LSU vs. Tennessee: 2023 College World Series Odds, Preview, TV Start
The No. 5 overall seed LSU Tigers (49-16) take on the Tennessee Volunteers (44-21) in an elimination game Tuesday night at the College World Series. Tennessee opened as a -120 favorite, with LSU opening as low as -105 at Caesars Sportsbook. Shortly after, movement favored the Tigers, pushing them to -115 in some spots. LSU defeated Tennessee in the opening round of the CWS on Saturday. This game begins June 20, at 7 p.m. ET from Omaha. It will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+. Below, we’ll compare LSU vs. Tennessee odds at the best sports betting sites.
College World Series odds pin LSU as long as +1000 now to win and Tennessee as long as +1700 – both teams needing to upend top-seeded Wake Forest twice in a row.
College World Series: LSU Vs. Tennessee Odds
CWS Game Preview
The Vols weren’t able to overcome another dominant outing by ace Paul Skenes in their opening round game. Instead, they headed to the loser’s bracket, disposing of Stanford with thanks to six unanswered runs. LSU, on the other hand, lost a tight battle with Wake Forest, 3-2. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they burned through a lot of pitching and now have to piece together a lineup for this game.
Tennessee opened as a -120 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, a number that grew to -130 shortly thereafter. Though both teams are playing back-to-back days, the Vols appear to have more legs, particularly in their pitching staff. One arm they may be without, however, is Chase Burns, who went six innings yesterday (73 pitches). For someone who throws as hard as Burns (fastball tops out at 102 mph), he’s likely unavailable Tuesday.
Should LSU dig into the Tennessee bullpen, they’ll likely encounter Seth Halvorsen (3-3, 3.83 ERA). Halvorsen pitched 1.2 innings in relief in Tennessee’s first game against LSU, where he gave up two runs and picked up the loss.
Omaha Weather
The forecast high in Omaha for Tuesday is 92º, with no rain forecast. A stiff breeze out of center field during the day is expected to taper during the game, but could top out around 15-20 mph early on in the game. Both teams rely on power hitting, perhaps more so LSU, and this wind could keep a top on the run total for the game.
Projected Pitchers
Starters for LSU vs. Tennessee may not be announced until game time. However, we can speculate on who might start on the mound Tuesday:
- LSU: Riley Cooper (4-3, 4.89 ERA, 4.73 FIP) OR Javen Coleman (1-2, 6.39 ERA, 7.59 FIP)
- Tennessee: Drew Beam (9-4, 3.78 ERA, 5.13 FIP )
LSU’s third starter, Thatcher Hurd, worked three innings yesterday against Wake Forest. A starter isn’t known, but it’ll likely either be Riley Cooper or Javen Coleman. Should Coleman go, expect him to go just an inning or two before giving way to Cooper or Hurd; he hasn’t thrown more than three innings this season. Cooper has better numbers and movement in favor of LSU suggests he’ll start on the mound.
Tennessee, on the other hand, trots out Drew Beam, their top starter. In his last outing, Beam tossed six scoreless innings in the Vols’ win over Southern Miss in the Super Regionals to reach Omaha. In a bizarre April 1 loss to LSU, Beam allowed eight hits and six runs scored, although only one was counted as earned. There’s a clear pitching advantage in this one: Tennessee.
LSU Vs. Tennessee Odds Analysis
With winds dying throughout the game, looking over live run totals might be beneficial. Totals varied from 11.5 (Over -125) to 12 (Under -125) pre-live.
Despite questions as to who starts, I bet LSU -105 in this game. The Tigers have the better top-to-bottom lineup at the plate and Tennessee doesn’t have access to their lockdown reliever, Chase Burns. That lineup is capable of getting on Drew Beam early and taking him out of the game, like we saw back in April. Without Burns, there’s not a super high safety net behind Beam.
Though LSU’s bullpen has been its shortcoming this season, having Thatcher Hurd on standby for relief duty gives the Tigers stronger immediate relief than the Vols. The market moved in favor of LSU not long after opening with the expected starting pitcher favoring Riley Cooper.
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