Tennessee baseball NCAA Tournament odds after 21-12 start, 4-8 in SEC

Tennessee baseball is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament unless it can fix an underperforming offense and a lead-blowing bullpen against a daunting schedule. First-year head coach Josh Elander has expressed both confidence and urgency as the Vols (21-12, 4-8 SEC) head to No. 8 Mississippi State (26-7, 7-5) for a pivotal series.

“It starts with me. I have to make sure that we’re putting them in a position to (close out SEC games),” Elander said after UT gave up 10 runs in the 12th inning in a 16-6 loss to LSU on April 5. “But (there's) a lot of baseball left, and we just need to hit the reset button and be ready to go.

” Tennessee has 23 regular-season games and the SEC tournament remaining to turn around its season. Game 1 against Mississippi State is April 10 (7 p. m.

ET, SEC Network+). Game 2 is April 11 (7 p. m.