Wake Forest vs. LSU College World Series odds, trends: Bettors on Tigers to extend season in elimination game Wednesday

Arguably the most anticipated college baseball game of the season is on tap Wednesday at the College World Series in Omaha as No. 1 overall seed and tournament favorite Wake Forest can eliminate No. 5 seed LSU, which had taken the most action to win the tournament at BetMGM, with a victory. Wake Forest is a -145 favorite Wednesday at the book, but the Tigers are taking 64% of the bets and 60% of the money at +110. The total has plummeted from 11.5 runs to 9, with 81% of the bets and 93% of the money on the Under. Click here for expert picks.

LSU (50-16) entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country and held that title for 12 weeks. When the Tigers dropped in the rankings, Wake Forest became the No. 1 team and has stayed there ever since. It's frankly a shame both are on the same side of the bracket and can't play in the final.

Note that the Tigers will be the "home" team tonight and would be again if they force a winner-take-all matchup on Thursday. LSU is 2-1 in this tournament. It opened with a 6-3 win over Tennessee on Saturday, lost 3-2 to Wake Forest on Monday, and avoided elimination with a 5-0 win over Tennessee on Tuesday to eliminate the Volunteers. Left-handers Nate Ackenhausen and Riley Cooper combined for the shutout with eight strikeouts. The last time the Tigers had a CWS shutout was in the 1993 championship game against Wichita State, when Brett Laxton set a title game record with 16 strikeouts.

LSU has advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 and reached 50 wins for the 14th time in school history. Star outfielder Dylan Crews, the likely No. 1 overall pick in next month's MLB Draft, is hitting .478, with a .613 on-base percentage and .870 slugging percentage with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI this postseason (includes regional rounds).

Wake Forest (54-10) would reach the national championship series (starting Saturday) with a win tonight against an opponent TBA. The Demon Deacons have been off since Monday's 3-2 win over LSU. Camden Minacci (1-1) earned his first win of the season as he set the Tigers down in order in the ninth inning. He also saved Saturday's win. Wake Forest's pitching staff has totaled an NCAA-high 761 strikeouts this year. The all-time Division I record is 817 by Mississippi State in 2021.

Crews was held hitless for the 11th time this season Monday, and he struck out multiple times for just the ninth time. LSU lost for just the sixth time this year when leading after five innings. Wake Forest's 54 wins are tied for the most in the ACC since 2013 and is tied for the third highest total since 2010. Deacons star hitter Brock Wilken is 7-for-19 with a double, four home runs and five RBI in this NCAA postseason.

The starting pitchers are TBA as of now but it's not expected that either team's ace, LSU's Paul Skenes (123 pitches on Saturday against Tennessee) or Wake Forest's Rhett Lowder (100 pitches on Saturday against Stanford), will get the call. With LSU's season on the line, Skenes is likely available, though.

Wake Forest is the -105 tournament favorite and LSU is +600. Florida and TCU are on the other half of the bracket. 

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