One of the aspects of US culture that makes the country unique to the rest of the world is its unbridled love of college sports. College basketball is one sport that Americans especially love (the other major sport being college football, of course), and it has a large following. In a 2021 survey of 2,200 respondents, conducted from September 13 to 16, 22% of all the respondents described themselves as “avid” fans, and 33% referred to themselves as “casual” fans.
The thing that makes college basketball so watchable and endears the sport to so many is that every game means something. Some fans also feel college basketball is much more of a team sport than basketball in the NBA, which regularly hosts displays of one-on-one brilliance.
Since college basketball has such a following, there are plenty of resources to track everything that’s happening in basketball under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Below is a look at some of the best resources online for fans of basketball at college level.
Keeping up to date with college basketball
Another thrilling aspect of college basketball is being able to follow the journey of rising stars as they dazzle on the courts during their college days and go on to make it big in the NBA. Fans get a real buzz from being there to witness players go from NCAA goodness to NBA greatness.
Naturally, there are some terrific resources online to follow the news and action from the sport. Blogs, apps and more devoted to college basketball are just some. If you like to place a bet here and there, make sure to follow Doc’s college basketball picks for best insights. Here are a few fantastic resources to get your college basketball fix:
NCAA March Madness app
The NCAA March Madness is only of any real use during the March Madness tournament, but what an app it is while the tournament is on.
The app allows fans to stream every game of the tournament and check their brackets, as well as stay up to date with favorite teams and everything that’s going on in the March Madness. There’s in-depth analysis and fans can even take a walk down memory lane and watch classic games of the past from the tournament. Basically, the NCAA March Madness app is unbeatable when it comes to this thrilling tournament.
Busting Brackets
Busting Brackets is a website from the Fan Sided Network and focuses exclusively on NCAA basketball. The site serves as a real community for fans and brings together all the news and views from the NCAA courts, with sections dedicated to the Big Ten, the Sec East, the Sec West, the ACC, the Big 12 and the March Madness, as well as to the NCAA overall. The contributors, editors and other content creators on the site are big fans of basketball and their passion really shines through.
NCAA.com
In a list like this, it would be extremely remiss not to mention the NCAA.com website itself. If fans want all the news on college basketball, men’s or women’s, and not just gossip or hearsay, what better way to hear things from the official source. As well as news, rankings, stats and results, it’s possible for fans to get power rankings, video highlights of games and brackets. The site features some pretty neat articles, too, along the lines of “Four Outstanding Players Who…” or “Five Big Surprises That…”. A very entertaining site as well as informative.
Of course, the site is very handy if you enjoy following other college sports as well. Whether it’s football, swimming, track and field, ice hockey or other college sports, you’ll be able to find all the news on the official site.
Betting on college basketball
If you’re into betting on sports and have been keeping up to date with the news, you’ll be aware that in May 2018, the Supreme Court legalized sports betting. The court agreed with the challenge that the federal laws on betting violated the Tenth Amendment, and granted states the right to decide for themselves whether to legalize sports betting or not.
As a result, some states allow betting on college basketball. Some, however, are more reluctant to do so. For fans of sports betting, though, the ruling was good news. Following the betting markets on college sports is a good way to get a feel for who might shine in the sport later.
College basketball has been the scene of some thrilling games, and there’s a team spirit about the sport at this level that some people feel is lacking in the NBA. The spirit brings people closer to college basketball. Every single game means something, and when fans get the chance to see the rising stars of the sport go from good to great, it’s no wonder that college basketball is so popular.
