Texas baseball vs. Arkansas: Prediction and odds college baseball
In just a few hours, head coach David Pierce and Texas baseball will begin the 2023 regular season against the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks in the College Baseball Showdown. Texas will face a team that fell just a couple of games short of winning the College World Series last season at the home of the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, on Feb. 17.
Pierce and the Longhorns finished up last season with their second straight trip to the College World Series. Texas has made a record 38 appearances in the College World Series in program history.
Texas posted a record of 47-22 (14-10 Big 12) last season, which landed it at the No. 8 spot in the final Coaches Poll of the year.
Meanwhile, Arkansas was also able to make a deep postseason run last year. Arkansas finished up the 2022 season with a record of 46-21 (18-10 SEC) following a tough loss in a College World Series elimination game at the hands of the eventual National Champion Ole Miss Rebels. Arkansas was still able to win three games in the College World Series last year, which landed it at No. 3 in the final Coaches Poll of the year.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as Texas gets set to face Arkansas at a neutral site as part of the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Feb. 17, with the first pitch time set for 7 p.m. CT. This game will be streamed live on FloBaseball.
Texas baseball vs. Arkansas: Betting odds for Feb. 17
Texas is a 1.5-run underdog against Arkansas and the over/under is set at 10 runs (per DraftKings Sportsbook).
The moneyline favors Arkansas (-130) by a slight margin over Texas (+100).
Texas vs. Arkansas prediction
Texas opens up the season with a really difficult matchup on Feb. 17. Arkansas brings one of the most talented offenses to the table out of the SEC this season. This will be a really tough test for junior left-hander Lucas Gordon, who gets the call for Pierce and the Longhorns in the first game of the College Baseball Showdown for this squad.
Gordon is definitely the most proven pitcher in the weekend rotation to start the season for the Longhorns. But holding this Arkansas lineup at bay will be a tall task for most any pitcher around the country, let alone to open up the season.
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Texas will be facing a pitcher that was prone to giving up a lot of runs throughout much of his true freshman campaign last season. Arkansas will send sophomore left-hander Hagen Smith to the mound, who went 7-2 last season with a 4.66 earned run average.
If Texas can get to Smith early and often, that will go a long way to giving Gordon the run support he needs to top the Hogs.
Next. 3 "permanent opponents" for Texas in the SEC. dark
I do expect this to be a bit of a rocky opening weekend for the Longhorns given the plethora of new faces among the projected starters on this team. If Texas is able to get two wins out of the three games it plays in the College Baseball Showdown, I would consider that a major success.