Team USA was dealt a massive upset loss to Italy in the World Baseball Classic, falling 8-6. The US battled back, with Gunner Henderson and Aaron Judge having at-bats in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, but ultimately fell short in what will be one of the greatest upsets in WBC history.

The US was -1100 entering the matchup, and it seemed like a night to give a few guys some rest. Well, that would have been the case if Team USA hadn’t needed a win to move on to the quarterfinals. Manager Mark DeRosa completely mismanaged the team, benching multiple key starters to get Paul Goldschmidt and Ernie Clement some ABs.

Somehow, nobody had told DeRosa that the US could be eliminated with a loss, and now they have to wait for the results of Mexico and Italy to learn their fates. Mistakes happen; at this level, they shouldn’t, but they do. However, the biggest issue in this entire debacle is that DeRosa was never looking to take any accountability for this disaster.

No. 14 Kansas is rested and ready to use this week’s Big 12 tournament as a tune-up of sorts for the NCAA Tournament.

That won’t be easy when the third-seeded Jayhawks face perhaps the hottest team in the conference, No. 6 seed TCU, in the nightcap of the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas (22-9) ended the regular season with a 104-85 win over rival Kansas State on Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak. Still, the Jayhawks lost four of their final seven games after going over a month between losses with eight straight wins from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9.

TCU (22-10) won its sixth straight game — tied with top-seeded Arizona for the longest active Big 12 streak — in its tournament opener Wednesday with a 95-88 victory over Oklahoma State.

Both teams will be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of how this rematch plays out. However, Kansas is projected much higher (4 seed in ESPN’s latest update) than TCU (projected 9 seed) despite similar records.

The Jayhawks have high-level wins, including against then-No. 1 Arizona, then-No. 2 Iowa State and No. 5 Houston.

They’re also getting their most consistent availability of the season from star freshman guard Darryn Peterson.

Peterson, who averages a team-high 19.9 points per game, missed 11 regular-season games with a host of issues, including quad, hamstring and ankle injuries. He was spotted checking himself out of games and drew outside questions about if he was looking ahead to the NBA as a projected top-three pick in this year’s draft.

But he’s turned a corner health-wise, playing in each of Kansas’ final seven regular-season games. And he closed out with one of his best games, hitting 10 of 15 shots for 27 points — his most since Jan. 6 — in the Kansas State win.

“I’m feeling good,” Peterson said. “It’s perfect timing, if you ask me, going into the Big 12 tournament and NCAA. I’m feeling probably the best I’ve felt all year.”

“That’s the best he’s moved all year long, without a question,” Kansas coach Bill Self added.

The Horned Frogs, who were firmly on the bubble before ending the regular season with five straight wins, had to work for their win over Oklahoma State. They trailed by 10 with 13:48 left and by five with 6:32 left before ending the game on a 22-10 run.

A career-high 26 points from leading scorer David Punch (14.0 ppg) anchored TCU’s comeback bid. Punch made 9 of 14 shots, and was supplemented by Xavier Edmonds’ sixth double-double in the last eight games with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Horned Frogs, who rank 12th in the Big 12 in shooting percentage, shot 50.7% in the win. It’s just the third time they’ve made at least half their field-goal attempts against a conference opponent and the first time since Jan. 24 vs. Baylor.

TCU and Kansas met in early January in the second conference game for each team. The Jayhawks prevailed 104-100 in overtime over the visiting Horned Frogs behind a career-high 32 points from Peterson.

“We played hard, but we’re a lot better team than we were then,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said of the prior matchup. “I think that was a good — I wouldn’t say a good experience but a learning experience.”

–Field Level Media

Many teams in the NHL might need to choose between goal scoring from their top stars or from their depth players.

The Minnesota Wild have enjoyed both heading into their game on Thursdayt against the Philadelphia Flyers in Saint Paul, Minn.

“It’s nice that some of the guys that we’re expecting to score are continuing to do that and play well,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “But it also takes a little bit of the load off them when you have guys that can score and produce. It makes you a harder team to defend.”

The Flyers are vying for two wins in as many nights after knocking off the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Owen Tippett notched a goal and an assist for the Flyers, and Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale each scored one goal.

Philadelphia is 5-2-0 in its past seven games as it aims for a postseason run. The Flyers are seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The Wild also have their hopes pinned on the playoffs and are in third place in the Central Division. Minnesota is 3-0-1 in its past four contests and has a 12-3-2 record in its past 17.

Kirill Kaprizov has led the way for Minnesota. He has 78 points (37 goals, 41 assists) in 65 games this season, and he leads the team with 16 goals on the power play.

Hynes said Kaprizov is playing as well as he has all season. He praised his star after the Wild’s 5-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night, during which Kaprizov finished with a goal and an assist.

“Kirill, he was physical, playing with power,” Hynes said. “He’s such a skilled player, but when he plays a power game, when he’s tenacious like a dog with a bone, that’s when you really stand out. I think that goal (he scored against Utah) was indicative of that.”

On the opposite bench, Konecny leads Philadelphia in goals (24), assists (34) and points (58). Zegras is second on the team in all three categories (22, 31, 53).

The Flyers likely will start Dan Vladar in net one night after Samuel Ersson made the start against the Capitals. Vladar is 20-11-6 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage this season, and he is 3-1-1 with a 2.63 GAA and an .896 save percentage in five career games against the Wild.

Vladar will try to bounce back from a rough performance Monday against the New York Rangers, who scored six goals against him on 24 shots.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said he gave Vladar an extra day of rest Wednesday after his difficult performance earlier in the week.

“He might have been a little bit tired,” Tocchet said. “You know he’ll never admit it. We have to be cautious of that.”

Minnesota could counter with Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt in net.

Gustavsson is 24-10-6 with a 2.46 GAA and a .913 save percentage this season, and he is 0-2-0 with a 6.09 GAA and a .709 save percentage against Philadelphia.

Wallstedt is 14-6-5 with a 2.81 GAA and a .911 save percentage this season, and he is 0-0-1 with a 1.92 GAA and a .905 save percentage in his lone start versus the Flyers.

-Field Level Media