We go again! After Arkansas worked their way out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the ninth to hang onto their 3-2 lead, a decisive second semifinal game was forced on Wednesday night. This also forces the Ole Miss Rebels to throw everything at this game, sending ace Dylan DeLucia to the mound for his second appearance in Omaha, while Arkansas sends Connor Noland to the bump. The Oklahoma Sooners await the victor on Saturday, and they’ll be glad to see that whoever wins will be on shorter rest than them. It's time to continue our College World Series odds series with an Arkansas-Ole Miss prediction and pick.

 

First pitch, due to a weather system moving in later in the evening, is slated for 4PM EST on ESPN2. With all that out of the way here’s the odds for this elimination game, courtesy of FanDuel.

2022 College World Series Odds: Arkansas-Ole Miss Odds

Moneyline: Arkansas (-122), Ole Miss (+100)

Spread: Arkansas +1.5 runs (-188), Ole Miss -1.5 runs (+152)

Over/Under: Over 9.5 runs (+104), Under 9.5 runs (-128)

Arkansas-Ole Miss Prediction

Both teams are throwing caution to the wind, placing their aces on the mound, meaning we're likely in for another insanely good matchup between these two teams, much like we saw Wednesday. Only one of my three predictions for yesterday betting-wise hit, so perhaps use your own discretion when analyzing how smart these bets are, but nonetheless here are my predictions on which bets you should make and why.

Ole Miss moneyline again is the better option, and this time with more favorable odds. Sure, teams that force a second semifinal game (Arkansas in this case) win that second tilt more than half the time, but if this is going to be a pitching battle, it's picking your poison. Noland tossed a gem against Stanford in the opening round, and DeLucia has been painting frescos in the strike zone all postseason. Honestly, this is as much a toss-up as you can get, so go with your heart here.

Ole Miss -1.5 runs is just the mathematical choice. We very well could see another very close game on Thursday afternoon, perhaps even another one-run game that busts the spread either way. Thus, as a bettor, you take the better odds. That so happens to be Ole Miss by some margin. There really aren't many, if any scenarios where taking a bet with odds of +188 makes sense unless you've put together a massive parlay that you're not expecting to hit anyway.

Under 9.5 runs is the play, given the two pitchers starting and the results of Wednesday's game. Both have equal odds, but again, only three College World Series games out of twelve so far have hit the over, so trends would dictate you betting otherwise. As mentioned earlier, this was literally the only correct prediction on Wednesday, so if you listen to nothing else from this article, listen to this one.

Arkansas-Ole Miss Prediction

Now look, I know yesterday didn't go so hot, but it's worth remembering that Ole Miss put themselves in a position to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Loading the bases with no outs is incredibly difficult to do that late in a game, especially down two runs like they were at the time. Sure, they only got the one run out of it, which is disappointing, but being able to rally like that shows the determination this squad has to take it all the way. The official prediction is a gem by DeLucia and enough hits to squeeze out a narrow win over the Hogs, and a date with both Oklahoma, and destiny in the championship series.

Arkansas-Ole Miss Prediction Pick: Ole Miss -1.5 (+152)