By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina fans know the math is simple when one of the Tar Heels’ basketball teams reaches the Elite Eight.
Win three more games, and there is a national championship. Baseball is different and much more complicated and arguably the toughest NCAA tournament to win.
Once the NCAA tournament is down to eight teams and the College World Series begins in Omaha, the route to the title is less direct. For the Tar Heels, it would take either five wins or six to claim the program’s first NCAA baseball championship.
The format isn’t as simple as the brackets we all fill out in March.
The eight teams in Omaha are divided into two four-team double-elimination brackets, meaning a team must lose twice to get eliminated in bracket play. The two bracket winners advance to a best-of-three championship series, with Game 1 set for 8:06 p.m. Saturday, June 20.
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No. 5 national seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina (50–12–1) opens CWS play at Charles Schwab Field Omaha at 7:06 p.m. Friday against No. 23-ranked Ole Miss (41–21). The other game in UNC’s bracket comes earlier that day, when No. 9-ranked and No. 16-seed West Virginia (45–15) meets Troy (38–30) at 2:06 p.m. The winners of those two games play Sunday night, while the losers meet Sunday afternoon in an elimination game.
The first games in the other bracket are Saturday, with Oklahoma (38–22) facing No. 7-seed and No. 24-ranked Alabama (42–19) at 3:06 p.m. and No. 3-ranked and No.-3 seed Georgia (51–12) facing No. 6-seed and No. 6-ranked Texas at 8:06 p.m.
The simplest path for UNC would look a lot like its run through the Chapel Hill Regional, where the Tar Heels went 3–0. If UNC beats Ole Miss on Friday, then defeats the West Virginia-Troy winner on Sunday night, it would earn two days off and could advance to the finals with a win at 2:06 p.m. Wednesday. Winning that game would send Carolina to the championship series without having to play on Thursday. If the Tar Heels then swept the finals, they would finish 5–0 in Omaha and win the national title.
If Carolina wins Friday but loses Sunday night, the path gets longer.
The Tar Heels would drop into an elimination game at 2:06 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of Sunday afternoon’s game between the Friday losers. A victory there would send UNC to a 2:06 p.m. game Wednesday against the last undefeated team in the bracket. Carolina would need to win Wednesday to force a deciding bracket game Thursday.
If Carolina loses to Ole Miss in the opener, the pressure arrives even faster. The Tar Heels would have to win Sunday afternoon’s elimination game against the loser of West Virginia-Troy just to remain alive. That would move UNC to another elimination game at 2:06 p.m. Tuesday against the loser of Sunday night’s winners bracket game. From there, Carolina would still need to beat the bracket’s undefeated team Wednesday to force a deciding game Thursday.
The worst-case scenario for the Tar Heels is straightforward. If they lose to Ole Miss on Friday and then lose again Sunday afternoon, their season is over.
College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Sunday, June 21, game on ABC, all other games on ESPN
Bracket 1
No. 5-seed and No. 4-ranked North Carolina (50–12–1), No. 16-seed and No. 9-ranked West Virginia (48–15), Troy (38–30) and No. 23-ranked Ole Miss (41–21)
Bracket 2
No. 3-seed and No. 3-ranked Georgia (51–12), No. 6-seed and No. 6-ranked Texas (45–13), No. 7-seed and No. 16-ranked Alabama (42–19) and Oklahoma (38–22)
Pool play
(All listed times are ET)
Friday’s games
Game 1: Troy vs. West Virginia, 2:06 p.m.
Game 2: North Carolina vs. Ole Miss, 7:06 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Game 3: Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 3:06 p.m.
Game 4: Georgia vs. Texas, 8:06 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Game 5: Troy-WV loser vs. UNC-Ole Miss loser, elimination game, 2:06 p.m.
Game 6: Troy-WV winner vs. UNC-Ole Miss winner, 7:06 p.m.
Monday’s games
Game 7: OU-Alabama loser vs. Ga.-Texas loser, elimination game, 2:06 p.m.
Game 8: OU-Alabama winner vs. Ga.-Texas winner, 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Game 9: Sunday afternoon winner vs. Sunday night loser, elimination game, 2:06 p.m.
Game 10: Monday afternoon vs. Monday night loser, elimination game, 7:06 p.m.
Wednesday’s games
Game 11: Sunday night winner vs. Tuesday afternoon winner, 2:06 p.m.
Game 12: Monday night winner vs. Tuesday night winner, 7:06 p.m.
Thursday’s games
Deciding Bracket 1 game if Game 9 winner also wins Game 11
Deciding Bracket 2 game if Game 10 winner also wins Game 12
CWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 8:06 p.m.
Game 2: Sunday, June 21, 1:36 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, June 22, (if needed) 8:06 p.m.
CWS bracket
Times in the bracket are Central Time, with games starting six minutes after the times listed.
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13–14 | Fri., Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 10–0 (7) | vs. Richmond | 4–0 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 5–3 | vs. Longwood | 5–0 |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun | W, 10–0 (8); L, 10–3; T, 3–3 | vs. East Carolina | 6–1–1 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. N.C. A&T | 7–1–1 |
| 25 | Wednesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. VCU | 8–1–1 |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | W, 16–3 (7); W, 12–2 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 10–1–1 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 21–1 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 11–1–1 |
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 5–1 | vs. Elon | 12–1–1 |
| 6–7 | Fri., Sat | L, 13–3 (7); L, 9–2; W, 8–7 (12) | vs. Virginia | 13–3–1, 1–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. Bucknell | 14–3–1 |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 8–1; W, 6–2; W, 10–2 | at California | 17–3–1, 4–2 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 8–2 | vs. UNCG | 18–3–1 |
| 20–22 | Fri.–Sun. | W, 11–1 (8); L, 2–0; W, 7–6 | vs. Louisville | 20–4–1, 6–3 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 21–4–1 |
| 28, 29 | Sat., Sun | W, 6–5; W, 13–7; W, 15–10 | at Notre Dame | 24–4–1, 9–3 |
| 31 | Tuesday | W, 5–4 (14) | vs. Campbell | 25–4–1 |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | L, 6–1; W, 5–2; W, 8–7 | vs. Boston College | 27–5–1, 11–4 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 8–4 | vs. Charlotte | 28–5–1 |
| 10–12 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 6–4 (14); W, 12–5 | at Clemson | 30–6–1, 13–5 |
| 14 | Tuesday | W, 14–5 | vs. UNCW | 31–6–1 |
| 17–19 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–2; W, 14–4 (8); L, 5–2 | vs. No. 2 Georgia Tech | 33–7–1, 15–6 |
| 21 | Tuesday | W, 9–2 | vs. High Point | 34–7–1 |
| 23–25 | Thur.–Sat. | W, 3–1; L, 3–1; W, 22–5 (7) | at Duke | 36–8–1, 17–7 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 12–2 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 36–9–1 |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–0 (7) (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | 37–9–1 |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 4–1; W, 12–2 (8); W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 40–9–1, 20–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | at UNCW | 41–9–1 |
| 14–16 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 17–7 (8); L, 7–2 | at N.C. State | 43–10–1, 22–8 |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 22 | Friday | W, 10–4 | Quarterfinal vs. Virginia Tech | 44–10–1 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 13–5 | Semifinal vs. Pittsburgh | 45–10–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 13–6 | Championship vs. No. 2 Ga. Tech | 45–11–1 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 8–0 | VCU | 46–11–1 |
| 30–31 | Sat.–Sun. | W, 7–5, W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5, W, 4–0, W, 4–3 | Southern Cal | 50–12–1 |
| College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | |||
| 12 | Friday | 7:06 p.m. | No. 18 Ole Miss | ESPN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2:06 p.m. (with loss) or 7:06 p.m. (with win) | Troy or No. 9 West Virginia | ESPN |
Photo via cwsomaha.com
