Bet on College Basketball in New Jersey
Fact checked by
Except for games involving NJ schools and other games held inside the state, you can bet on every single game in the NCAA men’s basketball season at online sportsbooks and sportsbook apps in New Jersey.
Most NJ sportsbooks, online and off, will post lines for every college basketball game across all 364 teams and 31 conferences. The sportsbooks will also have NCAA futures markets available where you can bet on the next National Championship winner, teams to make the Final Four, and more.
Check our full guide to betting on college basketball in New Jersey below.
Best College Basketball Betting Sites in NJ
Up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets if Your First Bet Doesn't Win* *Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l terms. 21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER Use Bonus Code: PLAYNJSB Bet $5 Get $200 in Bonus Bets PLUS Get a $50 Bonus Bet on Deposit PLUS up to $1,000 Deposit Bonus Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
Get $250
Get $50
NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament (March Madness)
The 2025 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness, will begin on March 18 with the First Four. It will finish with the championship game on April 7 in San Antonio, Texas.
On March 16, the NCAA will announce the names and seeding of the 68 teams set to play in the tournament. This process includes the automatic bids given to each of 31 conference tournament champions and 37 at-large bids picked by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The committee also seeds the field and places the teams into four 16-team regions: East, Midwest, West, and South.
Plus, the four lowest-seeded conference tournament winners and four lowest-seeded at-large teams are asked to play in the First Four to get in the 64-team, first-round field.
See here for more on the best March Madness betting sites in NJ.
Here are the dates and sites for the 2025 NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament:
First Four
March 18 and 19, 2025
Dayton, OH
First and Second Rounds
March 20 through 23 at various locations:
- Lexington, KY
- Providence, RI
- Seattle, WA
- Wichita, KS
- Cleveland, OH
- Denver, CO
- Milwaukee, WI
- Raleigh, NC
Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)
March 27 through 30, 2025
- East Regional: Newark, NJ
- West Regional: San Francisco, CA
- Midwest Regional: Indianapolis, IN
- South Regional: Atlanta, GA
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and NCAA Championship)
April 5 and 7, 2025
Saturday, April 5, and Monday, April 7, in San Antonio, Texas inside the Alamodome.
March Madness bracket challenges
Come tourney time, expect NJ sportsbooks to offer free March Madness bracket contests with hundreds of thousands in prizes available to anyone in the US.
Brackets are a fun way to get in on all the March Madness action. All you have to do is pick a winner for every single March Madness game and hope you’re better at it than everyone else.
March Madness Second Chance Bracket Contests 2025
If your bracket gets busted early, you still have some chances to partake in the fun. Second-chance March Madness pools begin with the Sweet 16 and roll through to the title game. Check your preferred NJ sportsbook(s) for more details.
Our three favorite March Madness bracket challenges in New Jersey
As a reminder, you cannot place a bet on any New Jersey college basketball programs, regardless of where their games take place during March Madness. You also can’t wager on any games that take place within New Jersey, which rules out games that take place in the Prudential Center from March 27-29.
However, these bracket challenges are one way you can “pick” your favorite in-state schools to advance during the Big Dance. Plus, you have the chance to score some major prizes along the way.
FanDuel
FanDuel offered a $50,000 bracket challenge last season, and the operator will likely do something similar again in 2025. In short, the contest called for players to correctly select the four programs that would make it to the Final Four.
DraftKings
DraftKings did something in 2024 that seemed to be the opposite of what traditional sportsbooks offered. The operator did a Zero Right bracket challenge, and it’s back for 2025 by popular demand. As the name implies, DraftKings rewards players for getting all of their March Madness picks incorrect. The goal is to pick a bracket where all teams you select lose. It’s free to enter, and users will have a shot at $100,000 if they can have the worst bracket possible this tournament.
bet365
bet365 will host another bracket challenge this March Madness, and players will compete to win up to $10 million if your bracket is perfect. Even if it’s not completely perfect, bet365 still offers prizes for first place, second, third, and so on. In fact, the top 5,000 brackrets will earn prizes.
In addition to bracket challenges, New Jersey sportsbooks will offer a number of promotions for March Madness. A list of the best promotions available is available here.
College basketball betting beginners’ guide
There are several simple ways you can bet on college basketball games at retail and online sportsbooks in NJ, including:
NCAA Basketball Moneylines
NJ sportsbooks will most likely set moneylines for every college basketball game on the schedule this season. The lone exception, again, is wagering on games that take place within New Jersey or those involving in-state schools.
Betting moneylines is as easy as it gets. Pick the team you think will win and lock in the bet at either positive or negative odds that are posted for each team. These odds tell you how much you’ll get paid if your bet wins.
The favorite is the negative number, representing how much you’ll need to bet to win $100, plus your bet back. The underdog is the positive number, representing how much you’ll win for every $100 you bet.
NCAA Basketball Spreads
College basketball spreads are much like point spreads in NFL games. NJ sportsbooks come up with a line displaying the number of points they believe the favorite will win by. In order to determine a betting winner, that line must be factored into the final score.
NJ sportsbooks will post spread lines on most college basketball games. You must pick a side and either deduct the number from the favorite’s final score or add it to the underdog’s before determining if you’ve selected the winner. In other words, you need to pick the winner with the posted spread at the time you placed the bet.
NCAA Basketball Totals
College basketball totals are the same as the over/under in NFL games. NJ sportsbooks set a line on the total number of points both teams will combine to score. You bet whether the final score will be over or under that number.
NCAA Basketball Parlays
NJ sportsbooks offer players the opportunity for bigger college basketball paydays if they’re willing to combine two or more college basketball bets into a parlay.
Parlays pay better than individual game bets. The catch is you must win every single wager that is part of the parlay to win anything at all.
NCAA basketball live betting
Most NJ sportsbooks offer in-play college basketball betting. Live wagering allows you to place basic bets during a game in real time at odds that are continuously adjusting.
Live NCAA basketball betting also includes a few prop bets, like winning the half or whether the total score will end up even or odd.
Get started betting on NCAA basketball in New Jersey
As we inch closer and closer to March Madness, now is as good a time as any to sign up for sportsbooks and check out the different promotions. Operators release special NCAA Tournament betting promos, too, so keep an eye out for that as we get closer to the First Four. In the meantime, keep your finger on the pulse so you’re ready for NCAA basketball betting in New Jersey when the tournament field is finalized.