College Sports Update: May 8

Gracie Blackburn

May 8, 2012

This Week in ESPN College Sports:

Baseball: No. 1 Florida State, No. 1 Florida State, No. 1 Florida State

This weekend’s baseball schedule will showcase three No. 1 Florida State games, all against Clemson: Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13, both at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN3; and as the ESPNU ACC Monday game on May 14, at 6 p.m.

ESPNU will also televise three games with one ranked team in each. Action begins with the Thursday Night SEC Baseball Game of the Week matchup pitting Auburn at No. 13 Arkansas on May 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Additional games:

Wake Forest at No. 21 Miami

(Friday at 8 p.m., ESPNU)

St. John’s at No. 23 Louisville

(Saturday at 11:30 a.m., ESPNU)

Men’s Lacrosse: NCAA Championship Begins

The 16-team bracket for the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car was unveiled exclusively Sunday on ESPNU with Loyola (Md.) earning the top seed in the field. Tournament play begins with Syracuse at No. 3 Duke in first-round action Saturday, May 12, featuring at noon on ESPN and ESPN3. Defending national champion, No. 5 Virginia will host Princeton in Sunday’s opening first-round game at 1 p.m., also on ESPN and ESPN3. The remaining first-round games will be shown on ESPNU and ESPN3, highlighted by a match-up between perennial contenders Denver and No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m.

ESPN networks will provide exclusive coverage of all 15 games of the NCAA Championship for the sixth straight year. Telecasts will be in high definition across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 beginning Saturday, May 12, and concluding with the national title game on Monday, May 28. Full Championship Schedule

First-Round Schedule

Saturday, May 12

Syracuse at No. 3 Duke

(Noon, ESPN/ESPN3)

Eamon McAnaney & Paul Carcaterra

Colgate at No. 6 Massachusetts

(2:30 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

Joe Beninati & Jack Emmer

Canisius at No. 1 Loyola

(5 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

Mike Corey & Mark Dixon

Denver at No. 8 North Carolina

(7:30 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

Eamon McAnaney & Matt Ward

Sunday, May 13

Princeton at No. 5 Virginia

(1 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3)

Eamon McAnaney & Paul Carcaterra

Stony Brook at No. 2 Johns Hopkins

(3 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

Mike Corey & Mark Dixon

Yale at No. 4 Notre Dame

(5:15 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

John Brickley & Jamie Munro

Maryland at No. 7 Lehigh

7:30 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3)

Joe Beninati & Ryan Boyle

Softball: Eight Conference Championships Across ESPN Networks

NCAA softball heads into a week of championships across ESPN networks with the SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinals stepping to bat first on ESPNU Thursday, May 10, followed by the BIG EAST, ACC, Big South and SWAC over the weekend. In addition to the five Championships airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, ESPN3 will also carry the ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinals, Sun Belt, Southern, Missouri Valley and Southland title games.

After crowning five conference champions around the nation, ESPNU will close out the week with the network’s fifth annual NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show presented by Capital One on Sunday, at 10 p.m., unveiling the 64-team field. Full Schedule

Date	Time	Championship/Commentators	Network
Thu, May 10	Noon	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: LSU vs. Florida Cara Capuano & Michele Smith	ESPNU
	Noon	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal:Virginia vs. Georgia Tech	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: Auburn vs. Tennessee Cara Capuano & Michele Smith	ESPNU
	2:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal:North Carolina vs. Florida State	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal:No. 5 Kentucky vs. No.4 Georgia Beth Mowins & Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	5 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal:Boston College vs. North Carolina	ESPN3
	7:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal: No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 Alabama Beth Mowins, Michele Smith & Jessica Mendoza	ESPN
	7:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Quarterfinal:Maryland vs. Virginia Tech	ESPN3
Fri, May 11	3 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith & Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
	1 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Semifinal	ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	SEC Softball Tournament Semifinal Beth Mowins, Michele Smith & Jessica Mendoza	ESPNU
Sat, May 12	1:30 p.m.	SoCon Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	MVC Softball Championship	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Southland Softball Championship	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	ACC Softball Championship Cara Capuano & Cheri Kemp	ESPN2
	6 p.m.	Big East Softball Championship Pam Ward & Jennie Finch	ESPN2
	8 p.m.	SEC Softball Championship Beth Mowins & Michele Smith	ESPN2
Sun, May 13	Noon	Big South Softball Championship Holly Rowe & Garland Cooper	ESPNU
	2 p.m.	SWAC Softball Championship Adam Amin & Amanda Scarborough	ESPNU
	10 p.m.	*NCAA Division I Softball Championship Selection Show*	ESPNU

This Week on ESPNU: All-Access Lacrosse

Video: All-Access with Virginia Lacrosse Trailer

On Tuesday and Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m. ESPNU will give viewers an exclusive look inside the Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s 2012 season with There and Back: All-Access with Virginia Lacrosse. The two half-hour shows explore the players, coaches and facilities that contribute to the team’s success on the field. The All-Access special features locker room moments, teams practices, strength training, team meals and bus rides throughout the season. Full Show Details

College Football Live Roundtable Continues to Count Down the Preseason Top 20

ESPN’s daily, half-hour College Football Live program (3:30 p.m., ESPN) will continue with its roundtable-style review of its preseason Top 20 with the next five schools ranked Nos. 15 through 11: No. 15 Stanford, No. 14 TCU, No. 13 Kansas State, No. 12 Michigan State, and No. 11 West Virginia. ESPN analysts Todd Blackledge, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack and Robert Smith along with college football reporter Mark Schlabach, weigh in on each team’s strength of schedule, incoming freshman and returning players, as well as a hard look at conference play. Additional segments will appear on SportsCenter and ESPN.com.

This week’s College Football Live features analyst Ed Cunningham at the desk, while next week analyst Brock Huard will join the show.

Roundtable Photo Gallery

ESPN’s College Football Live preseason Top 20 poll results: