EuroBasket is the premier basketball competition participated in by the men's national team of countries governed by Fédération Internationale de Basketball (International Basketball Federation, FIBA) Europe.
Also known as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, the tournament was first held in 1935. Since 1947, it has been regularly held every two years.
EuroBasket also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games and the FIBA World Championship.
The former Soviet Union is EuroBasket's most successful nation with fourteen gold medals, three silvers and four bonzes. Yugoslavia is a far second with five golds, five silvers and 3 bronzes. Lithuania and Serbia are tied at third with three golds, one silver and one bronze apiece.
Meanwhile, Spain has recently won back-to-back gold medals (2009 and 2011).
There are generally two ways to bet on EuroBasket, these are:
Outright EuroBasket Winner - a bet on which country will win the gold.
EuroBasket Matchup - a bet on the winner of individual EuroBasket games (e.g. bet on the winner of the match between Spain and France or Lithuania and Greece)
In a bet on the outright EuroBasket winner, sports betting sites list the participating countries and their respective odds, just like the following:
| Outright EuroBasket Winner | |
|---|---|
| Spain | 16/5 |
| France | 11/2 |
| Macedonia | 17/2 |
| Russia | 9/1 |
| Lithuania | 19/2 |
| Greece | 12/1 |
| Slovenia | 16/1 |
| Serbia | 22/1 |
You just have to bet on your favorite country or the team which you think has the best chance of winning the EuroBasket gold medal.
Let's say you picked the favorite Spain and placed a €20.00 bet. At odds of 16/5, if Spain wins the gold, your €20.00 bet will win €64.00 for a total return of €84.00 (your original bet plus your winnings).
If you bet €10.00 on the long-shot Serbia, and Serbia wins the gold, at odds of 22/1, you'll get €230.00 (€10.00 original bet plus €220.00 winnings).
Meanwhile, in a EuroBasket matchup bet, you just have to pick the winner of a particular game. And with 24 teams competing for about 3 weeks, there are lots of EuroBasket matchups to choose from.
Betting sites usually list the matchup of the competing countries, their handicap (or spread) and their corresponding odds. Other sites also list betting options for Totals, like the following:
| Matchup / Fixture | Spread | Totals | Money Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain Poland |
-6.5 5/6 | O: 155.5 5/6 | 11/5 |
| +6.5 5/6 | U: 155.5 5/6 | 3/10 | |
| Serbia Italy |
-7.5 5/6 | O: 153.5 5/6 | 1/4 |
| +7.5 5/6 | U: 153.5 5/6 | 5/2 | |
| Montenegro Macedonia |
-3.0 5/6 | O: 157.5 5/6 | 29/50 |
| +3.0 5/6 | U: 157.5 5/6 | 5/4 | |
| Belgium Georgia |
-6.5 5/6 | O: 149.5 5/6 | 33/100 |
| +6.5 5/6 | U: 149.5 5/6 | 2/1 | |
| Turkey Portugal |
-2.5 5/6 | O: 155.5 5/6 | 23/20 |
| +2.5 5/6 | U: 155.5 5/6 | 13/20 |
If you just want to pick the winner of a game, you just have to look at the Matchup / Fixture column to see which countries are playing and their corresponding odds (Money Line column).
For example, you picked Spain over Poland and placed a €10.00. If Spain wins over Poland (regardless of the score), at odds of 11/5, you get a return of €32.00.
If you want to bet on the Totals (or over / under total score of the game), look at the "Matchup / Fixture" and "Totals" columns. "O" represents Over, while "U" represents Under.
In the Serbia and Italy game, the Total projected score is 153.5. If you think that by the end of the game the total score of both teams will go over 153.5 points, you place a bet on "Over". But if you think that the total score of both teams will be under 153.5 points, you bet on "Under".
Let's say in the Serbia and Italy game you placed a €20.00 on O: 153.5. If the match ends with a total score of 154 (e.g. Serbia: 87; Italy: 67) or more, you win the bet. At odds of 5/6, your €20.00 will return €36.66.
If you want to bet on the Spread (or handicap), look at the "Matchup / Fixture" and "Spread" columns. The Spread is the betting site's way of evening out the odds for each team. The favorites are marked with the "-" while the underdogs are marked with the "+" sign with the corresponding number of points.
In the Belgium and Georgia matchup, Belgium is the 6.5-point favorite to beat the underdog Georgia. If you are betting on Belgium, the team has to win by at least seven points to cover the Spread or handicap for you to win the bet. If you are betting on Georgia, they shouldn't lose by more than six points for you to win.
You may notice that some Spread and Totals have ".5" points, this is done to avoid ties and return bets.
First Half and Quarter Lines are also offered on EuroBasket matchups. Instead of waiting for the full game result, you have the option to bet on the outcome of a particular half or quarter.
Proposition Bets are also offered on EuroBasket games. These Props include bets on the actual winning margin for a match, bets on which team will score the most points in a quarter, a bet on the odd or even total of a game, etc.
Truly, there are lots of bets on EuroBasket. The challenge is for you to intimately know each EuroBasket team and each EuroBasket bet. Make sure you bet selectively. Good luck!
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