College World Series 2016: TV Schedule, Bracket, Live Stream and More
After an upset-filled start to the NCAA baseball tournament, the College World Series will be anything but predictable.
Six hosts were knocked out in the regional round before road teams continued the trend with a 5-3 series record in the Super Regionals.
All of a sudden, there are only three seeded teams remaining and a lot of underdogs hoping to keep their momentum in the race for the national title.
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Meanwhile, only one SEC team (the Florida Gators) and one ACC team (the Miami Hurricanes) remain after the two power conferences combined to send 17 schools to the 64-team field.
There are still favorites to win it all, but it's clear we don't know what will happen in the final portion of the double-elimination tournament.
Here's a look at the upcoming schedule, with the full bracket available at NCAA.com:
| 1 | June 18 | UC Santa Barbara vs. Oklahoma State | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 2 | June 18 | Arizona vs. Miami | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 3 | June 19 | TCU vs. Texas Tech | 3 p.m. | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| 4 | June 19 | Coastal Carolina vs. Florida | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 5 | June 20 | Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | 2 p.m. | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| 6 | June 20 | Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | 7 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 7 | June 21 | Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 8 | June 21 | Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner | 8 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 9 | June 22 | Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser | 7 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 10 | June 23 | Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 11 | June 24 | Game 6 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 12 | June 24 | Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner | 8 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 13 | June 25 | Game 11 Rematch (If Necessary) | TBD | TBD | WatchESPN |
| 14 | June 25 | Game 12 Rematch (If Necessary) | TBD | TBD | WatchESPN |
| 15 | June 27 | CWS Finals Game 1 | 7 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 16 | June 28 | CWS Finals Game 2 | 8 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 17 | June 29 | CWS Finals Game 3 (If Necessary) | 8 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
Bracket 1
The Big 12 deserves plenty of respect for getting three teams into the final eight, including Texas Tech and TCU on one side of the bracket. Interestingly, their first game will be against each other, which might be annoying for a TCU team that just finished playing another in-state rival, Texas A&M.
Texas Tech was the better team in conference play, as the Red Raiders won the league title with a 19-5 record. Hitters such as Tanner Gardner and Eric Gutierrez have helped the squad remain consistently solid all year long.
On the other hand, the Horned Frogs might be the hotter team after winning the Big 12 tournament and going 5-1 to start things off in the NCAA tournament. With a dominant young pitching staff and hitters who come through in timely moments, you shouldn't count out this upstart squad.
The same could be said about Coastal Carolina, which has scored at least four runs in five of six games so far in the tournament, including a 7-5 win over North Carolina State and an 11-8 win over LSU. With four players holding batting averages better than .340 on the season, this is a dangerous team.
With that said, the path to the finals will go through Florida. The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament was the last to punch a ticket to Omaha, Nebraska, but the Gators finally came through with a 7-0 victory over Florida State on Monday.
This is bad news for the rest of the field, because beating this squad will not be easy going forward. The strength comes from the pitching staff, which Florida State witnessed in the clinching game of the Super Regionals.
Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun noted the pitching staff's impressive transition:
A.J. Puk and Dane Dunning combined for eight scoreless innings with just five total hits allowed in Game 3. This came after staff ace Logan Shore threw eight scoreless innings of his own in a Game 2 victory. With these options on the mound, every hitter should be scared.
Adding in a solid lineup led by Peter Alonso, Florida remains the favorite to bring home the title.
Bracket 2
There have been great moments throughout the NCAA tournament, but UC Santa Barbara probably owns the best one. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Sam Cohen came through with a hit that will live on in college baseball history, via NCAA Baseball:
Just to make this moment even more impressive, the grand slam came off pitcher Zack Burdi, who was taken with the No. 26 overall pick in the MLB draft just a few days earlier.
The homer helped knock out No. 2-seeded Louisville, making this side of the bracket wide-open. Considering the Gauchos are still undefeated against some quality competition in the tournament, they are capable of continuing their magical run all the way to the finals.
However, the favorite on this side remains No. 3-seeded Miami, which might not have as many fans going forward. The Hurricanes also made headlines with a grand slam against Boston College this week, although the ensuing bat flip led to arguments and cleared benches as well as sparked outrage on social media.
Whether or not you agree with the play, you can't argue with Miami's talent. The squad has one of the best lineups in the country, with Zack Collins and Brandon Lopez leading the way. Just about everyone who comes up to the plate can hurt the opposition, which Boston College witnessed firsthand when No. 9 hitter Edgar Michelangeli totaled two home runs and seven RBI in the decisive win.
Miami also has plenty of confidence and a lofty goal of winning it all, as head coach Jim Morris explained, per Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald:
Arizona has a chance to pull off a couple of upsets as a battle-tested squad that is peaking at the right time. Oklahoma State is also a major threat thanks to its red-hot pitching staff that has posted a 1.00 ERA in the tournament.
Still, all of these teams will first have to figure out how to slow down Miami's offense.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.
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