North Carolina and Oklahoma are set to open the Men’s College World Series finals with a schedule change already shaping the weekend. Game 1 was pushed up to 3 p.m. ET to avoid the rain later in the day, setting the stage for a race against the weather before the championship series really gets going.
The matchup brings together two teams that reached Omaha in clean fashion, each sweeping through its side of the bracket to earn an extra day off on Thursday, June 18. That combined run has turned this finals series into a meeting of two clubs that have not lost in the MCWS.
How both teams got here
North Carolina, the No. 5 seed, opened by beating Ole Miss and then followed with two straight wins over No. 16 West Virginia. Oklahoma took a similar path, defeating No. 7 Alabama before sending No. 3 Georgia back to Athens after back-to-back wins over the highest remaining national seed.
According to www.ncaa.com, the weekend schedule includes Game 1 on Saturday, June 20 at 3 p.m. ET and Game 2 on Sunday, June 21 at 2:30 p.m. ET. If needed, Game 3 is set for Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
What is around the stadium
Charles Schwab Field already has the feel of a championship weekend, with Boomer and Sooner spotted walking down 10th Street toward the stadium as Oklahoma fans followed close behind. North Carolina also has a local favorite on site in Remington, the golden retriever that made an appearance at media day.
The Finals now move into a weekend where every game matters, and the adjusted start time means the opener arrives with added urgency. For both fan bases, the focus is on getting through Game 1 before weather becomes a larger factor in Omaha.
