Olympic Basketball Prop Bets
We are nearly ready for the 2016 Games in Rio but there are still plenty of things to arrange and take care of. If you are looking to place bets on the basketball games that are taking place in Rio this month, you want to make sure that you know what is on offer.
There are plenty of prop bets being offered on a wide range of games and if you need a refresher course on what prop bets are and what prop bets are being offered for the 2016 Olympic Games, we are here to help.
The most popular prop bets currently listed on the Bet365 site include:
Game Lines
With the Game Lines on offer for the 2016 Olympic Games, you can predict the margin of victory or defeat for a team in their game.
An example of how these bets can make every game worthwhile can be shown with the game lines offered for the USA v China match, which takes place on Saturday the 6th of August. This is a game the American side is expected to romp home and this can be found with the fact that USA are listed at -50, at odds of 1.90. China are listed at +50 at odds of 1.90.
In the Australia versus France game, also taking place on Saturday the 6th of August, you can take France at -8, at odds of 1.90. Australia are listed at odds of 1.90 with a +8 handicap.
There is also an Over/Under market available for these games. The basketball betting sites have priced the game 172.5 points and you can get odds of 1.90 for there being more than 172.5 points scored in the game and you’ll also receive odds of 1.90 for there being fewer than 172.5 points scored in the game.
What you need to remember for the Over/Under market is that it doesn’t matter how the points are scored or what team gets them, as long as they are scored. A result of USA 173 – China 0 is as successful for an Over 172.5 points bet as a score line of USA 86 – China 87.
In the Australia versus France game, the Over/Under market is priced at 148.5 points. This means you can get odds of 1.90 more than 148.5 points being scored (so a total of 149 or more) and odds of 1.90 for fewer than 148.5 points being scored (so a total of 148 or fewer).
1st Quarter Total – Odd/Even
This is a simple odd or even selection and the odds available for both the odd and even selection is 1.90. In the USA versus China game, if you fancy the first quarter to deliver an even number of points, you would bet even at odds of 1.90. If the first quarter ended USA 30 – China 10, a total of 40 points, you would win the even bet. However, if the first quarter ended USA 31 – China 10, a total of 41 points, you would lose the even bet.
2nd Quarter Total – Odd/Even
The same scenario plays out in the 2nd quarter prop bet with punters being asked to tip how many points will be scored in the 2nd quarter. If you backed an odd amount of points and the score was France 18 – Australia 12, a total of 30 points, you would lose your odd bet. If you backed an odd amount of points and the score was France 19 – Australia 12, a total of 31 points, you would win your odd bet.
Team Total – Odd/Even
This is a bet where you wager on how many points a team will end up with. Both the odds for the odd and even bet come out at 1.90. Only the score obtained by one team counts so don’t concern yourself with the opposition. If you believe China will score an even amount of points in the game and they finish with 54 points, you will win the bet. If you wager China to score an even amount of points in the game and they finish with 55 points, you will lose the bet.
Game Total – Odd/Even
The Game Total bet is similar to the Team Total bet apart from the fact that the combined score of both teams is counted. This means it is the same as the quarter total bets discussed earlier. Again, if you wager on even and the two teams combine to score an even amount of points, you win your bet. If you wager on even and the two teams combine to score an odd amount of points, you lose your bet.
Race To 20 Points
This bet hasn’t been made available for the USA versus China game, and as no one expects that to be a race worth commenting on, you can see why. However, in games like Australia versus France, where the outcome is likely to be much closer, this is a popular and common bet.
The aim of this bet is to predict which team will reach the 20 point mark first. It doesn’t matter how long it takes and as soon as one team hits 20 points (even if they pass it, for instance with a three-point shot taking them to 21 or 22 points), the bet is decided.
In the Australia versus France game, you can find odds of 2.85 for Australia to reach 20 points first while the odds on France reaching the 20 point mark first comes in at 1.45. This ties in with the betting sites making France the favourites for the tie and they expect them to take control of this game.
Some of the other bets which are being offered on selected games at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil include:
- Winning Margin (Winning Margin 3-Way, 7-Way, 12-Way)
- 1st Quarter Margin of Victory
- 2nd Quarter Margin of Victory
- Team With Highest Scoring Quarter
We will look at some of these bets in more detail depending on their availability in the game previews we provide during the 2016 Rio Games.