Wow. That’s all I have to say after the first four games of the 2024 College World Series. Each was decided by a single run, three by walkoffs. Oh, and Christian Moore hit for the cycle in the sixth inning on Friday. Will Omaha stay crazy? I think so, and I’ve got some college baseball picks and predictions for today, Sunday, June 16, using the college baseball odds at FanDuel. We’ll be looking at the evening battle between the Tennessee Volunteers and North Carolina Tar Heels.
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College Baseball Odds, Pick & Prediction Today: Sunday, June 16
College Baseball Odds, Pick & Prediction Today: Tennessee vs. UNC | June 16
Tennessee Volunteers vs. North Carolina Tar Heers
UNC: +162 | UTK: -210
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Omaha, Neb.
Odds via FanDuel
The No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers might be the most balanced team in the country. Their team 3.95 ERA ranks sixth while their team 1.032 OPS ranks second. According to the splits data at Friday Starters, it doesn’t matter whether they’re facing a RHP (1.033) or LHP (1.043).
The No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels just aren’t as balanced. To be fair, it’s hard to be that balanced! They’re still probably the second- or third-best team in Omaha right now (sorry, Texas A&M — without Braden Montgomery and Shane Sdao, I’m not sold on y’all again quite yet). North Carolina’s team 4.19 ERA ranks 15th and their team .936 OPS ranks 20th.
Unlike the Volunteers, the Tar Heels do have some notable handedness splits. They own a filthy 1.039 OPS against LHPs but a not-so-filthy .948 OPS against RHPs. With RHP Drew Beam taking the bump for the Vols on Sunday, offense could be more of an issue than some expect.
The story of the season for North Carolina has been Vance Honeycutt, who walked off Virginia in Game 1 (after walking off West Virginia in Game 1 of Supers, no less). But most of Honeycutt’s success has come against southpaws: he owns a 1.787 OPS versus LHPs but a 1.000 OPS against RHPs.
While I’m not fully sold on Tennessee RHP Drew Beam, he should be good enough to get the job done against a North Carolina lineup that underperforms against righties. Beam’s 4.44 ERA, 5.40 RA9 and 1.275 WHIP are all solid numbers, but they’re not spectacular, and with how many arms the Vols chewed through on Friday, he’ll need to stick in the game for a while.
Every game of the College World Series has been decided by less than a run so far. If that doesn’t change in Sunday’s Virginia-Florida State elimination game, it should change in the Tennessee-North Carolina game. Look for the Vols to get out to an early lead, forcing North Carolina manager Scott Forbes into some tough bullpen management decisions.
College Baseball Pick Today for Tennessee-North Carolina: Tennessee -1.5 -108 at FanDuel
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