After last week, make the pick official — college athletics’ best weekend is now the opening weekend of the NCAA Baseball Tournament.
Cinderella may be dead or slumbering in hoops or football, but she’s alive and well in the hardball sport… some of which now figures into the SEC’s remaining experience.
With Super Regional play here, how do the SEC teams stack up? Here are our picks for which SEC squads will win the best-of-3 Super Regionals and head to Omaha and which are headed home.
Oklahoma vs. Kansas
Other than the intra-league battles, Oklahoma got arguably the toughest SEC draw. Kansas was just the No. 15 overall seed, but Oklahoma was one of the last No. 2 regional seeds to be slotted into the NCAA field and now has to play on the road. Oklahoma broke out the bats to outlast No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech and Kansas figures to bring more of the same. The Sooners are scrappy and this one will go to the wire, but the pick is Kansas in 3 games.
Alabama vs. St. John’s
The Tide sprinted through their region in 3 games and then braced for a matchup with Florida State before No. 4 regional seed St. John’s pulled the mammoth upset to steal their spot. The Johnnies won 2 1-run games over FSU, but Alabama won’t let this one stay that close. Justin Lebron was 6-for-16 with 6 RBIs in the Regionals and he might top that in the Supers. Tide in 2 games.
Texas vs. Oregon
One of the power battles of the Super Regional round, No. 1 regional seeds Texas (No. 6 overall) and Oregon (No. 11 overall) should have an epic battle. A pitching duel could be brewing — Texas allowed 7 runs in 3 games to reach the Supers while Oregon allowed 3 runs in its 3 games. Dylan Volantis and his sub-2 ERA could be Texas’s X-factor, and Aidan Robbins’ 4 Regional homers could also be the difference here. Texas in 3 games.
Who will win it all in Omaha? Click here and use Kalshi promo code SDS today to earn a $10 bonus that you can use on the College World Series:
Auburn vs. Ole Miss
Our first league-on-league crime comes with No. 4 overall seed Auburn bouncing back from an ugly 13-8 opening loss to Milwaukee to claim its regional, while No. 2 regional seed Ole Miss outlasted Arizona State by 1 run twice to claim its spot. These 2 missed each other in the SEC regular season, so no guidance there to help. The key here is probably Game 1. Auburn’s pitching depth is impressive, but a strong open would distance it from an Ole Miss team that survived a 14-inning marathon to open its NCAA experience. Auburn in 2.
Georgia vs. Mississippi State
Here’s the marquee matchup — 2 league foes that each took care of business, the No. 1 regional seed Bulldogs (Georgia being the No. 3 overall seed, MSU’s the No. 14 overall seed) both make a case for reseeding the super regionals. Georgia could draw St. John’s or Little Rock and Mississippi State would still get a tough foe, but not quite this tough.
Georgia swept Mississippi State in Starkville in the regular season, but that’s fairly deceptive, as they won the 3 games by a combined 6 total runs. Georgia’s bats are the story with 165 homers and counting, but the mound crew were sharp in the regional, allowing just 5 total runs over 3 games. Meanwhile, Mississippi State’s pitching staff was one of the SEC’s best, but its bats blasted out 39 runs in 3 games in the regional. Tough call here, but Georgia in 3 games.
Like our coverage? Make SDS a preferred source in your searches!
Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.
