The Butler Bulldogs (6-10, 5-8 Big East) host the St. John’s Red Storm (13-7, 7-6) in a Big East battle at Hinkle Fieldhouse Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the St. John’s-Butler college basketball odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
St. John’s at Butler: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: St. John’s +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Butler -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: St. John’s +1.5 (-110) | Butler -1.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 138.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
St. John’s at Butler: Three things to know
- The Johnnies are playing their best basketball in years under second-year head coach Mike Anderson. St. John’s is on a six-game winning streak, including a 70-59 victory over then-No. 3 Villanova as a 9-point home underdog Wednesday. The Johnnies have won four road games against conference opponents during their win streak.
- Butler snapped a three-game losing skid by beating and covering 68-58 at home against DePaul Saturday. The Bulldogs are 3-3 straight up and 4-2 ATS in their last six games but have shot below 40% from the field in those games.
- St. John’s-Butler was originally scheduled for mid-December but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. These teams met Jan. 12 and the Johnnies clocked the Bulldogs 69-57 as 1.5-point home favorites.
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St. John’s at Butler: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
St. John’s 72, Butler 60
Money line (ML)
Butler plays at one of the slowest tempos in the nation and its assist percentage is mediocre, which tells me there isn’t a lot of ball movement for the offense. A slow-paced, methodical offense isn’t a good fit against the Johnnies’ aggressive on-the-ball defense that includes full-court presses.
In their first matchup, the Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 16-8 and connected on just 25% of their 3-point attempts compared to the Johnnies’ 35% 3-point percentage. These aren’t random occurrences as much as it’s how St. John’s has played recently.
Over their six-game winning streak, the Johnnies are forcing 15.3 turnovers per game and opponents are shooting just 30.5% from 3-point range. St. John’s freshman PG Posh Alexander leads the Big East in steals per game (2.6) and has been on a tear lately, menacing the opposing team’s point guards.
Each team is going in a different direction and I’m heading toward the Red Storm Tuesday. TAKE ST. JOHN’S (+105) for 1.5 units.
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Against the spread (ATS)
PASS ON THE SPREAD unless it gets up to St. John’s +2.5.
Over/Under (O/U)
St. John’s games were going Over regularly but over the past 10 games, the Johnnies are 4-5-1 O/U. A lot of it has to do with St. John’s defense but its half-court offense is starting to gel.
The market is hammering the Under currently and I’d rather follow the money than fade it. Butler’s offense cannot take advantage of an aggressive St. John’s defense and the Johnnies’ offense goes missing for stretches.
It’s only a lean but, I’d BET UNDER 138.5 (-110) for a tiny wager if any on the total.
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