Thursday was a rough slate of games, and not much notable happened.  Texas A&M blew out Oklahoma State in College Station.  Friday has a fantastic slate of games.  Friday is also a huge opportunity for the Big East. So far, two weeks into the season, the Big East hasn’t looked great, but all that can change with a huge Friday.

The picks are going so well so far, with the record at 388-91 over 12 days.  The picks for day 13th on Friday the 13th are below.

Cleveland State over West Florida

Miami over North Alabama

Florida State over Texas A&M Corpus Christi

Rutgers over Bryant

Clemson over Georgetown

Pitt over Butler

Florida over Merrimack

Illinois over Sam Houston

Michigan State over Northern Iowa

Tennessee over Tennessee State

Vanderbilt over Prairie View

Kentucky over Northern Arizona

Purdue over Ohio

Charlotte over App State

Lehigh over Marist

Bucknell over Columbia

FGCU over FIU

Hofstra over Iona

Elon over Chattanooga

Yale over Northeastern

Virginia Tech over Mount St. Mary’s

NC State over Troy

George Washington over Harvard

Fordham over Long Island

North Carolina over Georgia

UConn over Ohio State

Drake over South Dakota

Liberty over NC Central

Middle Tennessee over SEMO

Duke over SIU Edwardsville

Virginia over Maryland

Arkansas over Central Arkansas

Texas State over Southern Mississippi

Murray State over Texas Southern

North Dakota State over Illinois State

Wright State over Samford

Tarleton State over Alcorn State

UCF over Georgia Southern

Idaho over Cal Poly

TCU over Milwaukee

Oklahoma over FDU

Omaha over Lindenwood

Auburn over Arizona

Alabama over Seton Hall

UNLV over Stanford

Arizona State over UL Monroe

SMU over Ball State

DePaul over Northwestern

Xavier over Mississippi State

Oregon State over Mississippi Valley State

San Diego over Chicago State

Utah State over UC San Diego

Portland over East Texas A&M

Saint Mary’s over Illinois-Chicago

Cal Baptist over Pine Bluff

It is hard to know where to begin with the schedule on this loaded Friday. Since we had talked about the Big East, let’s focus on those games.  UConn plays Ohio State, and this game shouldn’t be close.  The Huskies are one of the top teams in the country, and Ohio State, while much improved, doesn’t have the horses to match them for 40 minutes.

The late slate has a lot of games to watch, but Alabama and Seton Hall have caught my eye.  It is a tale of two contrasting styles.  The Crimson Tide want to play as fast as possible, get up and down the floor, take a ton of threes, and make defense optional.  Then there are the Pirates.  Seton Hall plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, doesn’t score much, and plays defense first.  What gives first?  The game is in Coleman, and Seton Hall will have a tough time keeping it close.  Give me Alabama in a runaway.

Then there is a sneaky game in California between Saint Mary’s and Illinois-Chicago.  The Gaels are one of the best programs in California and are always an NCAA Tournament team. The Gaels aren’t as good this year, but they still don’t lose much in Moraga.  I have rated Illinois-Chicago as a top-80 team, and they are the class of the Horizon.  This game is going to be one of the best mid-major games of the season.