Expert Picks, Odds & How to Watch Ole Miss vs North Carolina

• The North Carolina Tar Heels are slight favorites against the Ole Miss Rebels in their opening game at the College World Series
• Ole Miss has yet to lose a game at the NCAA Tournament
• See my Ole Miss vs North Carolina picks, odds and how to watch below

It’s on to Omaha, as the College World Series has its final field of eight, where the 5th-ranked North Carolina Diamond Heels will battle the Ole Miss Rebels in Bracket 1 action Friday.

The books have slotted the UNC — the lone representative of the ACC — as the betting favorites for this one.

Action gets underway at 7pm ET. Read below for my picks, updated odds and how you can catch watch this game Friday night.

Ole Miss vs North Carolina Picks & Prediction

• Under 8.5 runs (-150 at bet365)

Friday’s matchup is expected to feature a couple of stud pithers.

Ole Miss diverted from its original choice for Hunter Elliott — the lone holdover from the Rebels’ 2022 title team — and will instead go with Tyler Rabe, who has come alive in the postseason.

He beat Nebraska in the Lincoln Regional going six innings and scattering four hits, allowing just one run and striking out nine. Rabe then went seven against Auburn in Game 2 of the super regionals, surrendering two runs on six hits, and striking out eight.

While UNC hasn’t officially names a starter (as of 2am Friday), it’s expected ace Jason DeCaro will get the call for the Diamond Heels.

DeCaro is coming off a dominant, must-win effort against USC in the super regionals, pitching a complete game 2-hit shutout, in a 4-0 win.

The bigger matchup here will be how Ole Miss’ pitching staff can handle the Diamond Heels, who boast one of the most potent offenses in the NCAA.

The Rebels might be the team that can slow them down, as they rank inside the Top-5 in the nation in total strikeouts, and boasted one of the top ERA’s in the ultra-competitive SEC.

They’ve got plenty of power, with four different hitters with double-digit home runs on the year, while Owen Hull is a hit machine, leading the team with a .390 average with 81 RBI’s and 24 doubles. Jack Schaffner is potent too, hitting .358.

But this offense has slowed significantly in the super regionals, tallying just four runs in each of their final two wins to take out USC. They went just 3-for-26 against the Trojans, and that failure to deliver in the clutch nearly cost them.

Ole Miss has yet to lose in the tournament, and the pitching has held up, allowing just 13 runs in three Lincoln Regional games, and stuffing powerhouse Auburn to just seven runs in two wins.

I like the pitching to hold up Friday, and keep the score low.

Ole Miss vs North Carolina Odds

The Ole Miss vs North Carolina odds have the Diamond Heels as -155 moneyline favorites, with the Rebels a not-too-distant +115 to win outright.

On the runline, the Tar Heels are getting +130 odds to win by at least two runs, while Ole Miss is getting 1.5 runs on the spread, with a payout of -170if they can stay within range.

The total is set at 8.5 runs, with the Over getting a little extra juice at +100 odds.

Odds as of June 12 at bet365. Claim a bet365 promo code to bet on Ole Miss vs North Carolina and other NCAA Baseball Championship games

How to Watch Ole Miss vs North Carolina

All CWS games will be played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Ole Miss vs UNC goes Friday night at 7pm ET, in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN. All games will feature on ESPN, with the exception being Game 2 of the championship series, which will air on ABC.