Stanford vs. NC State Odds, Picks, Predictions: Take the Under, Underdog in College World Series Game 1
Lance King/Getty Images. Pictured: Elliott Avent.
- The College World Series kicks off Saturday afternoon when the Stanford Cardinal take on the NC State Wolfpack at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Stanford starter Brendan Beck has been on a roll of late, but the Wolfpack have been the hottest team in the country this postseason.
- Collin Wilson breaks down where the betting value lies for this game below.
Stanford vs. NC State Odds
| Stanford Odds | -141 |
| NC State Odds | +117 |
| Over/Under | 10.5 (-120 / +100) |
| Time | Saturday, 2 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
| Odds as of Friday afternoon and via DraftKings. | |
Projected Starting Pitchers
Brendan Beck (Stanford) vs. Reid Johnston (NC State)
Stanford's Brendan Beck is pitching phenomenally well and putting up truly stellar numbers in the process. He has allowed only eight earned runs in his past 39.1 innings.
The Stanford ace has thrown at least 107 pitches in five of his past six games. Texas Tech was a top-10 team in home runs per nine innings and slugging percentage, but Beck exploited its strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranked outside the top 70.
Stanford drummed Texas Tech by a combined score of 24-3, but the Red Raiders have been a boom-or-bust team in the home run department all season.
The Cardinal still own a sagging slugging percentage just as the Wolfpack are rolling. Not only have the Wolfpack won 23-of-28, but NC State knocked out an Arkansas team that hadn't lost a weekend series all season.
T9 | OH MY DEAR GOD JOSE TORRES HITS THE GO-AHEAD BOMB[
📺ESPN2
NCSU 3, ARK 2 pic.twitter.com/J7j2QqXAmf
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) June 14, 2021
More impressively, NC State was demolished, 21-2, in the Fayetteville opener and managed to win Saturday and then beat National Player of the Year Kevin Kopps to clinch. If NC State can go nine full innings against Kopps, attacking pitches from Beck should be a much smaller problem.
The Wolfpack started the season 1-8 and have been nothing but straight fire since.
Reid Johnston had given NC State quality starts all season until the Razorbacks put up seven earned runs in three innings. If Johnston gets in trouble, expect to see closer Evan Justice early.
The pitching for both teams makes this an under play, while slugging percentage gives the slight nod to NC State in a game that should be lined as a pick'em on both sides.
Picks: Under 11.5 (Play to 10) | NC State +120 (Play to +110)
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