College Basketball Odds In Iowa: Use The State’s Sportsbook Options To Get The Best Lines

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But, there’s another benefit. College basketball odds can vary enough in the futures market to make a big difference.

Here’s a Big 12 example as college basketball season tips off Tuesday night. Keep in mind this is just a preseason snapshot. Even futures odds can change by the hour.

• Unibet and BetRivers sportsbooks give Texas Tech longer odds and a better payout to win the conference at +1800 compared to what an Iowa customer would find at DraftKings, Caesars or BetMGM (+800).
• But it works the other way, too. A West Virginia payout to win the Big 12 is better at DraftKings (+1200), Caesars, FanDuel or Betfred (+1400) than it is at Unibet or BetRivers (+750). Same $100 bet, but a much different outcome.

They’re all great sportsbooks that PlayIA is happy to recommend. They just happen to weigh Texas Tech and West Virginia differently as the first shots of the season go through a hoop.

Also, note that Kansas, Texas and Baylor — all preseason AP top 10 teams — have shorter and less diverse odds among Iowa’s top sportsbooks.

College basketball odds to win the Big 12 at Iowa sportsbooks

Iowa State fans who are optimistic enough to bet on Cyclones basketball will see some fluctuations when line-shopping. Oddsmakers think first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger will need more than a season to see winning basketball return to Ames, however.

Fans will need ESPN+ subscription access to stream the Cyclones in their 7 p.m. opener vs. Kennesaw State.

Kennesaw State at Iowa State odds

The Owls from Georgia have an experience edge over the Cyclones. They return over 90% of their scoring from last year. Iowa State has about 13% of its scoring coming back from last year.

Iowa college basketball odds are a little shorter

Shopping for the best lines with a $100 bet on Iowa basketball to win the Big Ten could make a $1,500 difference, based on the longest and shortest odds. But remember, Iowa’s odds are long for a reason. Purdue and Michigan have almost identical odds to win the conference championship.

The Hawkeyes have a 9 p.m. game Tuesday as they host Longwood. BTN will carry the game.

Longwood finished at 12-17, including a 10-10 mark in the Big South Conference. The Lancers won eight of its last 10 regular-season games a season ago. The Lancers then lost 80-66 to Pepperdine in the first round of the 2021 College Basketball Invitational. They’re picked to finish second in the north division of the Big South Conference behind Campbell.

Missouri Valley Conference odds

Drake’s MVC peers pick the Bulldogs to win the conference, but sportsbooks like Loyola Chicago instead. Northern Iowa is the third choice at both sportsbooks and in the preseason conference poll.

7 p.m. — Nicholls State at UNI (ESPN3)

Your betting guide: FanDuel Sportsbook Iowa has odds for this game. As of Monday night, UNI was a 10.5-point favorite. Moneylines are -780 for the Panthers and +530 for the Colonels. Nicholls State is the Southland Conference champions and the team is picked to repeat this year.

UNI is an 11-point favorite at BetRivers Sportsbook, Unibet Sportsbook and Barstool Sportsbook in Iowa. The moneyline is +480 for Nicholls State and -715 for UNI. The total is 149 (O -108, U -113).

7 p.m. — Coe College at Drake (ESPN3)

Your betting guide: Coe College is a Division III school, so the Drake season opener likely won’t surface on the sportsbooks in Iowa that offer college basketball odds. The Kohawks will have two games under their belt by the time they go to Des Moines. Coe opened with a 117-82 win Friday over Grinnell. They beat Cornell College 78-62 Monday night in Mount Vernon.

November schedule for Iowa, Iowa State, Drake and UNI