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The LSU Tigers take on the Florida Gators in Game 1 of the College World Series Finals. Our College World Series odds package has our LSU Florida prediction and pick. Find out how to watch LSU Florida.
We have arrived at the final showdowns of the College World Series. One SEC team will take home the trophy from Omaha. Two top-five teams which have been at the forefront of the national championship chase will engage in a best-of-three duel for the title.
Florida's road to the title game was not free of complications, but it was ultimately smoother than LSU's path. Florida scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Virginia 6-5 in its opening game. Had the Gators not mounted that comeback, they might not be here, but once they escaped Virginia, they had everything lined up in their favor, and they took advantage. They grabbed a 5-1 lead over Oral Roberts in the winners' bracket game and held on for a 5-4 win. Then they defeated TCU 3-2 with a run in the ninth to move to the CWS Finals. Florida has won eight games in a row since it lost to Texas Tech in the Gainesville Regional three weeks ago.
LSU lost to Wake Forest in the winners' bracket game this past Monday, forcing the Tigers to win an elimination game against Tennessee and then beat Wake twice. The Tigers were able to accomplish all of those tasks. They beat Wake Forest 5-2 on Wednesday and then won the game of the tournament on Thursday, a classic pitching duel which was scoreless through 10 innings. Tommy White hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th to give LSU a 2-0 win in the semifinal versus the Demon Deacons. The Tigers advanced to the finals and now get to play an SEC opponent for all the marbles in Nebraska.
Here are the LSU-Florida Game 1 College World Series odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College World Series Odds: LSU-Florida Game 1 Odds
LSU: +1.5 (-192)
Florida: -1.5 (+146)
Over: 10.5 (+100)
Under: 10.5 (-132)
How To Watch LSU vs Florida Game 1
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT
*Watch LSU-Florida Game 1 LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why LSU Could Cover The Spread
The Tigers obviously needed starter Paul Skenes to be brilliant in the pitching duel against Wake Forest's Rhett Lowder on Thursday, but since the Tigers couldn't score a run in the first 10 innings, they needed their bullpen to continue to shut out the Demon Deacons, and that's what happened. LSU got three scoreless innings of relief from its pen, a reminder that this pitching staff is not just a one-man show. LSU has ample pitching depth, and given that the Tigers are unlikely to see an opposing pitcher as good as Rhett Lowder of Wake Forest in this game, they should be able to scratch out a few runs and produce enough offense to win.
Why Florida Could Cover The Spread
The Gators are fresh and rested, and unlike LSU, they will be able to send their staff ace to the mound in this game. LSU did really well to reach this championship series, but because the Tigers lost early in Omaha and had to play extra games (two more than Florida did, five to three) to arrive at this point, their pitching staff is taxed. Staff ace Paul Skenes is unavailable for this game, and he probably won't be able to pitch more than one inning on Sunday for Game 2. LSU's most realistic hope is to push this series to a deciding Game 3 on Monday and throw Skenes for 50 to 60 pitches on short rest. Florida clearly has the upper hand in the pitching matchup for this game. That's the benefit of not losing preliminary games in the College World Series.
Final LSU-Florida Prediction & Pick
LSU's pitching staff is not aligned the way the Tigers would have hoped. Florida has everything in perfect alignment. Take Florida.
Final LSU-Florida Prediction & Pick: Florida -1.5
