Will Duke make the College World Series 2024? Breaking down the Blue Devils' NCAA tournament odds
Duke has impressed NCAA baseball oddsmakers this season, with its rapid ascent to the College World Series tournament odds list. Initial odds placed during the start of the season pegged the Blue Devils between a +5000 and +7000 chance of taking home the national title, way behind early favorites Wake Forest, LSU and Florida.
A month and a half later, Duke's odds improved to +1400, due to its 20-8 record from the start of the baseball season until March 31. This placed them sixth in the nation, behind LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Wake Forest and Arkansas. They are ahead of Texas A&M, Oregon State, Clemson and Vanderbilt.
In BetMGM's May 5 update, the Blue Devils slightly fell, tying for seventh place along with Kentucky and Florida State at +1800. They are now behind Wake Forest (+1500), Oregon State (+1400), Clemson (+1200), Tennessee (+1000), Arkansas (+600) and Texas A&M (+500). This is partly due to their 10-6 record in April, which brought their overall record down to 30-14.
The month of May has been friendly for Duke so far as they have a 4-1 record, which includes lopsided victories over Longwood and morale-boosting victories over No. 6-ranked East Carolina and division foes Georgia Tech.
All-around game propels Duke's surge in 2024 NCAA baseball
Duke's improved all-around game has been the major factor in its quest this season. The Chris Pollard-coached squad has an overall record of 34-15 (15-11 in ACC).
The Blue Devils have averaged 8.71 runs per game — a big improvement from 7.63 runs last season. Their batting average also improved dramatically, hitting .318 this season from .280 in 2023.
The offensive distribution for Duke has been balanced all season long with Ben Miller leading the team in batting average, hitting .410 this season.
Logan Bravo is the top home run hitter with 14 homers while Miller and Zac Morris are not far behind with 13 each. AJ Gracia and Devin Obee have 12 HRs each and Alex Stone has provided 10 homers for the Blue Devils.
Bravo leads the team in RBIs with 52 while Gracia and Stone are second with 51. Miller leads the team in doubles with 17 while Stone and Bravo have 15 and 14 doubles, respectively.
In terms of pitching, Jonathan Santucci is leading Duke this season with a 6-1 record and a 3.54 ERA. He has struck out 86 and held opponents to a batting average of .189 during his starts. Charlie Bellenson has been the team's best closer with 11 saves.
Duke needs to win their last five games to pick up a better seeding in the ACC baseball tournament which begins on May 21 at the Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Will Duke advance in the College World Series? Let us know in the comments section.