Last week we covered the first stage of the NCAA baseball championships. At that time, five New York teams had qualified. Unfortunately, after the field has been whittled down to just 16 teams, no New York teams are left standing.
Friday begins the second stage of the NCAA Baseball Championships, known as the Super Regionals. Last week’s stage featured sixteen different four-team double-elimination tournaments. This stage is much simpler. The sixteen winning teams from last weekend have been split up into eight head-to-head matchups. Best of three games.
Winner moves on. Loser goes home.
Below, we’ll walk you through the schedule for all of Friday’s games, plus what channel you can find the games on, and what our best bet would be if you choose to bet on the game. If you’re new to betting on baseball, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Baseball Betting.
For more NCAA baseball coverage, visit amNY Sports
Friday, June 10th
#9 Texas (45-19) @ #8 East Carolina (45-19)
- Time: 12:00 P.M. ET
- Channel: ESPN2
- Best Bet: Texas (-165)
- WHY?: Texas is the best defensive team in the country and has two legit aces on their staff. That’s going to make them tough to beat in a best-of-three series. To top it off, they’re also 4th in the nation in slugging and 9th in home runs per game. I think they have the offensive to provide enough cushion for their two stud arms to advance them to the World Series.
Oklahoma (40-21) @ #4 Virginia Tech (44-12)
- Time: 3:00 P.M. ET
- Channel: ESPN2
- Best Bet: Virginia Tech (-145)
- WHY?: Oklahoma was just 8-7 on the road this season and features an offense that was 82nd in the nation in slugging but also 132nd in staff ERA and 94th in staff WHIP. I think Virginia Tech can pitch and hit more consistently than the Sooners and should launch a few home runs to win them this game. I’d also bet on them to sweep this series.
Notre Dame (38-14) @ #1 Tennessee (55-7)
- Time: 6:00 P.M. ET
- Channel: ESPN2
- Best Bet: Tennessee (-330) or Under 14.5 (-115) if John Michael Bertrand pitches for ND
- WHY?: Tennessee is the best team in the nation and could likely sweep this series. They have enough pitching to do battle with anybody and an offense that can explode in just one inning, which they did twice in the Regionals. I do like the left-handed Bertrand for Notre Dame, so if he is named the starter on Friday, I think you bet the under in the first game, but since Bertrand threw 107 pitches on Sunday, I think it’s more likely he starts on Saturday.
#12 Louisville (42-19-1) @ #5 Texas A&M (40-18)
- Time: 6:00 P.M. ET
- Channel: ESPN2
- Best Bet: Texas A&M (-115)
- WHY?: These are two big-time offenses, so the scoreboard could be lit up here. My concerns are that Texas A&M’s defense is a little shoddy but also that Louisville is only 8-9-1 on the road this year and will not face any tougher road games than these. The Aggies can pitch a little better than the Cardinals, so I’ll take the home team in Game 1, but I do think this will go three games.
