We have reached the Sweet 16 on the road to Omaha. Many of the best teams in the country are primed to punch tickets to the College World Series this weekend, but there are a few Cinderella stories that have yet to be written off.
Let's dive into our college baseball best bets and picks for the first day of Super Regionals on Friday, June 7.
College Baseball Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that college baseball writer Doug Ziefel is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 3 p.m. ET | |
  | 6 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Check out more college baseball content on our NCAA Baseball page. | ||
Evansville vs. Tennessee
The Tennessee Volunteers enter Super Regionals as the favorite to win the national title. Their bats are a big reason why, as they have been one of the deepest and most dangerous lineups in the country.
The Vols hit 159 homers and have a wRC+ of 161 on the year. They've slugged against the SEC's best and have another ace in front of them this afternoon.
Evansville's Kenton Deverman has been great this season and enters this game with a 3.33 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. However, this Vols lineup will be the toughest assignment he's had this season by far.
Deverman is a fly-ball pitcher with a below-average strikeout rate. That's not a recipe for success against the Volunteers.
On the other side, Evansville made it this far because of its bats. Over the Purple Aces' last 15 games, they've hit .319 with a wRC+ of 165.
They'll be facing a stout Tennessee staff that will begin the game with Chris Stamos, and expectations need to be tempered.
However, we may not need much from Evansville to hit the over in this matchup. It shouldn't be a surprise to see the Vols put up double-digit runs in this one.
Action Network's Collin Wilson projects the total at 17.3, and College Baseball Insiders has it at 15.97.
It's the best way to bet on this game.
Pick: Over 13.5 (-114)
| |
West Virginia vs. North Carolina
We go from one game where the bats should be loud to one where they will be kept quiet. This matchup has the potential to be a pitcher's duel, as West Virginia's Derek Clark is one of the most battled-tested aces in the country.
Clark's complete-game effort against DBU is the main reason the Mountaineers are here, but that performance is just one of many against elite teams. In conference play, Clark shut down Oklahoma State, TCU and Kansas State.
Clark is in for another big test against a UNC lineup that posted a wRC+ of 140 this season with a team batting average of .310. However, Clark is one the few guys to trust in a matchup like this.
The Tar Heels also have plenty of quality arms of their own, and they'll hand the ball to Shea Sprague. Sprague rose to the occasion this season for the Tar Heels, pitching to a 3.90 ERA in 15 games.
Sprague comes into this matchup with some momentum, as he contained both Wake Forest and a red-hot LSU lineup over his last two starts.
Tonight, he'll face a West Virginia team that features one of the best pure hitters in the nation in JJ Wetherholt but not much around him.
Overall, the Mountaineers hit just .273 as a team and held a wRC+ of 111. While that mark is above average, it's not near the level Sprague has seen lately.
Look for the two starters to duel for at least half of this game and for the Tar Heels' bullpen to keep the scoring to a minimum when they leave.
