The St. John’s Red Storm (6-4, 1-3 Big East) visit the Xavier Musketeers (8-2, 1-2) in a Big East battle Wednesday at the Cintas Center. The tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the St. John’s-Xavier college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
St. John’s at Xavier: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:48 p.m. ET.
- Money line: St. John’s +240 (bet $100 to win $240) | Xavier -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: St. John’s +6.5 (-110) | Xavier -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 155.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
St. John’s at Xavier: Three things to know
- St. John’s snapped a three-game losing streak vs. Big East foes by beating Georgetown 94-83 as a 4.5-point home favorite the last time out way back on Dec. 20. The Johnnies have had seven games canceled or postponed due to COVID this season including their last game vs. DePaul scheduled for this past Saturday.
- Xavier enters off consecutive Big East losses to Seton Hall (85-68 Dec. 30) and Creighton (66-61 Dec. 23). The Musketeers do a good job moving the ball and not turning it over (sixth in assist to turnover ratio), which helps them connect on 48.6% of their shots (ranked 42nd in the nation).
- Xavier has beaten St. John’s in 11 straight (5-0-1 ATS in its last six) and 13 out of its 15 meetings since the Musketeers joined the Big East in 2013.
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St. John’s at Xavier: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Xavier 80, St. John’s 78
Money line (ML)
PASS ON THE MONEY LINE with a slight lean toward St. John’s (+240) just because I like the Red Storm plus the points. Generally, I’d like to sprinkle on a dog to win if I’m betting it to cover, but I’ll stick with the spread only for this one.
Against the spread (ATS)
This is a Pros vs. Joes scenario with more than 70% of the money coming on the Johnnies, but 70% of the tickets/bets are on Xavier, according to Pregame.com. The sharp side is usually the money while the public is represented by the tickets/bets column. The line has already been moved from the 7.5-point opener to the current number, but the spread is still above two possessions.
St. John’s plays high-pressure defense, employing a full-court press during a lot of the game, and that could force Xavier to be uncharacteristically reckless with the rock. If Xavier is able to break through that ball pressure then it could beat the brakes off of a St. John’s defense that ranks 331st in opponent’s field-goal percentage and 330th in opponent’s 3-point percentage.
I’ll TAKE ST. JOHN’S +6.5 (-110) for 1 unit to keep it within two possessions.
Over/Under (O/U)
I lean OVER 155.5 (-110) because this St. John’s-Xavier projected total is at least 10 points higher than their previous four meetings. St. John’s-Xavier has a combined 15-5 O/U record so far this season, and while the market seemingly prefers the Over, BetMGM sees the highest-score St. John’s-Xavier game in years.
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