College Baseball 2021 Opening-Week Scoreboard (CB360 Top-50 & more)

February 19, 2021
By

The wait is finally over !!! … kind of. The 2021 college baseball season begins on Friday, Feb. 19, but roughly only one-third of the Division I teams (96, of 300 were set to actually play on Opening Day. The others either already were slated for late starts (namely, the Big Ten Conference) or saw their Feb. 19 games canceled/postponed due to weather or Covid issues. (front page photo courtesy of Miami)

> By CB360’s count, this is the breakdown of the teams that ended up playing on Feb. 19:
8 – WCC
7 – ACC, Big South, Pac-12, SEC
5 – Ohio Valley, SoCon, Sun Belt
4 – American Athletic (AAC), Colonial, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, WAC
3 – Atlantic-10, Big 12, Big West, MAC, Mt. West
2 – Atlantic Sun, Horizon League
1 – Big East, MEAC, Northeastern (NEC), Patriot, Southland, Summit

Of the teams among CB360’s annual, signature Composite National Rankings Top-50 (now in its 13th season), only 26 are still standing for Opening Day. Those teams include a pair of notable head-to-head matchups: [10] Miami at [1] Florida, and [49] UConn at [12] Virginia … meaning that 24 of the top-50 are not playing on Feb. 19. Also of note: [4] Vanderbilt plays host to Horizon League favorite Wright State, a team typically capable of posting several high-level upsets.

As in past seasons, a full, in-depth release/story outlining the CB360 Top-50 will be forthcoming on this CB360 site, later in the weekend. But it is worth noting the 10 teams that sit among the 2021 preseason CB360 Composite Top-50 after not being among the 2020 preseason Top-50: [25] UCF … [28] Alabama … [34] Pepperdine … [36] West Virginia … [41] Tulane … [42] Long Beach State … [43] USC … [44] Notre Dame … [46] Texas State … and [48] Stetson.

(The 10 teams that were 2020 CNR preseason Top-50 but are outside the Top-50 heading into 2021: [2020 CNR preseason #16] Stanford … [36] Cal State Fullerton … [39] Minnesota … [40] UC Irvine … [41] Baylor … [43] South Alabama … [46] BYU … [47] California … [48] Houston … and [50] Florida Atlantic.)

In some ways, the 2021 college baseball season feels like an extension of the abbreviated 2020 campaign, and that can be evidenced by the fact that Stanford is the only team that was among the 2020 CNR preseason top-35 but is not among the 2021 CNR preseason top-50. And the 10 teams that are 2021 CNR preseason top-50 after not being 2020 preseason top-50 do not include any of the current top-24 (six of the 10 are down in the 40s, all but UCF, Alabama, Pepperdine and WVU).

As always, check back to this page all weekend for expanded and updated content. Be sure to follow along via Twitter, along with CB360’s nearly 25K followers, at CB360updates … and here are some helpful direct Twitter threads from the CB360 feed (this list also pinned at top of feed):

> Opening-Day Results:
bit.ly/3scI6f8

> Opening-Day Lineups/Game Coverage Links:
bit.ly/3boj85C

> Opening-Day Cancellations:
bit.ly/3avq3L4

> CB360 Composite National Rankings:
bit.ly/3dv9f8L

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• State Farm College Baseball Showdown
(Globe Life Field; Arlington, TX)
… the six teams all were among top-14 in the CB360 preseason Composite Top-50 (the SEC went 8–1 vs. the Big 12, with a 61–29 scoring edge):

3–0 … [4] Ole Miss
3–0 … [7] Arkansas
2–1 … [8] Mississippi State
1–2 … [14] TCU
0–3 … [3] Texas Tech
0–3 … [13] Texas

* Tournament schedule pushed back one day *

– Saturday (Feb. 20) 
gm–1 – [8] Mississippi State … vs. [13] Texas  |  Live Stats
>> Miss. St. won, 8–12–0 … to 3–9–2

gm–2 – [4] Ole Miss … vs. [14] TCU  |  Live Stats
>> Rebs won 7–9–0 … to 3–8–2

gm–3 – [7] Arkansas … vs. [3] Texas Tech  |  Live Stats
>> Hogs won, 13–11–2 … to 9–9–1

– Sunday  (Feb. 21) 
gm–4– [14] TCU … vs. [8] Mississippi State  |  Live Stats
>> Frogs won 3–4–2 … to 2–7–2

gm–5 – [3] Texas Tech … vs. [4] Ole Miss  |  Live Stats
>> Rebs won 5–5–1 … to 4–6–2

gm–6 – [13] Texas … vs. [7] Arkansas  |  Live Stats
>> Hogs won, 4–6–0 … to 0–2–0

– Monday (Feb. 22) 

gm–7 – [8] Mississippi State … vs. [3] Texas Tech  |  Live Stats
>> Miss. St. won, 11–12–0 … to 5–6–2

gm–8 – [4] Ole Miss … vs. [13] Texas  |  Live Stats
>> Rebs won 8–9–0 … to 1–5–0

gm–9 – [7] Arkansas … vs. [14] TCU  |  Live Stats
>> Hogs won, 3–6–0 … to 1–2–0

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> More TOP MATCHUPS (CB360 Composite Top-50)
(Fri.–Sun.; Feb. 19-21, 2021):

• [10] Miami … at [1] Florida – ‘Canes won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)Gators won, 7–11–0 … to 5–6–2  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)‘Canes won, 10–11–3 … to 9–14–3 (13 inn.)  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – ‘Canes won, 8–10–3 … to 6–13–3  |  Live Stats 

• [49] Connecticut … at [12] Virginia – Cavs won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)UVa won, 2–4–0 … to 1–3–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)UConn won, 10–12–0 … to 9–8–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – UVa won, 4–11–2 … to 2–4–0  |  Live Stats

• [29] Duke … at [35] Coastal Carolina – Devils won series, 2–1
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)Devils won, 12–14–2 … to 4–3–4  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – Chants won 8–10–3 … to 7–6–0 |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Devils won, 10–11–2 … to 9–7–4  |   Live Stats

• at [5] Vanderbilt … vs. Wright State (Horizon League favorite)
Vandy swept 2-gm series
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sun.) – postponed
gm-1 (Mon.) Vandy won 14–14–2 … to 1–5–0
gm-2 (Mon.) – Vandy won 1–8–0 … to 0–2–0

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> Other Key Opening-Week Games (CB360 Composite Top-50)
(Fri.–Mon.; Feb. 19-22, 2021):

• at [2] UCLA … vs. San Francisco – Dons won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)USF won, 6–10–1 … to 2–5–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)Bruins won, 8–11–0 … to 2–6–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) USF won, 8–10–2 … to 3–5–3  |  Live Stats

• at [6] Louisville … vs. Bellarmine – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)Cards won, 5–9–0 … to 1–4–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – Cards won, 5–9–0 … to 1–4–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Cards won, 8–10–2 … to 3–6–1  |  Live Stats

• at [9] LSU … vs. Air Force – split 2-game series
gm-1 (Sat.)Tigers won, 6–8–1 … to 1–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – AFA won, 6–6–0 … to 5–6–3  |  Live Stats
… [44] Notre Dame canceled its three Opening-Week games that were going to be played at LSU (vs. Air Force; La. Tech & LSU)

… LSU def. Louisiana Tech on Monday, 16–14–0 … to 7–14–2

• [11] North Carolina State … vs. Davidson – Pack swept 2-game series
gm–1 (Sun.) –
NC St. won, 13–17–0 … to 3–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm–2 (Sun.)
 – NC St. won, 6–10–0 … to 4–6–0  |  Live Stats
… NC State’s initial Opening-Week series vs. VMI was canceled

• at [15] Florida State … vs. North Florida – FSU won series, 2–1
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)UNF won, 7–11–0 … to 4–8–2  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – FSU won, 14–11–2 … to 7–9–2  |   Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – FSU won, 8–9–1 … to 4–5–0  |   Live Stats

• at [16] UC Santa Barbara … vs. Santa Clara – UCSB won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)SCU won, 8–8–1 … to 4–9–2  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)UCSB won, 9–12–0 … to 6–12–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – UCSB won, 5–5–1 … to 4–4–1  |  Live Stats

• at [17] Arizona … vs. Ball Statesplit 2-game series
gm-1 (Fri.)‘Cats won, 3–5–1 … to 0–5–2  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)BSU won, 8–10–3 … to 7–10–3 (11 inn.)  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – BSU won, 5–7–2 … to 2–7–2  |  Live Stats
gm-4 (Mon.) – ‘Cats won, 11–14–0 … to 5–12–1  |  Live Stats

• at [18] East Carolina … vs. Rhode Island – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)ECU won, 3–6–0 … to 2–6–1 (10 inn.)  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.)ECU won, 7–7–2 … to 1–4–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – ECU won, 12–12–1 … to 4–6–8  |  Live Stats

 [19] Tennessee … at Georgia Southern  – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)Vols won, 5–8–1 … to 3–4–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.) – Vols won, 5–6–1 … to 3–8–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Vols won, 7–9–2 … to 3–10–2  |  Live Stats

• at [20] Arizona State … vs. Sacramento State – ASU won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)Sac. St. won, 4–4–0 … to 2–4–0  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)ASU won, 2–8–1 … to 1–9–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – ASU won, 3–10–0 … to 1–1–1  Live Stats

• at [21] Georgia Tech … vs. Eastern Kentucky – GT won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)GT won, 12–10–3 … to 6–8–3  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)EKU won, 9–11–1 … to 6–11–2  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) GT won, 7–9–3 … to 1–2–1  |  Live Stats

• at [22] Georgia … vs. EvansvilleUGa won 4-gm series, 3–1
gm-1 (Fri.) – Aces won, 3–8–3 … to 2–7–2  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.)UGa won, 7–8–1 … to 3–3–4  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sat.) – UGa won, 6–10–0 … to 5–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm-4 (Sun.) – UGa won, 4–7–1 … to 1–1–2  |   Live Stats

• at [23] Auburn … vs. Presbyterian – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)Tigers won, 14–14–1 … to 3–7–3  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.) – Tigers won, 6–11–0 … to 1–8–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Tigers won, 2–8–2 … to 1–7–1  |  Live Stats

• [24] Oklahoma State … at Wichita State – Cowboys swept 2-gm series
gm-1 (Sun.) – OK St. won, 3–7–2 … to 1–11–0  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Mon.) – OK St. won, 14–17–21… to 6–10–1  |  Live Stats
… OK State’s initial Opening-Week series at Sam Houston State was canceled

• [25] UCF … vs. Florida Atlantic – FAU won series, 2–1
gm-1 (Fri.; at UCF)FAU won, 12–11–0 … to 6–9–3  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.; at UCF) – FAU won, 20–15–1 … to 15–16–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.; at FAU) – UCF won, 15–10–2 … to 6–12–4  |  Live Stats

• at [26] Oklahoma … vs. Omaha – 2-gane series split
gm-1 (Sun.) – UNO won, 6–3–1 … to 3–7–3  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Mon.) – OU won, 8–6–0 … to 5–6–1  |  Live Stats
… Oklahoma’s initial Opening-Day game vs. Southern was canceled, as was a replacement series vs. Wichita State (in Round Rock, TX) and another replacement series at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

• at [27] South Carolina … vs. Dayton – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)SC won, 12–15–1 … to 1–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.)SC won, 12–11–1 … to 5–3–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – SC won, 5–9–2 … to 1–3–1  |  Live Stats

• at [28] Alabama … vs. McNeese State – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)Tide won, 10–9–1 … to 6–12–1  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.) – Tide won, 4–7–1 … to 3–5–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Tide won, 9–7–0 … to 5–10–0  Live Stats

• at [30] Texas A&M … vs. Xavier – Musketeers won series, 2-1
gm-1 – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)Musketeers won, 10–13–4 … to 6–7–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.) – Musketeers won, 2–4–0 … to 0–3–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – A&M won, 15–15–2 … to 0–5–3  |  Live Stats

• [31] Michiganidle (first game is March 6)

• [32] Indianaidle (first game is March 5)

• at [33] Clemson … vs. Cincinnati – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)Tigers won, 5–10–0 … to 0–2–1  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.) – Tigers won, 5–6–1 … to 2–7–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Tigers won, 8–11–1 … to 7–10–1  |  Live Stats 

• [34] Pepperdine … at California Baptist – CBU won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)CBU won, 9–10–2 … to 1–4–3  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.)Waves won, 10–9–0 … to 6–10–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – CBU won, 6–9–1 … to 2–7–1  |  Live Stats

• [36] West Virginia … at Georgia State – 4-game series split
gm-1 (Fri.)WVU won, 5–9–3 … to 3–7–0 (10 inn.)  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.)GS won, 7–13–3 … to 6–10–1 (10 inn.)  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sat.) – GS won, 20–20–0 … to 4–11–1  |   Live Stats
gm-4 (Sun.) – WVU won, 3–3–1 … to 2–5–3 (10 inn.)  |  Live Stats

• at [37] Dallas Baptist … vs. Austin Peay – Patriots swept series
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)DBU won, 13–12–0 … to 2–5–4  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – DBU won, 11–7–0 … to 2–6–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Mon.; 12 CT) – DBU won, 12–10–0 … to 2–2–0 (7 inn.)  |  Live Stats

• at [38] Wake Forest … vs. NortheasternDeacons won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)WFU won, 8–6–1 … to 6–12–1  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.) – WFU won, 9–15–1 … to 0–8–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Huskies won, 14–11–2 … to 11–13–5  |  Live Stats

__________
• [39] Oregon State … at Sanderson Ford Classic (Surprise, AZ)
Beavs went 3–1 at tournament

gm-1 (Fri.) – vs. Kansas State  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
>> K-St won 3–3–0 … to 2–6–2

gm-2 (Sat.) – vs. New Mexico  |  Live Stats
>> Ore. St. won 14–15–0 … to 1–4–1

gm-3 (Sun.) – vs. Gonzaga  |  Live Stats
>> Ore. St. won 20–20–0 … to 4–11–0

gm-4 (Mon.; 3 MT) – vs. New Mexico  |  Live Stats
>> Ore. St. won 5–13–1 … to 2–8–1
__________

• at [40] Southern Mississippi … vs. Northwestern (LA) State
USM won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sun.)USM won, 5–8–0 … to 1–3–1  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sun.) – Demons won, 7–12–0 … to 1–2–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Mon.) –  USM won, 10–6–0 … to 0–2–3 (7 inn.)

 at [41] Tulane … vs. Louisiana (Lafayette) – Cajuns won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.)Green Wave won, 3–4–2 … to 2–7–1 (10 inn.). |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.)Cajuns won, 9–11–0 … to 8–7–2 (10 inn.)  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Cajuns won, 9–15–2 … to 7–20–0  |  Live Stats

• [42] Long Beach Stateidle (start mid-March)

• [43] USC … vs. Loyola Marymount – Trojans won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.; at USC)Trojans won, 3–3–0 … to 2–9–0  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.; at USC)Trojans won, 5–9–0 … to 0–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.; at LMU) – LMU won, 9–20–1 … to 8–15–5 (11 inn.)  |  Live Stats

• [45] San Diego State … vs. San Diego – Aztecs won series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.; at SDSU)SDSU won, 14–19–2 … to 7–11–1  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.; at SDSU) – SDSU won, 19–15–2 … to 18–17–1  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.; at USD) – USD won, 16–11–1 … to 12–16–1  |  Live Stats

• at [46] Texas State … vs. BYU – TX State leads 4-gm series, 2-1
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)TX St. won, 5–5–2 … to 4–8–4  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.) Cougars won, 9–11–2 …. to 4–7–2  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Mon.) – TX St. won, 11–9–0 … to 6–5–1  |  Live Stats
gm-4 (Tues.; 3 CT) –

• at [47] North Carolina … vs. James Madison – series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.)UNC won, 8–9–2 … to 1–2–0  |  Live Stats  |  Box Score
gm-2 (Sat.) – UNC won, 7–12–2 … to 4–7–0  |  Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – UNC won, 3–3–1 … to 2–6–0  |  Live Stats
… UNC’s original Opening-Week home series vs. Kentucky was canceled

• at [48] Stetson … vs. Florida A&M – 4-game series sweep
gm-1 (Fri.) – postponed
gm-1 (Sat.)Hatters won, 6–7–1 … to 3–6–0  |  Live Stats
gm-2 (Sat.) – Hatters won, 1–5–0 … to 0–3–1  |   Live Stats
gm-3 (Sun.) – Hatters won, 3–6–0 … to 1–7–0  | Live Stats
gm-4 (Sun.) – Hatters won, 6–6–0 … to 0–3–2  | Live Stats

• [50] Ohio Stateidle (first game is March 5)

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Other CONFERENCE FAVORITES (for leagues without teams in the CNR Top-50, or conference favorites not facing a CNR Top-50 team on Opening Week … additional info., results, etc., to be added below later in the weekend):

Virginia Commonwealth (Atlantic-10; A-10) … series at North Carolina Wilmington (Colonial)

• at Sam Houston State (Southland) … series vs. Oklahoma State – series canceled

• at Samford (Southern; SoCon) … series vs. Tennessee-Martin

• at Belmont (Ohio Valley; OVC) … series vs. Illinois State

• at Navy (Patriot) … idle on Feb. 19 but faces Coppin State on 2/20

• at Texas Rio Grande Valley (URRGV; Western Athletic/WAC) … three-game series vs. Baylor on Feb. 21-22 … UTRGV’s initial season-opening series vs. Lamar was canceled

Oral Roberts (Summit League) … two-games series vs. Little Rock on Feb. 21-22 … ORU’s initial season-opening series at Incarnate Word was canceled

• at Campbell (Big South) …series vs. Liberty

Kent State (Mid-American; MAC) … series at Virginia Tech

Bryant (Northeastern; NEC) … series at High Point

Alabama State (Southwestern Athletic; SWAC) … at Andre Dawson Classic (New Orleans) – tournament canceled

North Carolina A&T (Mid-Eastern; MEAC) … series at College of Charleston

Stony Brook (America East) is idle this week (starts 2/27) … the Metro Atlantic (MAAC) has yet to announce its preseason coaches poll (their teams don’t start playing  until mid-March)

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