The Texas Longhorns take on the Stanford Cardinal in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Our NCAA baseball odds series has our Texas Stanford prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Texas Stanford.

The Texas Longhorns and Stanford Cardinal are old-time college baseball powerhouses looking for a reaffirming championship. Both teams have made each of the past two College World Series, but neither team has been to the championship round of the CWS since 2009 (Texas). Stanford hasn't been to the championship round since 2003. Both teams know how to get to Omaha, but closing the deal has proved to be elusive over the past 18 years. Texas last won a national title in 2005. One of these teams won't even get to Omaha, so the battle of elite programs carries extra weight.

Stanford got here by beating Texas's archrival, the Texas A&M Aggies, in its home-field regional. Stanford received timely hitting with great consistency throughout the weekend and hopes that's a sign of things to come against the Longhorns.

Texas won its regional on the road. The Longhorns had to go to Coral Gables, Fla., to take on the Miami Hurricanes. Texas was more than up for the challenge and was able to batter the Miami pitching staff. Texas had a very disappointing Big 12 Tournament, but the Longhorns were able to quickly turn the page and win away from home. They'll need to win away from home if they want to go to Omaha.

Here are the Texas-Stanford NCAA Baseball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NCAA Baseball Odds: Texas-Stanford Odds

Texas: -1.5 (+130) ML (-113)

Stanford: +1.5 (-170) ML (-113)

Over: 12.5 (-110)

Under: 12.5 (-120)

How To Watch Texas vs. Stanford

TV: ESPN2

Stream: ESPN+, WatchESPN

Time: 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

*Watch Texas-Stanford LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Texas Could Cover The Spread

The Longhorns' offense struggled at the Big 12 Tournament, but it came alive in Coral Gables against Miami. Being unshackled like that — busting out of a slump — could be just the thing to give the Longhorns the confidence they need against Stanford.

Speaking of Stanford, the Cardinal did not even make the final of the Pac-12 Tournament, losing to an Arizona team which quickly bowed out of the regionals last weekend in Arkansas. Stanford sometimes looks like a juggernaut, but at other times it plays like a highly vulnerable team. The aggressiveness of the Texas batting order could pose real problems for the Stanford pitching staff.

Why Stanford Could Cover The Spread

The Stanford Cardinal are the Pac-12 champions, and they certainly played like the champions of their Power Five conference this past weekend in their home-field regional. The Cardinal's pitching got pounded at the Pac-12 Tournament, but it really bounced back last weekend, especially in the championship game of the regional against Texas A&M. You could see that Stanford's pitchers significantly raised their game one week after stumbling against Oregon and Arizona in the Pac-12 tourney. If that level of pitching carries over into this game, the Cardinal are very likely to win. The Texas offense is feast or famine; if Stanford's pitching staff gets the upper hand, Texas won't be able to win 2-1 or 3-2 pitching battles. Stanford's batting order is too deep and balanced to get shut down. Texas will need six or seven runs to win games in this series, so if Stanford can limit Texas to three or four runs, the Cardinal become clear favorites.

Final Texas-Stanford Prediction & Pick

The fact that Stanford's pitching came alive when it really needed to this past weekend in the regionals is a great sign for the Cardinal heading into the Texas series. Take Stanford in Game 1.

Final Texas-Stanford Prediction & Pick: Stanford ML (-113)