Senior-dominated West Virginia and freshman-led Stanford go head-to-head Thursday night when the College Basketball Crown Tournament continues in Las Vegas with its second day of quarterfinal matchups.

The second-year event pitting teams from the Southeastern Conference, Big 12, Big Ten and Big East will continue Saturday in Las Vegas with the semifinals, where the West Virginia-Stanford survivor will meet the winner of the Thursday second quarterfinal between Rutgers and Creighton.

The nationally televised finals are set for Sunday afternoon, with the winner guaranteed $300,000 in name, image and likeness money.

When last seen on March 11, West Virginia (18-14) was alternating losses and wins over its final five games, capped by a 68-48 drubbing at the hands of BYU in the Mountaineers’ opening game of the Big 12 Conference tournament.

Mountaineers coach Ross Hodge labeled the long layoff an “enjoyable experience,” especially for his five key seniors — Honor Huff, Brenen Lorient, Treysen Eaglestaff, Chance Moore and Jasper Floyd — who might otherwise have already gone their separate ways in pursuing future basketball dreams.

“Anytime you get to continue to play, it’s hard to not take advantage of those opportunities,” Hodge said this week. “When you have a group that legitimately wants to keep playing and gets opportunities to be together, I’ve always been of the mindset that you need to honor that and have an appreciation level.”

Stanford (20-12) had a four-game winning streak snapped in its most recent outing, a 64-63 loss to Pittsburgh in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on March 10.

Accepting a bid to the Crown tournament allows Stanford fans at least one more chance to see prized freshman Ebuka Okorie, an All-ACC first-team selection who had averaged 27.3 points over the final eight games of the conference regular season before he was limited to just 14 points by Pittsburgh.

Stanford coach Kyle Smith realizes his star will have options in the offseason.

“I’m prayerful,” Smith said this week. “I do think it’s going to be us or the NBA, and I support whatever Ebuka chooses.”

–Field Level Media

Sandy Alcantara pitched a three-hit shutout and Liam Hicks drove in four runs, leading the host Miami Marlins to a 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon.

Alcantara (2-0) did not walk a batter and struck out seven, throwing just 93 pitches. It was his fifth career shutout and the second time he pitched a “Maddux” — a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches.

Hicks went 3-for-4 with his third homer of the season as the Marlins improved to 5-1 while the White Sox fell to 1-5.

Chicago starter Shane Smith (0-2) allowed eight runs, seven earned, on eight hits in three innings.

Braves 5, Athletics 1

Drake Baldwin drove in four runs to support the stellar pitching effort of Chris Sale and help Atlanta defeat the visiting Athletics in the rubber game of a three-game series.

Sale (2-0) worked six innings and allowed one run on one hit. He retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced. Sale now has 2,858 strikeouts, leaving him 19 away from catching former Atlanta great Tom Glavine for 29th on the all-time list.

Shea Langeliers got the Athletics on the board in the fourth by hitting his majors-leading fifth homer. Langeliers went 2-for-4 and raised his average to .375.

Orioles 8, Rangers 2

Leody Taveras, Taylor Ward and Jeremiah Jackson drove in two runs each and Baltimore turned strong offensive production into a victory over visiting Texas to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo hit solo home runs. Beavers finished with three hits and three runs. The Orioles received another strong start from Trevor Rogers (2-0), who worked six innings and allowed two runs on six hits.

Corey Seager homered for the Rangers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Josh Jung delivered his first hits of the season, after an 0-for-18 start, and finished with a pair of singles. Nathan Eovaldi (0-2) was charged with six runs on eight hits in four innings.

Pirates 8, Reds 3

Oneil Cruz homered for the second straight day and Paul Skenes bounced back from a rough season opener to lead Pittsburgh to a win over host Cincinnati.

With two runners on in the first, Cruz crushed an 81 mph curveball from Reds starter Andrew Abbott (0-1) 407 feet over the right field fence to stake the Pirates to a 3-0 lead. Skenes (1-1) backed it up by tossing five innings and allowing one run on three hits.

Abbott gave up four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run homer for the Reds.

Rockies 2, Blue Jays 1 (10 innings)

Pinch hitter Tyler Freeman singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as visiting Colorado earned a victory over Toronto.

Freeman, activated before the game, singled against Brendon Little (0-1) to score Brenton Doyle from second base as the Rockies won the decisive game of a three-game set. Jimmy Herget pitched a perfect 10th to earn his first save after Brennan Bernardino (1-0) tossed a perfect ninth.

Toronto wasted a strong start from Kevin Gausman, who went six scoreless innings while allowing two hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a Davis Schneider single against Kyle Freeland but left the bases loaded.

Cardinals 2, Mets 1 (11 innings)

Masyn Winn delivered a walk-off bloop RBI single in the 11th inning for St. Louis, which edged New York in the rubber game of a three-game series.

Gordon Graceffo (1-0) earned the win by getting the final two outs of the 11th. Graceffo got Brett Baty to hit into a grounder that forced Jared Young at home before he retired Marcus Semien on a flyout. Nolan Gorman had an RBI single in the sixth for the Cardinals, who have won their first two series.

Juan Soto homered in the sixth for the Mets, who were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position as they fell to 1-2 this year in extra innings.

Cubs 6, Angels 2

Nico Hoerner went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a stolen base, a run and an RBI and Matt Shaw had two hits and two RBIs to lead Chicago to a victory over visiting Los Angeles in the decisive game of a three-game series.

Matthew Boyd (1-1) bounced back from an Opening Day loss to pick up the win. Boyd allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out 10 and walking two. Michael Busch had two hits and a run for the Cubs.

Zach Neto had two hits and a run for the Angels, who finished 3-4 on a season-opening road trip. Los Angeles managed just four hits on a windy 39-degree day,. Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) permitted five runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Royals 13, Twins 9

Jonathan India belted his fifth career grand slam and Kyle Isbel also went deep among his four hits, lifting host Kansas City to a victory over Minnesota.

Maikel Garcia drove in three runs as the Royals benefited from their Nos. 6-9 hitters — India, Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins and Isbel — combining to go 10-for-16 with eight RBIs and nine runs. Noah Cameron (1-0) won his season debut after allowing one run on four hits in five innings.

Minnesota scored eight runs over its final three innings — highlighted by Josh Bell’s three-run homer in the ninth — before Lucas Erceg retired the two batters he faced to secure his second save.

Astros 6, Red Sox 4

Carlos Correa’s two-out, three-run home run in the fifth inning changed the game, helping Houston complete a three-game sweep of visiting Boston.

Correa and Christian Vazquez both went deep while Yordan Alvarez finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs for the Astros, who have won five straight since an 0-2 start. Mike Burrows (1-1) pitched five innings of two-run ball.

Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony homered in the eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Red Sox staged a failed comeback bid. Garrett Crochet (1-1) allowed five runs (four earned) in five innings.

Phillies 6, Nationals 5 (10 innings)

Edmundo Sosa had a game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning and Justin Crawford provided a game-ending single in the 10th as Philadelphia rallied for a victory over visiting Washington.

Playing in just his fifth major league game, Crawford slammed the first pitch he saw from Cole Henry (0-1) past a drawn-in infield for the victory to send his teammates storming out of the dugout. Philadelphia trailed 5-1 through seven innings but rallied to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer for Washington, while Joey Wiemer continued his hot start to the season with two hits, a walk and two runs.

Brewers 8, Rays 2

Christian Yelich chopped a tiebreaking two-run single in a six-run eighth inning, and host Milwaukee rallied to a win against Tampa Bay.

Yelich and Garrett Mitchell each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Brice Turang clubbed a two-run shot as the Brewers won for the fifth time in six games to open the season. In six innings, Jacob Misiorowski yielded two runs on four hits. Aaron Ashby (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth.

The Rays’ Yandy Diaz swatted a two-run homer, and Chandler Simpson went 2-for-3 with a walk. Starter Drew Rasmussen tossed five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits. He fanned eight, all swinging, and walked one.

Diamondbacks 1, Tigers 0

Corbin Carroll became the sixth left-handed hitter to homer off Tarik Skubal, and Zac Gallen and three Arizona relievers made that stand up for a victory over Detroit in Phoenix.

Carroll drove a 97 mph fastball over the fence in left-center for his second homer of the season as the second batter in the last of the first inning. The blast enabled the Diamondbacks to complete a three-game sweep.

Two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Skubal (1-1) yielded six hits in seven innings. Gallen (1-1) allowed four hits in six scoreless innings.

Guardians 4, Dodgers 1

Gavin Williams struck out 10 in seven shutout innings, Gabriel Arias and Jose Ramirez homered and Cleveland won the decisive game of a three-game series at Los Angeles.

Williams (1-1) gave up two hits and walked three as the Guardians capped a 4-3, season-opening road trip.

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1) allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. Freddie Freeman hit a home run with two outs in the ninth inning, spoiling the Guardians’ shutout bid.

Yankees 5, Mariners 3

Cam Schlittler pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings as New York defeated host Seattle.

The Yankees won five of six games on their season-opening trip to San Francisco and Seattle, outscoring their opponents 24-6. Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer and Ben Rice added a solo shot for New York, which won the final two games of the series after dropping the opener.

Schlittler (2-0) allowed just two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. David Bednar pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for his third save of the season. For Seattle, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run single and George Kirby (1-1) gave up four runs on five hits over six innings.

Padres 7, Giants 1

Ramon Laureano blasted a two-run homer and Nick Pivetta yielded only one hit in five shutout innings as San Diego avoided a series sweep by visiting San Francisco.

Pivetta (1-1) fanned eight and walked two. Mason Miller worked the final 1 1/3 innings for his second save. Laureano, Manny Machado and Gavin Sheets each had two hits for the Padres.

Giants starter Adrian Houser (0-1) yielded three runs, one earned, over 5 1/3 innings in his season debut. Luis Arraez collected three of San Francisco’s four hits.

–Field Level Media

The six-game trip the Seattle Kraken just completed was supposed to make or break their playoff chances.

It did neither.

Despite going just 1-3-2, the Kraken (32-30-11, 75 points) remain only three points out of the Western Conference’s second and final wild-card spot entering a Thursday home game against the Utah Mammoth (38-30-6, 82 points), who lead the West’s wild-card chase.

However, the Kraken did drop into sixth place in the tightly bunched race.

“We know where we are,” Seattle center Matty Beniers said of the standings after a 3-0 loss at Edmonton on Tuesday. “Obviously, tonight was very important, and we didn’t get it done. But there’s just no reason to dwell on it now. It’s learn from it and win the next one. And then, it’s win the next one. And that’s the mentality that we have in here.”

The Kraken scored just 13 goals on the six-game trip.

After Seattle fell behind 2-0 in the first period on Tuesday, coach Lane Lambert reunited the top line of Beniers, Jared McCann and captain Jordan Eberle to no avail.

“It’s easy to say that we’re just not scoring and that’s why we’re losing,” McCann said. “I feel like we’re doing a lot of good other things. We’re creating good offense and playing good defensively. But we’re just not finding the back of the net.”

McCann believes there is still time for a playoff push.

“We’ve got to worry about our game,” he said. “Obviously, the division right now is a little crazy with how things are going with all the teams and that they all have a chance still to make the playoffs. It’s obviously a blessing. And we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

The Mammoth have taken control of the West’s wild-card race despite going just 8-7-2 since the Olympic break. They own a four-point edge on the Los Angeles Kings, who occupy the second wild-card spot, and a five-point advantage over the next teams in line, the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators.

Utah has been idle since a 6-2 victory Saturday at Los Angeles. Alexander Kerfoot and Logan Cooley each scored twice while Mikhail Sergachev had four assists.

“We’ve almost got, like, a youthful excitement to our team, where we haven’t had any scars,” said Kerfoot, referring to the franchise’s last playoff appearance in 2020 as the Arizona Coyotes. “For the most part, we’re not scared of much, not scared of failing, and so we just got to kind of enjoy the moment, keep that as long as we can, realize that these are hard games to win and the job is far from done, but we’re in a good spot.”

This will be the third and final regular-season meeting between Utah and Seattle. The Mammoth won the first two, both played in Salt Lake City. Utah came out on top 5-3 on Dec. 12 as Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists, then triumphed 6-3 on Jan. 17 as Nate Schmidt produced two goals and two assists, including the go-ahead goal with 5:30 remaining in the third period.

Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny said the four-day break between games gave his team a chance to recover and refocus.

“That’s important at this time of the year,” he said. “It’s a different break than others in the sense that we need to take it really seriously and manage it right.”

–Field Level Media