Internet gambling companies are getting ready for the College World Series with odds going up on the 64-team tournament. Arizona State is the top seed and one of the online gambling favorites to win the title.
Internet gambling companies don’t get that much action on the College World Series but the interest has increased in recent years with so many games being on TV. The action begins with the regionals but doesn’t really pick up steam until the later rounds. Arizona State enters the tournament as the top seed. They won the Pac-10 title and finished 47-8 on the season. Being a top seed in the tournament has been the kiss of death so Arizona State may not be a good bet in online gambling to win the title. Last year Texas was the top seed but LSU took the title. The last team to be the top seed and go on to win the College World Series was Miami of Florida back in 1999.
College World Series play begins with 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals. Arizona State opens up at home against Horizon League champion Milwaukee who finished 33-24. Other top seeds in the College World Series are Texas (46-11), Florida (42-15), Coastal Carolina (51-7), Virginia (47-11), UCLA (43-13), Louisville (48-12) and Georgia Tech (45-13). Three conferences had eight teams selected to the tournament. The Pac-10, ACC and SEC each got eight teams into the College World Series. The Big 12 was next with five teams.
Each of the winners in the 16 regionals advances to a best-of-three super regional with the top seeds playing the lower seeds. Those eight winners will then advance to the College World Series, which begins June 19 in Omaha, Nebraska. This will be the last College World Series played at Rosenblatt Stadium. That stadium has been the home of the College World Series since 1950 but next year it will be moving to a new stadium in downtown Omaha.
The defending champion in the College World Series is LSU and they will open up play against UC Irvine in the Los Angeles regional where UCLA will be favored. One story line to watch will be the 54-game hitting streak of Florida International’s Garrett Wittels. Florida International is one of the top seeds and they begin play against Texas A&M. Wittels needs four hits to tie Robin Ventura’s streak of 58 straight games with a hit.