Kansas hits new low; UConn rallies for massive victory; could Blue Jays lose Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE UCONN HUSKIES

Two-time reigning champion UConn‘s season was hanging in the balance. Those are Dan Hurley‘s words, not mine. Then, his team put together some of its best basketball of the season, rallying from 14 points down for a 66-59 victory over Villanova.

• The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 27-6 over the final 11 minutes. Freshman standout Liam McNeeley outscored Villanova 11-6 by himself over that stretch, and he had 16 points in the second half overall.
• UConn also outscored Villanova 14-1 over the final four minutes.

Hurley said “No one gets crowned in February” earlier this month, and he’s right. But his team was uncertain to even defend its title, slipping to a projected No. 9 seed in Jerry Palm’s Bracketology after a weekend loss to lowly Seton Hall. A loss Tuesday would have pushed them down even more. Instead, the Huskies got a much-needed win and can turn their focus to a Sunday showdown at No. 10 St. John’s.

If UConn rescued its season, No. 23 Kansas is doing whatever the opposite is. The Jayhawks got throttled at BYU, 91-57, tying the second-largest loss in school history.

• It’s Kansas’ second straight loss and fifth defeat in eight games.
• The Jayhawks shot 28% from 3 and took just five free throws while turning the ball over 15 times. They were completely listless.
• Kansas is 17-9, its worst record through 26 games since 1988-89, Roy Williams‘ first year in Lawrence.
• Eric Bossi broke down what’s gone wrong, and that was before last night’s blowout. This is a new low, perhaps even rock bottom, Cameron Salerno writes.

😃 Honorable mentions

⚾ And not such a good morning for …

THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., set to be a free agent next offseason, failed to agree to a contract extension ahead of Guerrero’s self-imposed deadline of Monday night. Toronto began workouts Tuesday — Guerrero was present — and he put it bluntly: “Now, they’re going to have to compete with 29 other teams.”

He’s not wrong. The 26-year-old first baseman is racking up quite the resume. In the past four seasons, he has …

• Four All-Star selections, a Gold Glove, two Silver Slugger, a Home Run Derby crown and an All-Star Game MVP
• 712 hits, second in MLB behind Freddie Freeman
• 1,271 total bases, third behind Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge
• 136 home runs and 405 RBI, both sixth

GM Ross Atkins said he was “very disappointed” after negotiating deep into the night, and he should be. This is a premier talent at a premier age. Toronto has disappointed on the field (74-88 last year) and off it (missing out on a ton of big-name free agents, including Ohtani) recently. Potentially losing Guerrero would be … well, I’ll let Mike Axisa explain.

• Axisa: “Juan Soto‘s record 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets raised the salary bar for star players in their mid-20s. Vlad Jr. is not Soto, but he is pretty much the next best thing, and the Blue Jays are desperate. … Losing their homegrown franchise player would be devastating. In December, Guerrero confirmed the Blue Jays offered a $340 million contract that was ‘not even close to what we’re looking for.'”

Remember, this was Guerrero’s deadline, not a formal one. Maybe, if the money is right, he’ll be willing to reopen talks. Matt ranked all 30 teams’ chances to land Vladdy, with Toronto at No. 1. But if not? No. 2 is …

• Snyder: “2. Yankees — The Yankees made several moves in the aftermath of losing out on Juan Soto and one of them was to grab Paul Goldschmidt for first base. It’s only a one-year deal for the 37-year-old, though, and he looks like he’s fully in his decline phase. The Yankees have plenty of financial muscle to win the bidding for Guerrero, if they so choose … On nearly any free agent, one could mindlessly rank the Yankees toward the top of the suitor lists with justification, but here it makes a lot of sense.”

😕 Not so honorable mentions

⚽ UEFA Champions League: AC Milan, Atalanta crumble; can Manchester City rally?

We thought we might get drama. We didn’t know we’d get this much. Feyenoord, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Club Brugge are into the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after Tuesday’s knockout phase second legs.

• The stunner is Feyenoord advancing over AC Milan, 2-1, on aggregate. After losing the first leg, 1-0, Milan got a Santi Giménez goal inside the first minute, but Theo Hernández got sent off in controversial fashion early in the second half. Julián Carranza scored minutes later, and 10-man Milan couldn’t find an answer.
• Alphonso Davies scored late to clinch Bayern’s advancement over Celtic, 3-2, on aggregate. It led to a heart-touching/heartbreaking moment between Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel and his dad, legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel.
• Benfica survived a rollicking 3-3 draw against Monaco to advance, 4-3, on aggregate.
• Atalanta fell apart, losing, 3-1 (5-2 on aggregate), to Club Brugge. Ademola Lookman scored for Atalanta but also missed a penalty kick, leading coach Gian Piero Gasperini to call him “one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen.” Yikes.

The headliner today is Real Madrid vs. Manchester City. James Benge says the Citizens could save their season by overcoming a 3-2 first-leg deficit. Will they, though? In our expert picks, Jonathan Johnson says …

• Johnson: “Real 1, City 1 — It very nearly finished level last week before Real did what they do best. This one could see Pep Guardiola and his City outfit raging against the dying of the light and possibly leading the game at some point, but ultimately the defending European champions should do enough to see things through and advance.”

Here are the predicted lineups — Erling Haaland is in doubt. We also have …

• Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting (Dortmund leads 3-0) | 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network | Preview here
• PSG vs. Brest (PSG leads 3-0) | 3 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview here 
• PSV vs. Juventus (Juventus leads 2-1) | 3 p.m. on Paramount+ | Preview here

⚾ Top 50 MLB prospects

R.J. Anderson’s top 50 free agents have nearly been exhausted — 46 have signed after Justin Turner joined the Cubs — so our indefatigable ranker has moved to the stars of tomorrow: MLB’s top 50 prospects. In at No. 1 is ..

• Anderson: “1. Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox — He won’t celebrate his 21st birthday until the summer, yet he’s already authored an impressive 35-game stretch in Triple-A, during which he recorded a .983 OPS and a walk for every strikeout. His advanced metrics, including his 90th percentile exit velocity and his in-zone contact percentage, line up with those posted by James Wood and Junior Caminero; his chase rate, meanwhile, was superior to both.”

Expect to see Anthony in the bigs sooner rather than later.

🏈 Ranking NFL rookie classes: NFC East dominates

We’re now definitively in NFL offseason mode, and much of our focus is on what’s next: free agency, the draft, etc. We’re just five days from the NFL Combine and under three weeks away from free agency negotiations opening.

Before we completely turn the page on the past season, though, Chris Trapasso ranked all 32 rookie classes. At No. 1 is …

• Trapasso: “1. Commanders — Jayden Daniels concluding his rookie season as the runaway Offensive Rookie of the Year pushes the Commanders over two of their NFC East rivals here. Mike Sainristil was otherworldly at times — particularly in the playoffs — as a former slot cornerback playing on the perimeter, and Brandon Coleman held it down at left tackle as a rookie.”

I wrote a few weeks ago about how Daniels led a magical season for Washington, but the next steps are crucial.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚽ We’re watching the UEFA Champions League. Here’s how.
🏀 Vanderbilt at No. 17 Kentucky (M), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Arkansas at No. 1 Auburn (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 4 Alabama at No. 15 Missouri (M), 9 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 22 Michigan State at No. 4 USC (W), 9:30 p.m. on Peacock