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The Virginia Cavaliers take on the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Our college baseball odds series has our Virginia Duke prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Virginia Duke.
This is Game 2 of the Super Regionals in the NCAA Tournament. Duke leads the series 1-0 and has two chances to punch a ticket to Omaha for the College World Series.
Duke won Game 1 on Friday in a 5-4 thriller. The teams traded leads — Duke led 2-0, then Virginia led 4-3 — before Duke produced a go-ahead rally in the top of the eighth. The margins were small throughout this game. Virginia almost came up with a big defensive play in the top of the eighth, but the ball squirted out of the UVA centerfielder's glove on an attempt at a diving catch. That small difference between a catch and a base hit helped Duke push across one run for a 5-4 lead.
Virginia put two men on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. On the final pitch of the game, the Cavaliers thought for a brief moment they had won on a long drive to left field, but the ball was caught right in front of the wall for the final out. It was that kind of game, always hanging in the balance and feeling utterly tenuous on both sides.
If that is an indication of what we'll see for the rest of the weekend, baseball fans are in for A-grade entertainment in Charlottesville.
Here are the Virginia-Duke NCAA Baseball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NCAA Baseball Odds: Virginia-Duke Game 2 Odds
Virginia Cavaliers: -1.5 (-125)
Duke Blue Devils: +1.5 (-105)
Over: 11.5 (-120)
Under: 11.5 (-110)
How To Watch Virginia vs Duke Game 2
TV: ESPN2
Article Continues Below
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET/9:00 a.m. PT
*Watch Virginia-Duke LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Virginia Could Cover The Spread
The Cavaliers' season hinges on the outcome of this game. It's win or go home for Virginia. The urgency of the moment should help the Hoos, who have lost just 13 games all season long compared to 22 for Duke. This is a good team which did not get a great performance from its bullpen and came about seven feet short (on the final flyout of the game) of winning on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. It's not as though Duke dominated Game 1; the Blue Devils made a lot of important plays, but the margin was microscopic. Virginia, which finished three places ahead of Duke in the ACC regular season (second to fifth), is more than good enough to bounce back in this game and make the handful of plays it failed to make on Friday.
Why Duke Could Cover The Spread
The Blue Devils know how to win on Virginia's home field. Virginia has lost just five times at home all season long, winning 35 times. Duke, however, has won three of those five games UVA has lost. Duke scouts Virginia well and executes its game plan against the Cavaliers. The Blue Devils have been able to contain Virginia's bats, and they get enough timely offense to make the difference. Duke's success against Virginia this season is really hard to argue against, and after winning another road game in Charlottesville, the Blue Devils aren't going to lack belief in this game.
Final Virginia-Duke Prediction & Pick
Virginia has to win. Duke would like to win. Virginia is the designated visiting team but is playing on its home field. A Duke sweep of this series would be a very surprising result, so take UVA in this one.
Final Virginia-Duke Prediction & Pick: Virginia -1.5 (-125)
