these teams are having to get used to a new style of play. Maybe they liked to run and gun in the past, but the new coach is a half-court kind of guy? Perhaps they really loved to press and shoot the three, but the new coach is methodical? These are things that can have a huge impact on your college basketball picks. Handicappers who win their NCAA basketball picks are the ones who can spot teams in transition.

Coaching changes are not the only thing that will spark a team in transition. Maybe a team is learning to adjust without a player who had previously carried the squad. Maybe a team is breaking in a new point guard. These are little things that can impact the way a team plays early in the season. You might consider making your NCAA basketball picks against these sure-fire squads in transition. This will help you make money and find good value early in the year.

If you talk to bettors often enough, you will start to hear some funny theories. Bettors in general are peculiar people, and they tend to have strange ideas. I have even heard one bettor exclaim that college basketball is just not beatable. He believes that the game is too unpredictable, and thus you would be better off flipping a coin. I don’t believe this is the case, and I think you can win with your college basketball picks.

What you eventually have to realize is that college basketball might seem like a crazy game because of upsets, but it really isn’t that bad. Most games will go the way they should. Your goal as a handicapper should be to find those times when an upset is likely to occur. Teams usually get upset on the road in college basketball and it usually happens when they’re tired. You can often see these “trap” games coming if you pay attention to teams closely enough. This gets back to an important point about not spreading yourself too thin. If you want to make winning college basketball picks, then you must limit yourself to a few teams or conferences.

There is some debate about just how much home court advantage matters. Does it matter a little? Does it matter a lot? How many points should we assign to home court advantage? The answer is that there’s not one “hard” answer to this question. You must consider the circumstances individually and assess just how important the home court will be. In general, though, you need to recognize that home court advantage will have a huge impact on your college basketball picks.

The thing about a home court is that individual players usually put on better performances at home. They feel more comfortable, they’ve slept in their own bed, and they’re used to the building’s sight lines. Many people forget that basketball is a game that requires tedious attention to detail on the part of shooters. They get used to seeing different things behind the basket and this impacts their depth perception. When shooting at home, they’ll be much more apt to make shots in bunches.

This does not even mention the crowd, as it’s obviously a factor. A home crowd can impact officiating and it can overwhelm an opposing team. When making your college basketball picks, don’t forget this.

If you are looking to make college basketball picks, the first thing you need to do is come up with an approach. College basketball has more than 300 teams at the division I level, so you can get into some serious trouble if you’re not careful. Too many players go into the college basketball handicapping scene blindly. They think that all they need to do is make some quick bets and they’ll be good to go. The truth of the matter is that if you’re going to make money, you’ll need an approach.

The first thing to do is narrow your focus. You don’t want to think you have to bet every single game. If you focus on a few teams or maybe even a couple of conferences, you will be much better off in the end. This will help you avoid those days where you make a pick just for the action. When you narrow your approach, you will become intimately familiar with a few teams. This will help you recognize when there is some value hiding in their lines. If your end goal is to win, then this is something you absolutely must keep in mind.

Over the past couple of years, the Denver Nuggets have been an up and coming team in the Western Conference with NBA title aspirations after acquiring one-time NBA champion point guard Chauncey Billups from the Detroit Pistons for Allen Iverson.

Even though this trade was heavily criticized it just what this team needed as it completely rejuvenated this team and got them all the way to the Western Conference Finals against the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers two years ago.

Unfortunately, last season didn’t end so well as the Denver Nuggets were bounced in the first round of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz and failed to live up to expectations. Not only was head coach George Karl battling cancer for the second time in his life, but the team seemed to gradually fall apart and now superstar forward Carmelo Anthony could be on his way out as they are discuss trades with teams like the New York Knicks.

So with Melo’s future in Denver uncertain, the Nuggets could suffer with unfavorable spreads in NBA picks and a rough season against teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trailblazers, Dallas Mavericks and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.

So where are some other home courts where teams can make you some money with your college basketball picks? The following are venues where teams really get up for games, and where squads are consistently undervalued by the oddsmakers.

Kansas State
The so-called “Octagon of Doom” has become a death trap for Big 12 teams. Kansas State drills people at home, and they have been known to run up the score in a big way. If you are looking for a team that is likely to cover a big number at home, then you will definitely want to look to K-State. This venue continues to get too little respect from the books and from other bettors out there.

Maryland
Of all the ACC barns that garner attention, Maryland seems to pick up the least. Why is that the case? This is a good question, and when you make college basketball picks, you need to know about the Terps. Maryland’s fans are rowdy and make life very hard on the opposing team. The arena is huge and it is known to get very noisy for big games. If you are looking for a team that’s tough at home and not so much on the road, then Maryland is the choice.

Home court advantage is one of the most underrated factors in college basketball, and many bettors continue to misread the different venues. There are lots of reasons why a home court is a big deal. The fans are the most obvious reason, as they can make life difficult on opposing players. Another important factor is the fact that referees are human, and human beings naturally want to please those around them. When pressure mounts to make a certain call, it is human nature to favor the home side. There is one factor, however, that people continue to forget about.

Different arenas have different sight lines, and this can impact shooters in a big way. A home team is used to shooting in their own gym, but it becomes a huge adjustment for others. There are certain gyms around the country where opposing shooters have to deal with difficult sight lines that are completely unlike what they have seen in the past. Those teams with a home court that projects this kind of advantage will undoubtedly win more of their home games. You should be especially conscious of this when the matchup involves a road team that loves to shoot the rock from distance.

Ever since Chris Webber and Mike Bibby left town a few years ago, the Sacramento Kings have been arguably one of the worst teams in the NBA with little to no hope for the future, but last season they were finally able to see some light at the end of the tunnel with Rookie of the Year point guard Tyreke Evans becoming the undisputed leader of this team.

Obviously, Evans wasn’t able to lead this team back into the playoffs last season, but he did make them a more exciting team with a better chance of being favored in NBA picks on a weekly basis and a shot at becoming a perennial playoff team in the near future.

Along with Evans leading the way for the Sacramento Kings this season, the struggling NBA franchise was also able to bring in another promising young player in center DeMarcus Cousins out of Kentucky. Even though he has been criticized for certain things in the past, this seven footer is the real deal and has proven that fact during the preseason.

It is uncertain how much a dynamic duo Cousins and Evans will turn out to be, but if they get off to a good start this season they just might be playoff bound.

Every single year the Dallas Mavericks come into the NBA regular season with high hopes of making it to the playoffs and having former NBA MVP sharp shooter Dirk Nowitzki lead them to the NBA Finals, but even though they were able to get there once a few years ago, they have been unable to return due to poor play in the playoffs.

This season the Mavs will continue to dream of becoming NBA champions, but they will once again have some stiff competition to deal with out West against the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns and the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder.

Even though getting to the NBA Finals or the NBA playoffs will be no easy task for Dirk Nowitzki and company, they will still be favored in NBA picks throughout the majority of the season and will have a legitimate shot of being one of the best teams in the Western Conference once again.

Whether or not Mavs owner will get impatient and look to wheel and deal early in the season remains to be seen, but there current roster is amongst the league’s elite.