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Athens Regional betting preview: Can Georgia end streak of regional round exits?
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The Athens Regional will get underway Friday afternoon with Georgia the favorite to advance. On the line is a chance for the Bulldogs, a top-8 seed, to end their Super Regional drought.
Behind the elite power bat of Charlie Condon, Georgia averaged 9.3 runs per game, a mark that ranked 7th nationally this season. He will try to power the Bulldogs to their first regional win since 2008, also the last time that Georgia advanced to the College World Series.
The Athens Regional will host Georgia’s in-state rival Georgia Tech, Army and UNC Wilmington. Here is the full regional schedule and the latest betting odds:
Athens Regional schedule (all times ET)
Friday, May 31
- Game 1 — 1 Georgia vs. 4 Army — 1 pm (ESPN+)
- Game 2 — 3 Georgia Tech vs. 2 UNCW — 7 pm (ESPN+)
Saturday, June 1
- Game 3 — Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 — 12 pm (TBD)
- Game 4 — Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 — 6 pm (TBD)
Sunday, June 2
- Game 5 — Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 — 12 pm (TBD)
- Game 6 — Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4 — 6 pm (TBD)
Monday, June 3
- Game 7 (if necessary) — Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 — TBD (TBD)
Betting odds for Athens Regional
As the No. 7 overall seed and host program, Georgia is the favorite to advance and host a Super Regional in the next round. Despite being the 3rd seed in the regional, Georgia Tech has the 2nd-best odds to win the group and advance.
Here are the latest odds for the regional from ESPN Bet:
- Georgia: -150
- Georgia Tech: +280
- UNC Wilmington: +450
- Army: +3000
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Here is a breakdown of every seed in the Athens Regional:
No. 1 Georgia
Georgia enters the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid after finishing 3rd in the SEC East. The Bulldogs were cruising late in the season until dropping 2 of 3 at home to Florida in the final series of the season and losing to LSU 9-1 in the SEC Tournament.
Still, Georgia hits the postseason with a No. 6 ranking in the RPI after going 13-10 against Quad 1 and 9-3 against Quad 2. The Bulldogs swept Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Alabama in the regular season while also beating Georgia Tech twice.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are 1 of 12 teams to average at least 9 runs per game this season. Charlie Condon’s 35 home runs lead the offense, but the unit also features 4 other players to hit double-digit home runs this season. Defensively, the Bulldogs will need to get some strong pitching performances to get out of the regional round after averaging 6.1 runs allowed.
No. 2 UNC Wilmington
UNC Wilmington finished 2nd in the CAA standings but advanced into the NCAA Tournament after winning 2 straight games against College of Charleston in the CAA Tournament. As a result, Charleston — regular-season champs of the CAA — were left out of the final field while UNCW secured the No. 2 seed in Athens.
The Seahawks hold the 34th RPI slot after going 5-5 against Quad 1 opponents and 7-5 in Quad 2 opponents. UNCW registered nonconference wins over NC State (twice), Wake Forest, Coastal Carolina, and also faced regional hosts UNC and East Carolina during the regular season.
The offense averaged over 7 runs per game and is led by Tanner Thach with 27 home runs. UNCW also boasts a top-30 pitching staff with just over 5 runs allowed per game.
No. 3 Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech enters the Athens Regional as an at-large bid after finishing 4th in the ACC Coastal and going 0-2 in the ACC Tournament. The Yellow Jackets finished .500 in league play, but are battle-tested with a 49th overall RPI and 10-14 record against Quad 1 opponents.
Georgia Tech registered regular-season series wins against Duke, Virginia and NC State, a trio of teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets went 0-2 against Georgia in the rivalry series, including a 3-1 defeat in Athens.
Offensively, the Yellow Jackets averaged over 8 runs per game with 3 players producing 10+ home runs, including 23 home runs from Drew Burress. Defense has been a bigger issue for Georgia Tech with 6.8 runs allowed per game and a 6.65 team ERA.
No. 4 Army
Army punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with the regular season and tournament titles in the Patriot League, going 16-8 in conference play. After losing the opener in the Patriot League Tournament, the Black Knights rattled off 4 straight wins, including 2 straight wins over Navy.
Army enters the Athens Regional ranked 124th in RPI. They went 0-1 in Quad 1 games and were 3-3 in Quad 2. The Black Knights did average 6.7 runs per game this season and boasted a top-20 pitching staff while allowing 4.7 runs per game.
If Army is going to advance from the regional round, it will take some lights-out pitching performances and some timely hitting.
Athens Regional pick
Pitching could prove to be an Achilles heel for Georgia at some point in the NCAA Tournament, but it’s hard to see it holding the Bulldogs back from getting to the Super Regionals. Georgia is a regional host and favorite to win the group for a reason, and the Bulldogs will be just fine if the bats get hot early.
Pick to win the region: Georgia (-150 via ESPN Bet)
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
