Oklahoma Sooners vs. Ole Miss Rebels: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | 2022 College World Series Game 1

Lefty Luc Fladda pitches for OU in the Shriners Children's College Classic.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Ole Miss Rebels Game 1 Preview: Pitching reigns supreme with these two teams

The Oklahoma Sooners and Ole Miss Rebels have taken completely different paths to the College World Series finals. Tonight, they will begin a three-game series to determine who the 2022 National Champion will be.

When the NCAA tournament started, nobody expected the last two teams standing to be Ole Miss and Oklahoma. They took two separate routes to the finals, but now both sit two wins away from a national championship.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediciton for the game.

Ole Miss Rebels Preview:

It's championship series GAMEDAY!

⏰ 6 p.m. CT
🆚 No. 4 Oklahoma
📍 #OleMaha, Neb.
🏟 Charles Schwab Field
📺 ESPN
💻 rebs.us/3nh5xmX
📻 rebs.us/3nekExB
📊 rebs.us/3nh5uYj https://t.co/mT5uQBinIZ

"It's championship series GAMEDAY!" - Ole Miss Baseball

Ole Miss played the Arkansas Razorbacks three games in a row, winning two of them. That included Thursday's elimination victory that pushed them into the finals. They basically played a warm-up three-game series to prepare them for this series starting tonight. Sophomore Jack Dougherty will get the start for the Rebels, while head coach Mike Bianco intends to keep their aces fresh for Games 2 & 3.

Offensively, the Ole Miss Rebels have been led by Justin Bench, Tim Elko, and Kevin Graham. These three have accounted for the vast majority of the Rebels' offensive production during this tournament. The key to victory for Ole Miss is to get a quality start out of Dougherty and let the fresh bullpen do their job.

Oklahoma Sooners Preview:

𝘈 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘴, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺.

#COMPETE | #OklahOMAHA https://t.co/DfcGLpq5rb

"A team full of Davids, dripping with Sooner Magic, will play for the trophy." - Oklahoma Baseball

The Sooners have been the best team in the NCAA since the tournament started. They have an overall postseason record of 12-2 this season, with a plus-13 run differenttial in Omaha so far. They took care of Texas A&M and Notre Dame on their way to the final series.

The Oklahoma Sooners will give the start to Jake Bennett, who has been their most effective and efficient starter this season. Bennett has a 10-3 record with an ERA of 3.66 on the year. The key to victory for the Sooners is to take advantage of the run-scoring opportunities they are given.

Pick/Prediction: Under 10.5 (-105) & LEAN Oklahoma Sooners ML

This total seems to be a bit too high. Dougherty has shown the ability to be effective, but he needs to put it all together in the most important game of his career. On the other hand, Jake Bennett faces an Ole Miss lineup that struggles more against lefties. We're trusting these two pitchers to take care of business and keep this Game 1 scoring to a minimum. Enjoy the game!