The St. John’s Red Storm (9-3, 1-0 in Big East) clash with the No. 17 Providence Friars (13-2, 3-1) in a conference game Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The tip-off is scheduled for noon ET. Below, we look at the St. John’s vs. Providence 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.
St. John’s returned from a multiple-week COVID-related layoff to beat the DePaul Blue Demons Wednesday 89-85 but failed to cover as 5.5-point home favorites. Johnnies wing Julian Champagnie had game-highs in points (34) and rebounds (16) and leads the Big East in scoring at 21.5 points per game.
The Red Storm are 4-8 ATS and 7-5 O/U with the 321st-ranked strength of schedule (out of 358 Division I schools), according to USA TODAY’s Jeff Sagarin.
Providence had its eight-game winning streak snapped Tuesday when the Friars (-1) got routed by the Marquette Golden Eagles 88-56. Providence was outshot from everywhere on the floor including 52.5-32.8% from the field and threw 18 fewer assists (24-6).
The Friars are 10-5 ATS and 6-9 O/U with the 27th-toughest schedule (Sagarin). Providence could be without senior guard A.J. Reeves, who’s the Friar’s third-leading scorer (10.7 PPG) and is dealing with a finger injury.
St. John’s has beaten Providence in three consecutive meetings, all by double digits and has covered the last four.
Champagnie is averaging 15.3 PPG on 62.5% shooting (58.9% from behind the arc) with 8.0 rebounds per in four career games versus Providence.
St. John’s at Providence odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: St. John’s +165 (bet $100 to win $165) | Providence -205 (bet $205 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): St. John’s +4.5 (-110) | Providence -4.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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St. John’s at Providence odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
St. John’s 77, Providence 71
Money line
SPRINKLE on ST. JOHN’S (+165) with the plan of betting more on the Johnnies plus the points.
St. John’s has by far the best player on the floor in Champagnie while Providence’s highest-recruited player, Reeves, is listed on the injury report as “doubtful”.
Furthermore, these teams know each other well, and the biggest roster loss for either team was former Providence guard David Duke Jr. entering this past NBA draft. Duke is now starting games for the Brooklyn Nets and was Providence’s second-leading scorer last season.
On the other hand, Champagnie returned for another season at St. John’s to improve his draft stock, which he has, and Johnnies’ sophomore PG Posh Alexander has improved year-over-year as well.
Alexander was Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season as a freshman and has improved his points, rebounds and assists per game averages.
Again, we are only SPRINKLING on ST. JOHN’S (+165) because Johnnies plus the points is the much wiser wager.
Against the spread
Definitely BET ST. JOHN’S +4.5 (-110) heavier than, or instead of, the money line. This line seems low for a Providence -4.5 (-107) team that’s ranked and has mowed down much better competition than St. John’s. It feels like the oddsmakers are setting a trap making the Friars this cheap.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight “lean” to the Over 145.5 (-115) since I like St. John’s to win this game so it should dictate the tempo and the Johnnies play at the 10th-fastest pace in the country.
Also, the Over has cashed in two of the past three St. John’s-Providence meetings, and the Johnnies have gone Over the total in four of their last six games.
However, Providence plays at the 328th-fastest pace and has gone Under the total in six of its last seven games.
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