North Carolina vs USC Picks & Predictions for Chapel Hill Super Regional (Game 2)

• The USC Trojans can clinch their first trip to the College World Series since 2001 with a win over North Carolina
• The Tar Heels are solid -200 moneyline favorites to extend this series to winner-take-all Game 3
• See my North Carolina vs USC Game 2 picks and prediction, plus the odds for their June 6 clash

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It took an incredible Game 1 comeback win, but now the USC Trojans (48-16) are just a win away from punching their ticket to the College World Series, needing to knock off the North Carolina Tar Heels (48-12-1) in Game 2 of their Chapel Hill Super Regional Series.

The books are expecting a bounce back from the 5th-ranked Tar Heels, picking them as moneyline favorites to push this to an end-of-the-road Game 3 to determine who goes to the CWS.

Game 2 starts at 2pm ET from Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium in North Carolina, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

North Carolina vs USC Odds

The Game 2 UNC vs USC odds have the home team as -200 moneyline favorites, with the Trojans a distant +154 to win outright.

On the runline, the Tar Heels are is -130 to win by at least two runs, while USC is getting 1.5 runs on the spread, with a payout of +100 if they can stay within range.

The total is set at 10 runs, with the Over the prevailing favorite at -120 odds.

Odds as of June 6 at DraftKings. Claim a DraftKings promo code to bet on North Carolina vs USC and other NCAA Baseball Championship games

North Carolina vs USC Picks & Prediction

• Over 10 runs (-120 at DraftKings)

I don’t know if North Carolina can shake the hangover of Game 1 that quickly. They built up a 5-1 lead and watched that lead disintegrate in the sixth and seventh innings, as USC scored eight unanswered, punctuated by Dean Carpentier’s grand slam.

Both teams will have ace-level pitching on the hill in this potential clincher, as UNC ace Jason DeCaro (10-2, 2.54 ERA) will duel with USC’s Grant Govel (10-2, 2.93 ERA).

But even a premium pitching matchup shouldn’t deter you from cashing the Over, as these teams, at their best, are built to mash.

The Tar Heels have had one of the most potent offenses in college baseball, averaging nearly 12 runs per game.

They haven’t been as potent in the NCAA Tournament — though still averaging 8.0 runs per game heading into their series with USC, but Game 1 of the Super Regional was probably the worst time for a power outage.

After scoring five runs across the first five innings, including two each in the second and third frames, UNC didn’t score across the final four innings. The Tar Heels had 10 batters retired in a row before a pair of singles in the ninth inning.

While the Tar Heels will definitely look to DeCaro to neutralize the USC bats, they’re going to have to put up some runs, as the Trojans have averaged about 10 runs per game in their last 10 outings.

They’ve just poured out big-play offense at the NCAA Tourney. Since dropping a 5-4 decision to Texas State in their opener in the College Station Regional, USC has scored 64 runs in the last five games.

The Trojans have topped 10 runs by themselves three times, while their win against UNC in the opener of the Super Regional marked the fourth time in the tourney they’ve combined with an opponent to score double digits.

Carolina has had it happen three times in four tournament games too.

That’s enough to convince me to expect fireworks in the current most important game of the season for both teams.