The Friday college basketball schedule features a national championship rematch between Michigan and UConn at TD Garden in Boston. Michigan defeated UConn 69-63 in last year's title game, and the SportsLine Projection Model projects a competitive contest, backing Michigan to cover as a 7.5-point underdog at 8 p.m. ET.
The model, which simulates each game 10,000 times, enters the 2026-27 season on an 11-1 run on top-rated over/under picks and a 28-22 record on top-rated side picks. It gives Michigan a 51% cover probability in simulations. The Wolverines lost their top three scorers but retained their fourth and fifth leading scorers and added the No. 3 recruiting class per 247Sports, including Tennessee transfer J.P. Estrella, who scored 15 points in Michigan's 84-68 season-opening win over Oakland.
Other highlighted picks include Saint Louis (+2.5) against Missouri and Oklahoma State (-18.5) versus Queens. SportsLine expert Bob Konarski notes Saint Louis returns most of its roster and has guard play to exploit Missouri's size, while Thomas Casale cites Queens playing its third game in five days and a history of large losses to major-conference opponents as reasons to favor Oklahoma State. A three-leg parlay combining these picks would pay +601.
