CWS 2016: Predicting Winners and Scores for Monday's NCAA Baseball Bracket

Well, this was unexpected.

Saturday might have been the most surprising day of the NCAA baseball tournament so far. The College World Series began Saturday with two shocking results. Now, one of those losers could be ousted from the tournament entirely on Monday.

Meanwhile, one of Saturday's winners can move on to the next round with a victory. The tournament is already in topsy-turvy mode.

Here's a breakdown of Monday's games as well as some predictions.

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Miami (FL) vs. UC Santa Barbara (Elimination)	2 p.m.	ESPNU
Oklahoma State vs. Arizona	7 p.m.	ESPN

Miami vs. UC Santa Barbara (Elimination Bracket)

Normally, Miami's pitching is up to the task. Arizona's pitching was better on Saturday night.

The Wildcats got an 11-strikeout performance from Nathan Bannister over the course of seven innings. Arizona won 5-1, and the Hurricanes are now on the brink of elimination.

So much for being the most complete team left in the tournament.

Miami's bats were silenced, and its pitching couldn't recover after allowing a three-run first inning. 

"(Bannister was) making pitches and throwing a lot of strikes and hitting spots," said Miami right fielder Willie Abreu, per Arizona Athletics (via NCAA.com). "Whenever a pitcher does that, they'll be successful. All his pitches were getting around for strikes, and he continued to pound the zone, so he did well."

If this matchup is going to be based on recent pitching performances, UC Santa Barbara will have the upper hand. Shane Bieber pitched an eight-inning gem that would normally result in wins for the Gauchos on most nights, but Thomas Hatch's complete game gave Oklahoma State a 1-0 win.

"I think it was just the fourth inning where I lost my sharpness," Bieber said, per Eric Vander Voort of NCAA.com. "I compounded multiple mistakes in a row and they took advantage of it, hit the ball hard, and that was the game."

Unfortunately for UCSB, it won't have Bieber pitching in this all-important matchup. The Gauchos will need their power to come alive once again if they want to win and stay alive. Miami's performance against Arizona was troubling. Arizona played a complete game, which is what Miami is more capable of doing in this situation.

That being said, UCSB's bats will not be quiet two games in a row. The Gauchos should win in exciting fashion, 7-6.

Arizona vs. Oklahoma State

These were not the teams expected to be one win away from advancing in the College World Series, but here we are.

Arizona and Oklahoma State got here with stellar pitching performances by Bannister and Hatch, respectively. Now it's up to their teammates to go on the mound and duplicate that.

One of these two teams will be in the final four of this tournament, a thought that didn't seem logical when this all began.

But if Oklahoma State wants to cement a spot in the final four, the Cowboys will need consistent production from the middle of their lineup. J.R. Davis and Donnie Walton are batting .353 and .342, respectively, and are the key run producers.

Arizona, however, is on a tear, winning 14 of its last 15 games, and it got two hits from Zach Gibbons on Saturday. The Wildcats need to find a way to beat OSU's pitching, and it starts with their right fielder.

This is a tough call, knowing both of these teams have shocked the college baseball world to this point. But Arizona's win over the Hurricanes might have been the biggest statement of the tournament so far, and it's important to ride a wave of momentum.

The Wildcats win in a close one, 3-2.