The St. John’s Red Storm (14-9, 4-8 Big East) visit the No. 15 Xavier Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) in Cincinnati Saturday at 5 p.m. ET (FOX). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the St. John’s vs. Xavier odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
After winning an overtime battle 85-83 Wednesday as a 4-point home favorite over 17th-ranked Providence in its last game, Xavier will get less of a test in this one against a St. John’s team which has struggled since entering Big East play.
A high scoring game should be in store with the Red Storm averaging 77.3 points per game and the Musketeers allowing 76.2 PPG, which ranks 336th per Covers.com.
On the other end of the court, the numbers are not much different. St. John’s allows 73.6 PPG (ranking 294th), while Xavier is the 8th-highest scoring team in the country at 83.3 PPG.
Defense will be optional for both teams and a shootout is likely.
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St. John’s at Xavier odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:43 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): St. John’s +310 (bet $100 to win $310) | Xavier -425 (bet $425 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): St. John’s +8.5 (-105) | Xavier -8.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 166.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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St. John’s at Xavier picks and predictions
Prediction
Xavier 90, St. John’s 79
Moneyline
AVOID.
St. John’s (+310) has not been the same team since entering Big East play, while Xavier (-425) has continued to excel. While it is not impossible for the Red Storm to pull off the upset, I don’t see it happening.
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Against the spread
XAVIER -8.5 (-115) is the side here.
Coming in after barely prevailing over Providence 85-83, Xavier will want to get back into cruise control and St. John’s is a good team to do it against.
St. John’s has failed to cover the spread in any of its last 4 games. While this will be a high-scoring game, it will not be a close one.
Over/Under
Although this O/U line being so high makes me nervous, I’m backing OVER 166.5 (-105).
The Red Storm have gone Over the total in its last 4 road games and have also gone Over the total in 5 of its last 6 games following an ATS loss.
For Xavier, the numbers are similar and lean toward the Over. The Musketeers have gone Over in 7 of 8 Saturday games while also going Over in 5 of 6 games against teams with losing road records. The Over has also hit in 8 of the Musketeers’ last 10 games following an ATS loss.
With the both defenses ranking outside the top 290 nationally, points will be flowing in Cincinnati for this one.
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