The Arizona Wildcats take on the TCU Horned Frogs in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Our NCAA baseball odds series has our Arizona TCU prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Arizona TCU.
Arizona went wild at the Pac-12 Tournament last week, and it was just enough to get the Wildcats into the field of 64. They were a bubble team with low odds of getting in, but they beat Arizona State, Oregon State, and Stanford, scoring at least 12 runs in each of those wins. Arizona lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, but the week of work — and the three wins, two of them over NCAA Tournament teams (Oregon State and Stanford) — convinced the selection committee that Arizona was worthy of a postseason bid. Arizona jumped past USC — a team which finished four spots higher in the Pac-12 regular season standings — and Arizona State, which finished three places above the Wildcats in the regular season. We will now see if the Cats can remain hot at the plate in the NCAA Tournament.
TCU won the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington last week. The Horned Frogs consistently mashed the ball and were the class of the event from start to finish. TCU hopes that a change of venue won’t slow down this offense or cause hitters to take more hesitant swings.
This game is part of the Fayetteville Regional hosted by the University of Arkansas. The Razorbacks were leading Santa Clara 10-3 late in their Friday game. If the Hogs hold on, the winner of this Arizona-TCU game will play Arkansas in the winners’ bracket on Saturday. The loser would play Santa Clara.
Here are the Arizona-TCU College Baseball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Baseball Odds: Arizona-TCU Odds
Arizona Wildcats: +1.5 (-156)
TCU Horned Frogs: -1.5 (+120)
Money Line
Arizona: +124
TCU: -160
How To Watch Arizona vs. TCU
TV: ESPNU
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT
*Watch Arizona-TCU LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Arizona Could Cover The Spread
The Wildcats are a red-hot team, having scored bunches of runs at the Pac-12 Tournament last week. That’s obviously a reason to pick them. What you should also consider is that TCU was not one of the top three teams in the Big 12 Conference during the regular season. The Horned Frogs watched Texas, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia all tie for the conference title. TCU was below those three teams in the standings. TCU got hot for one week at the Big 12 Tournament, but the Horned Frogs were not an overwhelmingly strong team for much of the regular season. Keep that point in mind.
Also realize that Arizona, as probably the most controversial at-large selection in the entire NCAA Tournament, is now out to prove that it belongs in the field. Teams which receive unexpected NCAA Tournament berths have a lot of confidence and belief heading into their first NCAA Tournament game.
Why TCU Could Cover The Spread
The Pac-12 just isn’t that strong. Stanford, the regular season champion, got destroyed by Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, losing by 10 runs. Arizona got hot, but Stanford should not be losing by that many runs — at least not if it claims to be a top-level team. The Pac-12 could not place some of its better teams in the NCAA Tournament. Oregon State, the second-place team in the Pac-12, looked even worse than Stanford did at the Pac-12 Tournament. If you’re a Pac-12 skeptic, you have to think TCU is the pick here.
Final Arizona-TCU Prediction & Pick
The fact that Arizona was one of the last teams selected in the NCAA Tournament will give the Wildcats a ton of confidence heading into this game. That confidence will carry into the nine innings. You’re going to see Arizona’s offense remain hot.
Final Arizona-TCU Prediction & Pick: Arizona +1.5