After watching the Los Angeles Dodgers secure their first full-season championship in four decades, Andrew Friedman and his front office lieutenants doubled down, adding practically every free agent they wanted over the ensuing offseason and triggering outrage throughout the sport. Their goal was to build one of the greatest baseball teams ever -- one whose talent could overcome the randomness of the playoffs, which has prevented a repeat champion each of the past 24 years, and whose depth could overcome the attrition that impedes so many throughout the regular season.

Less than two weeks into the 2025 season, the latter hope is already being tested.

Mookie Betts suffered through a mysterious stomach ailment that caused him to shed close to 20 pounds, keeping him out of the first two games in Japan. Freddie Freeman slipped in the shower and reaggravated the ankle injury he played through during last year's playoffs, triggering a stint on the injured list. And on Sunday, Blake Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner signed to a $182 million contract over the offseason, was shut down with what was diagnosed as shoulder inflammation.

Through that, though, the Dodgers have continually found a way to win. They were undefeated in their first eight games, giving them the longest season-opening winning streak for a repeat champion, and sit 9-2 despite dropping two of three on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies. The season is young, but it feels as if we've already learned so much about one of the most decorated teams in this sport's history.

Below are the six biggest takeaways.

Their offense is even deeper than we imagined

Freeman has sat out the past six games and Betts sat out three of the first five. The Dodgers have yet to roll out their optimal lineup.

It hasn't really mattered.

Through their first 11 games, they're doing what they always seem to: come up with timely hits and, mostly, slug. They're second in the majors in home runs, fourth in hard-hit percentage, seventh in OPS and first in win probability added by a wide margin.

Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez and Andy Pages are all off to slow starts, but Tommy Edman has brought production from five different spots in the lineup. Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Michael Conforto have swung hot bats, and Betts has found enough strength to be a major contributor.

They'll all inevitably go cold at varying points this season, but others should pick up the slack.

Said Teoscar Hernandez: "That's just the depth that we have."

And when everyone is clicking, a starting nine of Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Muncy, Smith, Conforto, Pages and Edman -- in that order or close to it -- is the best in the sport.

The return of two-way Ohtani might take longer than we thought

Ohtani went 32 days between throwing off a mound, from Feb. 25 to March 29. Before spring training, the month of May looked like a realistic target for his return to a two-way role. That no longer seems to be the case. Ohtani kept his arm active during his recent shutdown by throwing off flat ground at moderate intensity, but he is essentially starting his pitching buildup from scratch. His bullpen session on March 29 saw him throw roughly 20 pitches, after which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged, "We're a ways away."

This, Ohtani said through an interpreter in Japan, is "according to plan." He wanted to "prioritize the hitting aspect as we're getting into the season," he added, "to get a little breather mentally and physically on the pitching side of things."

Ohtani is throwing full bullpen sessions every Saturday, with a lighter one in between. He'll continue to mix in breaking balls, build stamina, proceed toward facing hitters, then begin a quasi-rehab assignment by throwing in simulated games. (Given his importance to the lineup, the Dodgers won't be sending him out on a traditional rehab assignment.)

There is no timetable for his return to the rotation, and there probably shouldn't be. Ohtani is coming off a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, not to mention a torn labrum he suffered on his non-throwing shoulder. He is again attempting to do something that is largely without precedent. And the Dodgers should have enough starting pitching depth to get by, especially after watching Dustin May roll through the Atlanta Braves in his first appearance in more than 22 months earlier this week.

If Ohtani throws 100 innings during the regular season, it'll be a shock. What's most important is for him to be at his best as a two-way player in October.

Roki Sasaki might be more of a work-in-progress than expected

A clip of Sasaki seemingly on the verge of tears from the top step of the Dodgers' dugout on March 29 made the rounds on social media.

Sasaki had recorded only five outs against the Detroit Tigers, 10 days after recording only nine outs against the Chicago Cubs. Through his first 4 innings in the major leagues, he had walked nine batters. Fastball command was elusive. His splitter and slider weren't generating enough chase. Just as prominent to evaluators, he looked nervous. Scared, even. Some of those who spent years watching Sasaki in Japan could hardly recognize him. The entire industry knew that Sasaki, still only 23 years old, required seasoning before establishing himself as a top-of-the-rotation starter. But it seemed as if he needed even more than many anticipated.

Saturday, though, provided some much-needed optimism. Sasaki took the mound in the bandbox known as Citizens Bank Park, faced a Phillies lineup that is among the sport's most dangerous and held his own. He pitched into the fifth inning, at one point retired 12 of 13 batters and, with some good fortune, gave up only one run. Sasaki simplified his repertoire, throwing fastballs and splitters with 63 of his 68 pitches, and made better use of his lower half as he drove toward home plate. As his start prolonged, his confidence seemed to grow.

There will continue to be growing pains, but Sasaki's third start provided the first glimpse of what he can be at this level. After it was over, he again hung on the railing of the Dodgers' dugout -- only this time he was smiling.

Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto demand more attention

It's pretty telling of the Dodgers' star power that Glasnow and Yamamoto, signed to long-term deals totaling more than $460 million in December 2023, were basically forgotten members of this rotation when the year began. But their health and success will be crucial to a talented-yet-highly-volatile rotation.

Yamamoto, who sat out close to three months with a rotator cuff strain in his transition from Japan to the major leagues last year, drew effusive praise from Dodgers officials throughout spring training. They believed that Yamamoto's age-26 season would see him elevate to one of the game's best starting pitchers. Three starts in, Yamamoto has done nothing to temper those expectations, giving up three earned runs and striking out 19 batters in 16 innings.

After a 2024 season that ended prematurely because of what was diagnosed as an elbow sprain, Glasnow and the Dodgers worked on making his delivery more compact and revamping his throwing program. He ditched weighted balls and got back to more long-tossing. After his first start of the season, when he shut out the Braves through five innings and struck out eight batters, Glasnow said he felt "more fluid."

Glasnow's second start was a struggle; he battled the rain Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, put the first five batters on in the third inning and promptly exited. But the Dodgers have high hopes for Glasnow this season nonetheless. With Snell on the shelf and Sasaki still developing, his success is crucial.

They might actually have a weakness: defense

Betts attempted to turn a double play in Tuesday's second inning and threw so errantly to first base he had to chase the baseball himself. About 24 hours later, Muncy made two throwing errors and Pages misplayed a ball near the warning track. The Dodgers overcame those defensive mistakes and won anyway, but it underscored what is seen as a potential glaring weakness.

Betts is making an unprecedented transition to shortstop. He has worked since early November to get it right, but if he is merely average at the position, the Dodgers will be happy. Muncy, who doesn't have elite range, has the lowest fielding percentage among those who have played at least 250 games at third base since the start of the 2022 season.

Pages has a great arm in center field, but scouts have raised concerns about his ability to read balls off the bat. Conforto and Teoscar Hernández, who make up the outfield corners, have combined for minus-16 outs above average over the past two years. Even Freeman, a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman throughout his career, doesn't move around the way he used to at 35 years old and coming off ankle surgery.

Given the elevated strikeout and home-run rates of this era, defense has never been less important. But as the New York Yankees showed in letting the Dodgers come back in Game 5 of last year's World Series, it still matters. Very much so.

They have an underappreciated trait: fight

The Dodgers aren't all glitz and glamor. They're resilient -- hardened by past October disappointment and buoyed by the injuries they overcame to secure a championship last fall. They know how to overcome, and they never seem to be out of games.

"It's kind of a hallmark of our club," Roberts said.

It's showing once again. The Dodgers breezed past the Cubs in back-to-back games in Japan without Betts and Freeman. After a week off, they beat Tarik Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, on Opening Day. The next night, they erased two separate two-run deficits to win in extra innings. Twenty-four hours later, they won again even though their bullpen had to record 22 outs in relief of Sasaki. On Wednesday, the Dodgers fell behind 5-0 after an inning and a half against a Braves team desperate for its first win and still came out victorious.

Roberts admitted that he was "a little dumbfounded" by watching his team rally to a 6-5 victory that night -- both by the defense that triggered the early deficit and the resilience that erased it. The Dodgers had recorded their second walk-off hit -- a home run by Ohtani on his bobblehead night -- and their sixth comeback win in eight games. They now have a major league-leading seven. Nobody else has more than four.

"The belief is big here," Snell said. "We believe we should win every game. It's fun to be around, and it's fun when everyone knows that we're gonna find a way."

UConn capped its season at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll on Monday, one day after winning its 12th national championship.

The Huskies received all 31 votes from a national media panel after Geno Auriemma's team beat South Carolina 82-59 for the title. The Gamecocks, who started the season at No. 1, were the unanimous second choice.

A record five teams held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 this year. South Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas also all were first at some point this season. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Texas both made the Final Four while USC finished fifth.

It was UConn's first time at No. 1 since the team finished the 2021 season that way. It's also the 17th time overall that the Huskies have ended in the top spot. This year ended the longest drought for the Huskies not to close the season at No. 1 since they went five years in a row from 2003 to 2008.

TCU, Duke, LSU, NC State Wolfpack and Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.

It's the second year that the AP released a final poll after the NCAA title game. In the past, the last Top 25 vote was released the day after the NCAA selection show.

Rising Terrapins

Maryland made one of the biggest jump in the poll after almost knocking off South Carolina in the Sweet 16. The Terrapins climbed to 12th from 18th.

On the way up

Ole Miss climbed eight places to 17th after reaching the Sweet 16, where the Rebels lost to UCLA. It's the first time that the team has been in the final poll since they were ranked 24th in 1996.

Conference breakdown

The Southeastern Conference ended the season with eight ranked teams. The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 each have five while the Big East and Summit League each have one.

SAN ANTONIO -- It would be an oversimplification to say that Florida is college basketball's version of Moneyball while Houston runs the sport's version of the Oklahoma drill in practice. The Cougars also use analytics, and the Gators were rugged enough to wear down Auburn's Johni Broome.

But with the 69-year-old Kelvin Sampson slated to become the oldest coach to win a Division I men's basketball title if Houston wins, and the 39-year-old Todd Golden poised to become the youngest coach since Jim Valvano in 1983 to do it if Florida prevails, the men's NCAA championship matchup features a contrast of styles and philosophies from different eras.

"We're an elite offensive team, a top-10 defensive team," Golden said in San Antonio on Sunday. "[Houston is] a top-10 offensive team and elite defensive team. I think it's going to be a contrasting battle that way."

All of this is best captured through each team's defining players.

On one side is Florida's silky guard Walter Clayton Jr., who's an embodiment of the transfer portal era. He committed to the Gators after an Easter Sunday dinner in 2023 with Golden at Sergio's, an Italian restaurant in Westchester County known for its crab legs and vodka penne, that Clayton had unexpectedly invited St. John's assistant Steve Masiello to join. Masiello was also in the process of recruiting Clayton to follow Rick Pitino after playing his first two seasons for the legendary coach at Iona.

On the other is Houston's low-post force J'Wan Roberts, who is in his sixth year with the program after committing to the Cougars before the transfer portal even launched. He has played for Sampson long enough that he shared the court with Quentin Grimes, now in his fourth NBA season.

And both stars have thrived in their respective programs as a result of the fundamentals their head coaches emphasize.

The toughest part of stopping Florida starts with attempting to slow Clayton down. The 2022-23 MAAC Player of the Year has been the best overall player in this NCAA tournament. He scored 34 points against Auburn in Saturday's Final Four, including a flurry of hesitation drives to the basket that the Tigers staff admitted were guarded about as well as they could be -- Clayton simply executed high degree-of-difficult finishes.

His step-back 3 against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight looms as the most daring and important shot of Florida's run in this tournament, tying the game up in the final two minutes after the Gators erased a 10-point deficit.

Clayton has blossomed as Florida's full-time point guard after shifting over off-guard to start this season, earning the program's first-ever first-team All-America honors. On a team that Golden has built with quality depth, high-end shooting and a deep and rugged frontcourt, Clayton has emerged as a fearless maestro.

He looks back at that awkward dinner with Golden and Masiello, and laughs: "They thought they were going to have a recruiting battle in the middle of the restaurant."

Instead, he returned to his home state drama-free, leading the Gators to their first national title game since 2007. Florida pitched a Jalen Brunson-type presence for the program. Clayton likes the comp even though Brunson isn't his favorite player on NBA 2K because "they got him too small," making him susceptible to bigger defenses.

Clayton also said he has developed thanks to learning from Golden's analytics-forward approach.

"It just kind of gives like a different viewpoint of the game -- of what's a good shot, what's a bad shot, what percentage of the shots are we getting back," he said. "It kind of gave me a different viewpoint coming here."

Florida's roster is a blend of portal, high school and international recruiting. Houston's isn't much different -- the Cougars do have key portal additions in L.J. Cryer and Milos Uzan. But Sampson is defiant that the guts of the program remain old-school.

The growth of players like Roberts, from a skinny rebounder to hounding Cooper Flagg into missing the critical shot in the Final Four, remains Sampson's preferred method of team-building.

Roberts hit the two critical free throws that ultimately secured the comeback win over Duke on Saturday, willing home both ends of a one-and-one. With 19 seconds on the clock, Houston assistants watched with arms linked on the bench. After the first shot rattled home, Quannas White moved toward the court to make a coaching point, quickly pulled back to the arm lock as Roberts line-drove in the second free throw.

Roberts had shot 150 free throws a day since the summer to prepare for the moment. He summed up the prevailing vibe of what drives the Houston program this way: "I feel like you never want to let him down," he said of Sampson, adding the fear of what practice is like after a loss proves a significant motivator.

Sampson has certainly evolved to thrive in this era, but he hasn't changed aspects fundamental to building his program.

"Well, everybody sits around and ponders [which players are] coming back," he said. "We always know who is coming back. So we don't really relate to people that don't know. And so when we bring in new guys -- we have three really good freshmen coming in -- they're going to have to learn how to be Cougar basketball players.

"Our players aren't going to ask them their opinion on many things. This is the way we do it here."

The hirings of Sampson and Golden are reflective of their different paths to the cusp of the title, and the eras they come from.

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin traveled to Indianapolis in March of 2022 to meet Golden, then the coach at San Francisco, before the Dons' first-round game against Murray State in that year's NCAA tournament. The sides met in person for the first time at the Le Meridien hotel in Indianapolis, directly next to St. Elmo's, in a meeting room named after counterculture actor Steve McQueen. It was a fitting setting, as Stricklin sought a different type of thinker for the sport's changing landscape.

In identifying Golden, who had yet to win an NCAA tournament game, Stricklin foresaw the end of the era of teams simply stockpiling talent. "Understanding how the pieces all fit together and having an analytical [view], I think that helps you in this day and age," Stricklin said.

What separated Golden was both understanding analytics and having a detailed plan on how to use them in the modern game. Stricklin wanted to be where the puck was headed. "So I thought at the time we hired Todd, this was where everything was going," he said. "So we tried to get there, and I had a lot of people questioning why we didn't go hire a quote 'established coach.'"

Back in 2014, then-Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades faced a much different set of hiring circumstances when he brought in Sampson. Fresh off a five-year show-cause penalty stemming from NCAA violations at Indiana, Sampson worked nearby as an assistant for the Houston Rockets.

Houston had just finished its first year in the American Athletic Conference, and hadn't been in the NCAA tournament all four seasons of James Dickey's tenure.

"We both needed each other," Rhoades said of Sampson by phone on Sunday. "We needed someone that could resurrect the program. And he needed a second chance."

Rhoades recalled Sampson's intentionality in the interview, a clear vision of non-negotiables. They'll play harder than the opponent. Players will go to class. They'll be coached hard. Family will be at the forefront. Rhoades chuckled when recalling that Sampson said parents could call about anything like academics or character, just not playing time.

Sampson wanted a chance to refurbish his reputation. Rhoades recalled Sampson telling him: "You know what comes up when you Google my name right now?"

Rhoades added: "He wanted to change that legacy for his family."

Upon being hired at Houston, Sampson's former athletic director at Oklahoma, Joe Castiglione, sent him an unconventional congratulatory gift: a ladder for his office. The ladder was an appreciation of prior championships and a symbol there were more to come.

The ladder has been used plenty, as Houston has reached two Final Fours under Sampson and has the country's longest active streak of Sweet 16 appearances with six straight.

On Monday, the program built on old-school grit will clash with a team built on designs of staying ahead in a new era. But the gritty team will still use analytics, and the analytics-driven team will still hang tough.

They will play to cut down the nets for either the oldest coach in the history of the sport to win the title, or for one of the youngest trying to establish himself as a face of the next generation.

Styles make fights, and Monday offers a compelling contrast.

And then there were two.

Florida and Houston were strong during the regular season. Both dominated their conference tournaments. Both are 1-seeds. And both defeated tough opponents to reach Monday's championship game in San Antonio.

Now, everything is on the line in the March Madness finale (8:50 p.m. ET on CBS).

The Gators are looking for their first national championship since their back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 with Billy Donovan, while the Cougars are seeking their first in program history.

For a final time this season, Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello break down each team and pick which will cut down the nets.

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Florida | Houston | Predictions

Florida Gators

How Florida reached the Final Four:

• Round of 64: def. No. 16 Norfolk State 95-69

• Round of 32: def. No. 8 UConn 77-75

• Sweet 16: def. No. 4 Maryland 87-71

• Elite Eight: def. No. 3 Texas Tech 84-79

• Final Four: def. No. 1 Auburn 79-73

How can the Gators contend with Houston's physicality? This has been the primary question for every Houston opponent for the past 11 years. Kelvin Sampson's Houston teams have finished top-15 in adjusted defensive efficiency in seven of the past eight seasons, which means Florida's bigs will have to be relentless in rebounding, attacking the paint and playing exceptional interior defense. Houston outscored Duke 19-12 on second-chance points Saturday, and the Gators will have to close that gap to win.

But this game is also about endurance. The Blue Devils were exhausted by the end of Saturday night -- a byproduct of a grueling, 40-minute game against Houston. Florida needs its big men to avoid foul trouble, challenge the Cougars around the rim on offense and defense and have the stamina to play an intense pace for two halves. It's a daunting task that only one team has achieved since Nov. 30 against Houston.

Who must step up for Florida? Will Richard. The list of standout guards Houston has held to shaky offensive performances in March is long: Robert Wright III (Baylor), Julian Hammond III (Colorado), Egor Demin (BYU), Braden Smith (Purdue), Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee) and Tyrese Proctor (Duke). Walter Clayton Jr. could be added to that group Monday.

But the Gators are not a one-man show. Richard is the only member of Florida's starting backcourt who has had three single-digit efforts over the past five games. The 6-foot-4 senior made 38% of his shots from beyond the arc in league play but was 0-for-5 from the 3-point line in his previous two games. That all has to change Monday night. Duke and its three projected lottery picks and the national player of the year needed more help against Houston, even after it had a 14-point lead. Richard will have to contribute.

The Gators' potential fatal flaw: Giving opponents too many opportunities at the free throw line. Florida was a top-25 defensive team over the final month of the season. It's a key element of its comebacks throughout the NCAA tournament. But the Gators also have committed too many fouls recently. Nine of their past 11 opponents had at least 22 free throw attempts. Houston benefited Saturday night from a couple of costly fouls by Duke, making four crucial free throws in the final seconds. That could happen again Monday night if the Gators put the Cougars on the free throw line too often.

Florida will win if ... Walter Clayton Jr. scores 25 points or more. Because of the way Florida plays and how much it relies on Clayton as a ball handler, the Gators will only go as far as he takes them. When he is a potent scorer and playmaker, opponents are forced to double him, creating more opportunities for his teammates. The Gators will face the best defense in America and although they've overcome nearly impossible odds in the NCAA tournament, Houston's Saturday night comeback over Duke was almost unprecedented. If Clayton gets hot Monday night, it will likely mean the Gators -- ranked second in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency -- are rolling and have found the holes in that vaunted Houston defense. If he struggles, it will complicate everything Florida wants to do against Houston, especially if the Gators have another second-half deficit standing between them and their title dreams. -- Myron Medcalf

Houston Cougars

How Houston reached the Final Four:

• Round of 64: def. No. 16 SIU Edwardsville 78-40

• Round of 32: def. No. 8 Gonzaga 81-76

• Sweet 16: def. No. 4 Purdue 62-60

• Elite Eight: def. No. 2 Tennessee 69-50

• Final Four: def. No. 1 Duke 70-67

How can the Cougars contain Walter Clayton Jr.? If anyone's going to slow down Walter Clayton Jr., it will be the best defense in college. Houston is incredibly physical, both on and off the ball, and doesn't make anything easy for opponents. The Cougars will likely look to deny Clayton easy catches in rhythm and make sure he doesn't get clean looks.

But Clayton didn't have a ton of clean looks against Texas Tech or Auburn and still put up historically good performances. One area to watch will be the 3-point line. Houston has a strong 3-point defense, but it allows 3-point shots. That's not a recipe for stopping Clayton.

Who must step up for Houston? This is another potentially massive game for J'Wan Roberts. He should enter with plenty of confidence after making the biggest plays in the final seconds against Duke: boxing out Cooper Flagg to draw the foul, making two free throws, and contesting Flagg's potential game-winning shot. He was inconsistent over the past month or so and also missed two games because of an ankle injury.

He'll have to be at his best against Florida and its elite frontcourt. That means being active and aggressive on the offensive glass and staying out of foul trouble at the other end of the floor. The Gators have size and depth to throw at Houston on Monday night, and Roberts has to stay on the floor.

The Cougars' potential flaw: Houston doesn't have many weaknesses. But two areas to watch will be the free throw line, and whether the Cougars can avoid the offensive droughts that nearly dug them too big a hole against Duke. Houston was 12th out of 16 Big 12 teams in defensive free throw rate and 14th in offensive free throw rate. The Cougars averaged fewer free throw attempts per game than their opponents.

Florida isn't good at getting to the free throw line -- and is even worse at making those shots -- but if the officials aren't letting Houston be physical and players such as Clayton and Will Richard and Thomas Haugh are getting to the line, that's bad news for the Cougars.

Meanwhile, L.J. Cryer single-handedly kept Houston within striking distance Saturday, hitting multiple 3s against the Blue Devils -- but didn't get much help from his teammates until late in the second half. It's hard to see that working again.

Houston will win if ... It wins the war on the backboards and limits Clayton. Fortunately for the Cougars, both are in the wheelhouse of a Kelvin Sampson-coached team. The Cougars are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country -- it's a big spot for Roberts and Joseph Tugler -- ranking 10th in offensive rebounding percentage and the top 20 in second-chance points per game. (Though Florida is huge and even better at offensive rebounding, statistically.)

At the other end, Houston's guards will have to stick to their principles against Clayton. Auburn had some early success blitzing him on ball screens and forcing the ball out of his hands, but as the game wore on, he consistently got to his left hand and into a rhythm. Houston will likely have the same ideas, going over ball screens, hard-hedging, blitzing to get the ball out of Clayton's hands and making sure he doesn't get a clean look. -- Jeff Borzello

Florida vs. Houston predictions

Jeff Borzello: Houston wins, 67-65
Myron Medcalf: Houston, 70-67

Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the franchise, sources told ESPN on Monday.

The Blazers have 35 victories this season -- a 14-win improvement over last season, so far. They are 22-16 since Jan. 19 with a top-5 ranking in defensive efficiency during that span, according to ESPN Research.

The Blazers have been building around a mix of veterans such as Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton along with young talent in Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan.

Portland nailed the trade for Avdija, who has averaged 24.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists since the beginning of March.

Cronin was promoted to general manager in May 2022, getting a four-year deal at the time to replace Neil Olshey. Cronin, who was promoted to assistant GM in 2021, has spent more than 19 years with the Blazers organization, beginning as an intern and moving up through four leadership regimes.