The College World Series is fast approaching, and bettors and fans alike now have access to the 2023 NCAA college baseball tournament bracket and schedule. Sixty-four teams will participate in sixteen regional tournaments this weekend, and only one will advance from each. Let’s dive into the betting odds for the college baseball regional tournament markets to find high-value bets and make some predictions.
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College Baseball Tournament 2023 Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Regionals
How Does the College Baseball Bracket Work?
Before we get into the betting odds, it’s worth touching on the mechanics of how the college baseball tournament. One team of the four assigned to each region will advance to the Super Regional round.
Regionals are a double-elimination tournament; Super Regionals are a best-of-three series. The final eight teams then participate in two double-elimination brackets before the final two play another best-of-three series.
The complicated structure of the NCAA men’s college baseball tournament means that the eventual national champion can lose up to four games and still win the title. This gives the best teams a slightly larger margin for error and makes Cinderella runs more difficult.
Baton Rouge Regional
The LSU Tigers will host a regional round in Baton Rouge. They’re +800 (11.1%) at DraftKings and +650 (13.3%) at FanDuel to win this year’s College World Series. They are -550 (84.6%) to win their opening-round matchup against the Tulane Green Wave. However, LSU is only -150 (60%) to advance to Super Regionals at DraftKings.
The three teams in LSU’s bracket, Oregon State, Sam Houston State and Tulane, are a combined 0-8 against teams ranked inside the top-25 in D1 Baseball’s relative power index (RPI). For LSU to go home, those teams would have to improve to either 2-8 or 2-9. Although the Tigers are dealing with a number of injuries, the books are overestimating their competition.
College Baseball Regional Bet: LSU Tigers -150 at DraftKings
Terre Haute Regional
Few things are more inevitable than death, taxes and the Indiana State Sycamores winning at home. The Sycamores went a convincing 17-3 at home this season and slot in at a commanding ninth in the RPI. However, they’re just +235 (29.9%) at DraftKings to advance despite their home-field advantage.
Indiana State will have to compete with North Carolina, Iowa and Wright State. North Carolina is the favorite to emerge from Terre Haute at +200 (33.3%), and the Tar Heels are a plucky 8-16 against teams ranked top-25 in the RPI. However, they have gone just 9-8 on the road.
The two other teams playing in Terre Haute, Iowa and Wright State, have shown similar struggles outside of their home stadiums. The Hawkeyes are just 9-9 on the road, while the Raiders are only 14-16. Wright State is also 1-7 against the top 50 teams in the RPI.
College Baseball Regional Bet: Indiana State +235 at DraftKings
Nashville Regional
When they get to host the Regional, the Vanderbilt Commodores usually advance. Of the eight Nashville Regionals hosted by the Commodores, Vanderbilt has advanced six times. Their two failures to advance from their home stadium came in 2007 against Michigan and in 2016 against Washington.
The ‘Dores will have to contend with Oregon, Xavier and Eastern Illinois. Oregon ranks 34th in the RPI and has gone 3-1 against top-25 teams like Vanderbilt. Xavier ranks 44th and is 4-6 against top-25 teams but 4-12 against top-50 teams. Eastern Illinois ranks 139th and is 1-2 against top-25 teams.
With no opposition inside the top 25, head coach Tim Corbin’s Commodores should advance. The ‘Dores went 25-6 at home this year and 9-2 against teams ranked 26th to 50th, like Oregon and Xavier. The ‘Dores are +1200 to win it all at both DraftKings and FanDuel.
College Baseball Regional Bet: Vanderbilt -105 at DraftKings
