South Carolina vs Florida Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Super Regionals Game 1 (Expect a Close-Fought Clash)

South Carolina vs Florida Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Super Regionals Game 1 (Expect a Close-Fought Clash)

Updated:

The 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament continues on Friday, featuring Game 1 of the Gainesville Super Regional between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Florida Gators.

South Carolina vs Florida Game Info

  • Date: Friday, June 9, 2023
  • Time: 6 p.m. ET
  • Venue: Condron Family Ballpark – Gainesville, Florida
  • Coverage: ESPN2, ESPN+

Both programs ran through the Regionals without breaking much of a sweat. South Carolina won its three matchups by outscoring its opponents 41-11 on aggregate while Florida held its trio of foes to a total of 3 runs, winning each contest by exactly 6 runs.

South Carolina vs Florida Odds & Spread

Florida enters this contest as the favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 6 p.m. ET clash also features a projected total of 12.5 runs with the Under being favored at -125 odds.

South Carolina vs Florida Betting Trends

  • South Carolina is 4-2 straight up (SU) in its last six games.
  • Florida is 7-2 SU in its last nine games.
  • South Carolina is scoring an average of 8.8 runs in its last six games.
  • Florida is scoring an average of 5.9 runs in its last eight games.
  • South Carolina is 3-0 SU in its three previous head-to-head matchups against Florida.

South Carolina vs Florida Prediction & Pick

This Super Regionals clash isn't the first time that South Carolina and Florida are meeting this year. The two notable programs engaged in a three-game series back in April. The affair was fairly one-sided as the Gamecocks won all three clashes, outscoring the Gators by an average of 5 runs per contest.

Although South Carolina's offense was in full effect in the Regionals, it won't have the same success here. Florida has a terrific pitching group that averages 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings (No. 7 in NCAA) as well as a 1.38 WHIP (No. 36). On top of that, the Gators' arms have held four of their past five opponents to 2 or fewer runs.

South Carolina is also just 10-10 SU on the road in 2023, whereas Florida is 33-6 SU at Condron Family Ballpark. The Gamecocks are good, but there's a reason why the Gators are the No. 2 seed in the entire tournament.

Final Score Prediction: Florida: 7 | South Carolina: 6

South Carolina vs Florida Best Bet

Betting options are limited in the college baseball landscape, so I'm taking South Carolina to cover the spread as the 1.5-run underdog. Although I see the Gators winning, it's hard to forget that the Gamecocks swept them earlier this season. This game could wind up coming down to the wire, so I won't be surprised if Florida only wins by 1 run or if South Carolina manages to pull off the upset.

Bet: South Carolina +1.5 (-148)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.