Wednesday night’s college baseball slate is one packed with a lot of games and a lot of intrigue. Most of the country is into conference play, which raises the age-old question — do weeknight games even matter?
While pundits ponder that question, bettors have a lot of opportunities on the table to bet underdogs at some fine numbers. So, we’re here to do just that.
Let's dive into my college baseball picks and NCAA baseball predictions for the games on Wednesday, March 18.
College Baseball Picks, Predictions
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Action Network's Road to CFB is targeting from Wednesday'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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 3:05 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Nebraska vs Wichita State Pick
Sportsbooks appraised this game very differently at open, with some books lining the Huskers as high as -115.
Power ratings like Nebraska quite a bit more than Wichita State, with the Huskers being ranked 50 spots higher in Diamond Sports Rating (DSR) and 40 spots higher, per Massey.
Nebraska has come away with four straight weeknight wins with Cooper Katskee and Pryce Bender on the mound. Katskee tossed five quality innings last night in an 8-1 win.
Midweek pitching has been a problem for Wichita, and it has had to rely on mass run generation to win ballgames. But against quality competition, those bats aren’t as effective, and Nebraska is a quality opponent.
I like the variability in price here and buying Nebraska as an underdog.
Pick: Nebraska ML +120
| |
UConn vs Santa Clara Pick
UConn plays Night 2 of a back-to-back midweek stint against Santa Clara out West. The Huskies dropped two out of three against Portland this past weekend, but they recovered in a 9-3 win over Cal last night.
Santa Clara comes off a weekend sweep of Utah Tech and notched an impressive 4-3 win over Pitt last Tuesday. The pitch-by-committee approach worked well in the win, as eight different arms saw action.
The only other weeknight action was an early-season win over San Jose State, which included six different pitchers.
UConn survives off a high-powered offense, but its 9-11 start is largely due to inconsistent pitching. The Huskies have fallen to 115th in Massey’s power ratings and 106th in DSR. Quite simply, I don’t think they’re very good.
Santa Clara plays at home as a short underdog, despite surpassing UConn in power ratings, and the Huskies have been out on the West Coast for five straight games now.
This is a nice opportunity to take the home ‘dog.
Pick: Santa Clara ML +114
