NCAA Baseball Tops In North Carolina, As State Set For Mobile Sports Betting
With the college baseball season beginning today (Feb. 16), North Carolina is in the spotlight with some of the nation’s top teams.
In the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll, North Carolina has five teams among the Top 25, including No. 1 ranked Wake Forest.
Wake Forest opens the season with a weekend schedule that includes three home games at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons face Fordham (Friday), Illinois (Saturday) and Akron (Sunday).
The state’s other top-ranked teams are:
- East Carolina (12)
- Duke (14)
- North Carolina (15)
- North Carolina State (16)
College Baseball Betting Primer
In his email newsletter on Friday, VSiN’s Bill Adee set the stage for the start of the NCAA baseball season..
Adee noted that analyst Aaron Moore, in his VSiN primer on NCAA baseball betting, points to the “elite pitching staff” that has Wake Forest at +700 to win the national title.
“The Wake Forest Pitching Lab produces superior arms, and this year head coach Tom Walter will rely heavily on possibly the top pitcher in the nation in lefty Josh Hartle,” Moore writes. “There is also reliever turned starter Michael Massey and former Tennessee gunslinger Chase Burns.”
College baseball’s regular season runs from Friday until mid-May. The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament is set for May 21-26 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the national title game played in Omaha, Nebraska, in June.
Mobile Betting Begins In Time For March Madness
While college baseball is starting this weekend, college basketball is entering the season’s crucial final phase, which always attracts attention in North Carolina.
One of the top basketball rivalries in the country, pitting Duke against North Carolina, has national title implications again this year. Both teams are in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The North Carolina Tar Heels (19-5) are No. 7, while the Duke Blue Devils (18-5) are No. 9.
The NCAA March Madness tournament begins March 19 and ends April 8 with the NCAA championship game in Glendale, Arizona.
In addition to being in contention for a national championship, Duke and North Carolina are expected to challenge for the ACC title.
The ACC tournament tips off March 12 in Washington, D.C. That tournament begins one day after the March 11 launch of commercial mobile sports betting in North Carolina. Betting will be allowed on pro and college sports.
Prior to the launch, bettors age 21 and over can register on March 1 with approved mobile sports betting operators in the state.
By Feb. 16, North Carolina gaming regulators has not approved any mobile operators, though state officials have scheduled two meetings for next week on sports betting. A discussion about mobile sports wagering operators could occur at the following meetings:
- Feb. 19: Sports Betting Committee
- Feb. 21: North Carolina State Lottery Commission
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