The No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks (5-1) meet the St. John’s Red Storm (5-1) Friday at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Kansas vs. St. John’s odds and lines and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Kansas opened its season with a quality 87-74 win over the Michigan State Spartans as a 4.5-point favorite at the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The Jayhawks’ lone loss came against a non-Power 5 school in the Dayton Flyers as 16-point favorites in Kissimmee, Fla. Kansas is 2-3-1 ATS and 5-1 O/U with the 89th-toughest schedule, according to USA TODAY’s Jeff Sagarin.
The Johnnies’ only loss was a 76-74 defeat at the Indiana Hoosiers Nov. 17 as 4.5-point road underdogs. St. John’s has yet to beat a team from a Power 5 conference and is 3-3 ATS and 3-3 O/U with the 355th-toughest schedule, according to Sagarin.
Kansas vs. St. John’s odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Kansas -320 (bet $320 to win $100) | St. John’s +250 (bet $100 to win $250)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kansas -6.5 (-120) | St. John’s +6.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 157.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Kansas vs. St. John’s odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
St. John’s 77, Kansas 74
Money line
PASS with a slight “lean” to St. John’s (+250) because I like the Johnnies plus the points and they are a live underdog in this game.
There’s value in the Red Storm on the money line here because they have the best player on the court. St. John’s junior wing Julian Champagnie averages the second-most points per game in the Big East and has the fourth-best PER.
The Johnnies’ aggressive, fast-paced style can throw opponents off. Red Storm head coach Mike Anderson will employ full-court presses and St. John’s can shrink deficits quickly by getting out into transition.
Furthermore, according to Hoop-Math.com, the Johnnies have the 26th-best effective field goal shooting (eFG%) in transition while Kansas ranks 302nd in defensive eFG% in transition.
What’s holding me back from betting St. John’s (+250) is its lack of tough opponents. It’s failed to cover the spread by at least 13.5 points in their last three games against subpar competition.
Against the spread
BET ST. JOHN’S +6.5 (-105) for 1 unit because this is a “good spot” for the Red Storm, there’s “reverse line movement” (RLM) in the betting market and the Johnnies’ aforementioned edge in transition basketball.
St. John’s is 9-3 ATS as a home underdog with a plus-4.7 spread differential since Anderson took over the program in 2019. The Johnnies are also 15-10-1 ATS versus non-conference opponents and 7-6 ATS versus ranked teams in the Anderson era.
Nearly 80% of the money is on Kansas according to pregame.com. but the spread has been lowered from St. John’s getting 8 points on the opener to the current price.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight “lean“ to the Under 157.5 (-108) because there’s been a “sharp line move” towards the Over. However, St. John’s plus the points is my favorite bet in this game and I’d rather stick with just that.
Kansas has a 9-5-2 O/U record since the beginning of last season against non-conference teams and the Under has cashed in the Red Storm’s previous five games as a home underdog.
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / USC / Wisconsin / College Football News
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]