TheSpread.com

Chuck O'Brien.

My free winner for Thursday night is going to be the St. John's Red Storm, who continue to play during their four-game season-opening week with a visit to the 2012 Charleston Classic. Both St. John's and the College of Charleston Cougars are both 1-0, and do battle here in the first round in a 2:30 pacific time tip.

I've been a big fan of this team and am a bigger fan of coach Steve Lavin, who returns in 2012-13 after posting a 2-2 record last season while making a full recovery from prostate cancer surgery. And while the Red Storm and Lavin were going through a traumatic season, the Storm secured the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation per HoopScoop.com. St. John's 2012 recruiting class is comprised of eight standout student-athletes representing five countries, and the highly-acclaimed group followed a 2011 class that was ranked third nationally by ESPN.

And yet all that being said, St. Johns is catching points mainly because Charleston is hosting this event. I have no problem taking the number against a team adapting to a brand new coach. Doug Wojcik is in his first year as the head coach of the Cougars after spending seven years as the head coach at Tulsa.

Look for Lavin to lead the Red Storm to a huge win over the Cougars.

3♦ ST. JOHNS

Chris Jordan

My free winner for tonight is going to be on the Over in the North Carolina/Virginia game in Charlottesville, North Carolina.

North Carolina has the 15th-best offense in the nation and 10th best scoring offense in the country. The Tar Heels score 40.5 points per game, and take on a team that just allowed 40 points to Miami, Florida. Now they head to Charlottesville laying points and fully expected to win this game? Yeah, I'd say they're going to force an uptempo game.

Virginia is capable of putting points up on the board, as I've seen the Cavaliers score at least 33 points in four of their 10 games, while they're averaging 24.6. points per game. Not a lot, but what they're proving is they can hang offesively when they need to. And with two games left, and just four wins on the year, they have to win out to become bowl eligible.

So while the Tar Heels will be pushing the tempo tonight, looking to run away from the Cavaliers, you can fully expect the Cavaliers to respond to the challenge with a solid pace of their own.

Look for this one to get into the mid-60s.

3♦ OVER UNC/Virginia