College Baseball Picks Today: Best Bets for Friday, March 1

This article is part of our College Baseball Picks series.

College Baseball Betting: Expert Picks for Friday, March 1

The opening weekend in March will feature some of the best matchups and series of the entire season. We have some real juggernauts going at it this week. It's definitely going to be one of the more difficult handicaps of the year, but I couldn't be more excited for the challenge. Gear up and get those accounts loaded up because we're going hunting.

Friday is a big slate for me with at least 11 plays (so much for volume monitoring), but here are two of my favorite looks.

As usual, every sportsbook is slow with giving out totals and run lines until at least the day of, so only money lines will be given.

Pre-registration for North Carolina sports betting opened Friday ahead of the March 11 official launch date. Stay up to date on the latest North Carolina betting promos, including the Caesars North Carolina promo code, here at RotoWire.

Dallas Baptist Patriots (-135) vs. Arizona Wildcats (+105)

The early part of the College Baseball season is great. It gives us a chance to get a preview of which teams we should be on the look out for, and we also get some awesome non-conference showdowns in these random tournaments. These two will take part in the Frisco Classic down in Texas along with Indiana and Alabama.

The 8-0 Patriots have had some close calls thus far, but it's a team that is highly regarded as one of the best mid-major programs in the nation. A big reason for their success has been the development of true ace, Ryan Johnson. His first start of 2024 against SEMO was rough (gave up five earned runs in five innings), but in his last start he was back to himself (seven shutout innings, 13 K's). DBU has been very successful when Johnson is on the bump, winning 14 of his last 18 starts dating back to 2023.

Johnson will draw one of the tougher tests of his '24 season card in Arizona. Zona is that team that beats opposing pitchers to death with non-stop base hits. The Wildcats have racked up at least 10 hits in four of their six weekend games. Johnson only allowed 79 hits in 87.1 innings a season ago, but the one area that plagues him is the longball, where he allowed 13 a year ago. DBU will need their stud to deliver a strong outing if they want to start March off with a W.

For 'Zona, they'll go back to lefty Jackson Kent coming off consecutive quality starts. Against Northeastern, I may have underestimated Kent, but I won't do that for the foreseeable future. His success has come thanks to limiting base runners. The lefty has only yielded nine hits and three walks across 12 innings. The Patriots have a more than capable offense (.345 average, 18 HRs, 17 stolen bases). The big bopper Kent will have to worry about his C Grant Jay and his .419 average and four longballs. DBU needs to attack Arizona's pitching early and often to get into the bullpen.

Friday nights are for the horses. While the Wildcats are a capable team that I have been on the wrong side of the last two weeks, I feel obliged to back Ryan Johnson. In my opinion, six runs is the magic number for the Patriots. If he's sharp then Dallas Baptist will have a very good shot at winning this ball game.

Pick: DBU ML -135

Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming BetMGM North Carolina bonus code as North Carolina gets set to launch sports betting on March 11.

Georgia Bulldogs (-115) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-115)

Talk about MUST SEE TV. Two of the most exciting programs in the sport square off in a big three-game set this weekend. Both of these squads were not expected to even be competitive this year. There's a solid chance they both disappear once conference play begins, but while we have it this will be one of the best series of the entire weekend. Two perennial early-season Golden Spikes candidates do battle in the Peach State.

The 8-1 Bulldogs weren't a good team last year (29-27), but man did they have some weekends against top tier competition where they decided to show up. They swept Arkansas, took the series against Tennessee, and almost took the series against LSU. Led by Charlie Condon, a possible top-five pick this July, the Bulldogs are showing what kind of bite they have. Their 97 runs thus far is good for eighth most in the country and most in the SEC. Keep in mind they haven't beaten anybody noteworthy, but with Condon leading the charge off of his outrageous .639 batting average, 2.113 OPS, and seven homers, it's going to be a team that will be in a lot of games in 2024. Coming off a brutal 19-6 midweek loss to Michigan St, where Condon hit three taters, UGA should be hungry to right the ship.

It will most likely be LHP Grad Student Charlie Goldstein for Georgia, a guy who has flashed a solid profile for a weekend SEC starter. The lefty has impressed thus far with a 2.00 ERA and 14 punchies across nine innings. His 2023 ERA of 5.03 causes a bit of hesitation, but going beyond the numbers, Goldstein is a battle-tested veteran who has notched some big outings in his career. In four consecutive 2023 starts against Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, he only allowed four earned runs in 23.1 IP, while striking out 23 and walking four. His primary focus will be cooling off white-hot freshman, Drew Burress, who smashed FOUR homers in Tuesday's game against Georgia State. Burress leads the nation with nine round-trippers and holds a pristine .441 average. The Yellow Jackets have a red-hot lineup right now, but the freshman needs to be held in check.

G Tech will likely be throwing LHP Camron Hill, a primarily career reliever. Hill has a small sample size in 2024 with just six innings, but he's only surrendered one hit and one earned run. Career wise, he's pitching to a bloated 6.75 ERA with 38 walks in 60 innings. It's definitely a spot where UGA should be able to put up at least six or seven runs. This UGA offense also is getting tons of production outside of their superstar, so there is a good chance we see some fireworks on Friday night. 

The blazing 7-1 start for Georgia Tech is definitely a cool story, and I expect there to be some great spots to back them this season, but that may not be in game one. At some point, I believe G Tech will fade. They should take one game in this series though. UGA just got embarrassed, so this is a prime bounce-back spot. In what should be a heavyweight battle this weekend, give me the Bulldogs, who should be a little closer to -125 favorites as opposed to the pick'em price they currently are.

Pick: Georgia ML -115

Don't forget to check out all of my College Baseball plays on my Twitter @_JohnnyVTV, as well as my podcast Breaking Bet: The College Baseball Betting Show. Find it on YouTube and Spotify.