In what could be a season full of mystery, the 2023-24 men's college basketball season tips off Monday.

Zach Edey, the reigning Wooden Award winner, returns for Purdue, which hopes to duplicate Virginia's feat and put last year's first-round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson behind it with a national title run. The sport also hasn't had a back-to-back Wooden Award winner since former Virginia star Ralph Sampson Jr. 40 years ago. Could Edey follow Sampson?

Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson and Duke star Kyle Filipowski appear to be Edey's top competition in that race.

But this landscape lacks a juggernaut. There is no obvious front-runner. And that's usually a good thing. The new Big 12 (hello, Houston) appears to have multiple national title contenders. Of course, UConn hopes to repeat but it might not even be the best team in the Big East. Marquette or Creighton could claim that honor. The Pac-12's final season might not yield any grand headlines but Florida Atlantic's nucleus from the Final Four run will be one of the biggest stories in college basketball.

Either way, get your popcorn ready. College basketball is back and ESPN's experts -- Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway, Joe Lunardi and Myron Medcalf -- have a few last-minute picks and predictions.

2023-24 NATIONAL PREDICTIONS

The most interesting team

John Gasaway: In ways both good and potentially worrying, North Carolina is the pick here. In two seasons under Hubert Davis, the Tar Heels have carried a 15-point lead into halftime at the national championship game one year and missed the tournament entirely the next. What's the true "new normal" for one of the game's most storied programs?

Joe Lunardi: Tennessee belongs in the best-golfer-never-to-win-a-major category. The Vols might be the biggest athletic department never to reach a Final Four. In men's basketball that is. Rick Barnes has been consistently excellent since arriving in Knoxville, but unable to get past the Sweet 16, despite multiple top 10 teams on KenPom. This could (should?) be the year that changes.

Jeff Borzello: I'll go with FAU. The Owls are ranked in the preseason top 10 after making a run to the Final Four last season and bringing back all five starters. They're also a team that earned a 9-seed and was seconds away from losing in the first round to Memphis. Do they carry over the momentum? Or do they struggle with a target on their backs in a tougher league (moving from Conference USA to the AAC)?

Myron Medcalf: It has to be the team in Lexington led by the guy with a national championship ring and a $33 million buyout. The relationship between John Calipari and Kentucky will be one of the biggest stories in college basketball this season. With the return of Antonio Reeves and a top-ranked recruiting class, he has the players to win big. But it has also been nearly a decade since he reached the Final Four. Kentucky will be this year's Netflix drama either way.

The mystery team that will either be a bracket disruptor or a tournament disaster

Gasaway: Can we just pencil in Miami here every season? Last year, the Hurricanes closed the regular season with two games at home in which they lost to Florida State and barely beat Pitt. Then Jim Larrañaga's group went to the Final Four as a No. 5 seed. Now pollsters have UM at No. 13, but laptops are warning us to stay far away from this team. Mysterious!

Borzello: I have zero idea what to think about UCLA. On the one hand, the Bruins have Mick Cronin, a couple of potential one-and-done freshmen and they bring back Adem Bona on the interior. But there's hardly any other returning production on the roster, and their best freshmen are coming from overseas, so they will need time to adapt. They could fall anywhere from a second weekend team or barely make the tournament, and I wouldn't be surprised.

Medcalf: This honor belongs to the Maryland Terrapins. With the return of Jahmir Young, Julian Reese and Donta Scott and the addition of a strong recruiting class, Big Ten title contention and a second weekend run both seem possible for the Terps. But, this program has started 1-3 or worse in Big Ten play for the past three years and hasn't been to the Sweet 16 since 2016. Kevin Willard could change all of that this season, but I'll have to see it to believe it.

Lunardi: Let's make it a mystery conference, perhaps even one you've heard of. The Big Ten has collected a whopping 26 NCAA tournament bids the past three years and produced exactly Z-E-R-O teams in the Final Four. That should be impossible, considering 10 of those 26 were top-four seeds in their region. I call that disruption quite disastrous.

The first top 25 team to exit the NCAA tournament

Medcalf: I'll pick UConn. Why? Recent champs have had rough outings the year after their title runs (or two years later, in Virginia's case, since we didn't have a 2020 national championship). Duke's 2015-16 squad was the last national champion to reach the second weekend in the next NCAA tournament. How wild is that? The Huskies could get caught in a similar title hangover.

Lunardi: Gonzaga hasn't lost a first-round NCAA tournament game in 15 years, since a guy named Stephen Curry knocked the Bulldogs out. Mark Few is 14-0 in tourney openers since then and 20-3 overall during the Zags' incredible run. Bracketology loves the Zags, but even the best dealers bust occasionally.

Gasaway: It's not just UNC last year. History suggests making the preseason top 25 is no guarantee of reaching the tournament. Can we really be certain that, for example, Florida Atlantic will hear its name called next March? The Owls may pick up more losses (four or five?) in this year's new-look American than they did in last year's Conference USA (two).

Borzello: I don't want to take the easy way out and just pick No. 25 Illinois. So, going out on more of a limb, I'll go with Texas. The Longhorns' success this season will come down to Max Abmas. Arguably the nation's best scorer over the past three seasons, how will his production translate to the Big 12? If he's not putting up huge scoring numbers, I question how dynamic this team will be offensively.

A non-Power 5 school we'll all be rooting for

Medcalf: It has to be Florida Atlantic, right? It is the anti-transfer portal team. All of those talented players had opportunities to play for other schools after their Final Four run but instead returned to Boca Raton to chase a national championship. I remember the way the world latched onto Butler a year after Gordon Hayward's shot clanked off the rim in the national title game against Duke. I think the Owls could enjoy similar fanfare, even though they're in a league that's in a higher tier.

Borzello: Finally, Merrimack is eligible for the NCAA tournament. The Warriors haven't been allowed to go dancing since they were in the midst of their mandatory four-year transition from Division II to Division I, but look at what Joe Gallo has done in those four years: NEC regular-season titles in 2020 and 2023, NEC conference tournament title in 2023. It would be fitting if they get to the NCAA tournament in their first eligible season.

Gasaway: Move over, Syracuse. There's a new game in town, literally. Le Moyne is also located in Syracuse, New York, and this marks the first season at the Division I level for Nate Champion's group. Keep an eye on the Dolphins in the NEC all season. Fun fact: John Beilein coached Le Moyne in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Lunardi: Saint Mary's remains the best true mid-major in the country, sporting back-to-back No. 5 seeds and consecutive second-round NCAA appearances. The Gaels are back for another run and earned the top spot, over Gonzaga, in the WCC coach's poll. And they have a lifelong chaplain, Brother Bernie LoCoco, who at age 88 is 16 years younger than the ageless Sister Jean!

The player everyone should be paying a lot more attention to

Lunardi: Tucker DeVries of Drake doesn't just play like a coach's son, he is the son of Bulldogs head man Darian DeVries. Darian has averaged 24.4 wins over six seasons in Des Moines, including 25 and 27 with Tucker roaming the paint. This year's Bulldogs should be back in the NCAA tournament, this time with a real chance to win.

Gasaway: Max Fiedler at Rice. He was No. 1 in the nation in effective field goal percentage last season while also ranking No. 1 on the team for assist rate. At 6-11, Fiedler operates as a "point center" primarily from the top of the key.

Borzello: Tristan da Silva, Colorado. I cooled on the Buffs as the offseason progressed, although opening with them at No. 13 on the day last season ended obviously was too lofty. But, I still think they're a team that can win a game or two in March. And da Silva is the primary reason. He's a 6-foot-9 player from Germany who shot 39.4% from 3 last season and had 11 games of 20-plus points. He also might be the best returning player in the Pac-12.

Medcalf: Fine. I'll start the Drew Pember bandwagon. At 6-11, he had multiple 40-point games last year and he made 38% of his 3-pointers. At UNC Asheville Bulldogs, he won't get a lot of national TV buzz unless his team returns to the NCAA tournament. But he's a unique player in college basketball.

The player not named Zach Edey who could win the Wooden Award

Borzello: Hunter Dickinson already has some level of name cachet, he's already been a productive college player and he's going to be the star of the preseason No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks. I think it will be very difficult to beat out Edey simply because he's such a force and his floor is so incredibly high, but if Dickinson can put up 19 and 9 on the best team in the country, there's certainly an argument.

Lunardi: See Hunter Dickinson above, who could easily end up as the best player on the best team in the country.

Gasaway: Kyle Filipowski, who, like Edey, will be the featured scorer on one of the best offenses in the country. As a sophomore, he will likely start hitting 3s, and he could put up gaudy single-name numbers to add to the buzz.

Medcalf: Dickinson and Filipowski are the answers here. But I'll add another name: Max Abmas. He has averaged 21.9 PPG, 22.8 PPG and 24.5 PPG the past three seasons at Oral Roberts. If Abmas puts up similar numbers with Texas in the Big 12, he'll be more than a cool storyline. He could be a serious contender for National Player of the Year honors.

The one storyline you're watching this season

Gasaway: Are there any great teams this season? Every year around January, without fail, people say there are none, and then I always act all omniscient and say, oh you just wait, one will emerge. That worked out well with the whole UConn thing in 2023, but this year? Not seeing that clear candidate yet.

Medcalf: I think it's Year 3 for Hubert Davis. This team soared from nowhere in his first season. It's easy to forget the Tar Heels had a double-digit lead on Kansas at halftime of the 2022 national title game. And then, we all know what happened last year with the fall from preseason No. 1 to missing the NCAA tournament. This year feels like a significant season, not only for Davis and his future but also for the program.

Lunardi: I'm fascinated by Hunter Dickinson and Kansas. Dickinson spent the summer as college basketball's first truly marketable free agent, cashing in a pay day that could exceed anything at the next level (just ask Drew Timme). Will it pay off in wins and championships for the Jayhawks? Only time will tell.

Borzello: Bronny James is the obvious one, but I'm also fascinated by John Calipari returning to the Calipari of a decade ago, and want to see if he can win with a rotation made up primarily of freshmen. Can you still win that way in 2023-24? He'll need his bigs to get healthy and he'll need D.J. Wagner to be awesome from day one, but there's enough talent here for Kentucky to be a factor come March. It might be a roller coaster between now and then, though.

2023-24 PICKS

FINAL FOUR PICKS (* NEXT TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPION)

Borzello: Kansas*, Michigan State, Tennessee, Baylor
Gasaway: Kansas*, Purdue, Tennessee, Creighton
Lunardi: Kansas*, Purdue, Duke, Tennessee
Medcalf: *Houston, Kansas, Purdue, Michigan State

WOODEN AWARD (PLAYER OF THE YEAR)

Borzello: Zach Edey, Purdue
Gasaway: Zach Edey, Purdue
Lunardi: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Medcalf: Kyle Filipowski, Duke

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Borzello: Isaiah Collier, USC
Gasaway: Isaiah Collier, USC
Lunardi: D.J. Wagner, Kentucky
Medcalf: Isaiah Collier, USC

COACH OF THE YEAR

Borzello: Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Gasaway: Greg McDermott, Creighton
Lunardi: Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Medcalf: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Borzello:
Zach Edey, Purdue
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Gasaway:
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Justin Moore, Villanova

Lunardi:
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M

Medcalf:
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Armando Bacot, North Carolina

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Supplied complete in a travel case and weighing only 350g, theres no reason to leave home with this highly portable and powerful massage gun.

Driven, relentless, demanding... great.

Alun Wyn Jones has been described as all those things by those who played and coached both with him and against him.

They are the attributes that turned the boy from Bonymaen in Swansea into the world's most capped international.

Scrum V talks to those who knew him best prior to his farewell match for Barbarians against Wales.

Munster have suffered an injury blow with confirmation that their World Cup-winning South African lock RG Snyman is to undergo surgery.

In a squad update issued on Monday, Munster did not provide a timeline for Snyman's return.

He made six appearances during the Boks' successful World Cup defence.

Used off the bench, Snyman scored South Africa's only try in their semi-final victory over England and helped his country hold off New Zealand in the final as they extended their reign as world champions.

Snyman has been plagued by injuries since joining Munster in 2020, spending two significant periods on the sidelines because of separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries before helping the province win the United Rugby Championship title in May.

Munster may also be without Calvin Nash for Friday's trip to Belfast to face Ulster in the URC.

The 26-year-old wing, who made his Ireland debut earlier this year, was withdrawn with a knee injury after scoring two tries in Munster's 45-14 win over Dragons in Cork on Saturday.

With Craig Casey and Jack Crowley having featured in Saturday's win, the rest of Munster's Ireland contingent - Tadhg Beirne, Dave Kilcoyne, Jeremy Loughman, Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony - are in contention to face Ulster after returning to training.

Simon Zebo and Josh Wycherley are also available for selection after recovering from foot and neck problems.

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree is currently without Patrick Campbell (ankle), Roman Salanoa (knee), Mike Haley (hip), Cian Hurley (ankle/achilles), Niall Scannell (groin), and Andrew Conway (knee).

Exeter are awaiting news on the extent of a freak foot injury suffered by in-from forward Greg Fisilau.

"Greg's hurt his foot in one of those weird ways," Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"Getting off a piece of equipment in the gym he stood on something and just damaged the underside of his foot.

"We're hoping it's not too long but it's one of those ones that, until the swelling goes down and we can really investigate it, we're not quite sure."

Former England Under-20 player Fisilau, who moved to Exeter after the demise of Wasps last year, has impressed this season, scoring three tries in all competitions - including two in the first three Premiership games of the season.

Before Sunday's win over Bristol - which kept Exeter top of the Premiership - Baxter was keen to praise the impact of the young back-row.

"He's still a very young man and got lots to learn, but there's huge improvements around the things he's doing around set-piece, around the contact area and of course he's got a massive enthusiasm to get on the ball and be a ball carrier," he told BBC Sport.

"He's deceptively strong and he's actually deceptively big and heavy and strong compared to what you sometimes think when you look at him.

"The willingness to be on the ball and repeat carry, and he kind of nearly always slides off, gets off, bounces off that first point of contact, so it always attracts defenders to him.

"He's been a very important player for us at the start of the season and he attracts a lot of defenders, that creates space and that helps us create opportunities and create tries and I'm delighted with how he's started the season."

New Zealand captain Sam Cane has been banned for three games for his red card in the World Cup final.

The flanker was sent off for a high tackle on Jesse Kriel in the 12-11 defeat by South Africa last month.

He has taken a sabbatical from Waikato Chiefs to spend a season in Japan.

The 31-year-old is likely to make his Suntory debut against Urayasu D-Rocks on 2 December.

Cane, the first player to be sent off in a men's World Cup final, said after the match: "Unfortunately it is something I am going to have to live with forever."

The possibility exists for a Hughes brothers sweep in the 2023-24 NHL Awards.

"Possible" does not mean "probable." But based on our survey of awards voters, two of the Hughes boys have a significant lead for NHL Awards after the first month of the season. Youngest brother Luke has some work to do.

Let's say that Jack Hughes wins the Hart Trophy and Quinn Hughes wins the Norris Trophy. That would mark the third time a pair of brothers won NHL awards for on-ice achievement in the same season.

In 1971-72, Phil Esposito won the Art Ross (NHL scoring leader) while Tony Esposito won the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender). In 1973-74, Phil Esposito won the Art Ross, the Hart (MVP) and what's now known as the Ted Lindsay Award (MVP, as voted by the players) while Tony Esposito won the Vezina.

In 2017-18, Daniel and Henrik Sedin shared the King Clancy Trophy, which is handed out to the player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community."

It's one month of a very long season. Much can change, from unforeseen injuries (such as Jack being out "week to week" with an upper-body injury) to unexpected candidates merging. But the first snapshot of the awards picture is a revealing one.

Welcome to the first NHL Awards Watch of the season. We've polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders. We've made sure it's a cross-section from the entire league, trying to gain as many perspectives as possible.

Bear in mind that the PHWA votes for the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng finalists; broadcasters vote for the Jack Adams; and general managers handle the Vezina.

All stats are from Hockey-Reference.com, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

A leading brain injury charity has questioned whether protocols were followed after Manchester United defender Harry Maguire suffered a blow to the head in the opening minute of his side's Premier League victory at Fulham on Saturday.

Maguire went down on his haunches and looked uncomfortable after being caught on the side of the head by Rodrigo Muniz's shoulder during a challenge at Craven Cottage.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

He was checked on the pitch for possible concussion by United's team doctor -- as per Premier League guidelines -- but allowed to continue, although the England international needed a second check after half time.

The incident again raised the issue of "temporary concussion substitutes" being introduced, whereby a team could bring on a replacement while the injured player is assessed off the pitch, as they have already in rugby.

"We have come such a long way since Hugo Lloris was labelled a 'hero' for over-ruling club medics to return to the pitch after a clear concussion while playing for Tottenham against Everton in 2013," Luke Griggs, Chief Executive of Headway, said in a statement.

"That shocking incident was a wake-up call for football. We called it 'dangerous and irresponsible' at the time, demanding it be used as a catalyst for change.

"But this progress is eroded with every high-profile incident in which the safety first principle is set aside and players being allowed to continue despite showing signs that a concussion could have occurred."

There is no suggestion that Manchester United's medical staff did anything wrong, but Griggs said the incident highlighted again the need for concussion substitutes to be adopted across the sport.

"This is an issue with the very culture of football and its stubborn refusal to put players' health above all else -- including the result of a game," he said.

"Temporary concussion substitutions would immediately help return some credibility to the process, but an evolution of attitude is urgently needed."

Maguire said he had passed the concussion tests on the pitch.

"The doc did all the tests and I knew where I was and I was answering all the questions and I completed them, [the concussion protocols] thankfully," he said.

"If the doc says I'm okay to carry on, then I'm always going to carry on."

Earlier this year, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) rejected a trial for temporary concussion substitutes in the Premier League, Ligue 1 and MLS.

World governing body FIFA is continuing indefinitely its trials for permanent substitutions -- whereby a team can have an extra substitute in the case of a player being withdrawn because of a likely concussion.

Serie A Femminile club Pomigliano have withdrawn from the Italian women's top flight "with immediate effect" after claiming that they "are fighting against invisible opponents, that takes away your energy and the desire to continue."

Pomigliano's decision to withdraw six games into the season was announced on Sunday after a contentious refereeing decision saw a match-winning penalty awarded to their opponents, Sampdoria.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

The club released a statement to Tuttosport announcing their withdrawal that criticised both the league's organisation and management of finances, as well as the performance of the officials.

"Fighting against every type of opponent makes defence pointless," the club said in a statement.

"The company met with the board at the end of today's match and in the presence of all members, respecting its investments, in the nobility of the sporting project that it has been pursuing for years in the belief that women's football has become a real utopia, says enough.

"When fighting against an invisible adversary becomes an unequal struggle which saps your energy and desire to continue.

"By virtue of a league which on one hand obligates compliance with payment deadlines but cannot guarantee planning on the management of the payments to be made... Forcing the company to function without guaranteed times and methods."

The statement also hit out at the referees in charge of their loss to Sampdoria.

"In addition to the refereeing of the match against Sampdoria where the referee and fourth official managed and directed the outcome in favour of the Ligurians, implementing a one-sided approach from the start until the end of the game.

"Excessive strictness towards our players while being more lenient towards Sampdoria. A second yellow card for a Sampdoria player was made into a warning for a member of our bench after the suggestion of the fourth official who was in fact managing the game on the pitch. That doesn't mention the invented penalty, shown by the TV pictures, with the visitor's player not even slightly touched by our defender; a decision which determined the final result.

"For all of this and for other matters communicated with the league, the company announces its immediate withdrawal from the championship."

Pomigliano are ninth in Serie A Femminile, one point above Napoli who have failed to win any of their first six league matches.

Serie A Femminile, which moved to full professionalism from the beginning of the 2022-23 season, is made up of 10 teams. If Pomigliano's withdrawal is confirmed, it is not clear how the competition would continue with an odd number of clubs.