Xavier at St. John's odds, picks and predictions
The Xavier Musketeers (6-5) and St. John's Red Storm (6-3) meet Wednesday in their Big East conference opener at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the Xavier vs. St. John's odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The Musketeers picked up an impressive 75-59 win over the Winthrop Eagles on Saturday, covering as 12-point favorites. Xavier hits the road for just the 2nd time this season. It lost 83-71 on the road against Purdue back on Nov. 13, covering a 17-point number as the Over (150) connected.
The Red Storm scored a 77-55 win over the Fordham Rams as a 13-point favorite on Saturday, and St. John's is an impressive 4-1 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in the past 5 games. At home, the Johnnies have won and covered 3 in a row since its lone setback at home against Michigan on Nov. 13.
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Xavier at St. John's odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:18 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Xavier +195 (bet $100 to win $195) | St. John's -240 (bet $240 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Xavier +5.5 (-102) | St. John's -5.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 156.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Xavier at St. John's picks and predictions
Prediction
St. John's 78, Xavier 71
Moneyline
St. John's (-240) will cost you nearly 2 1/2 times your potential return, and that's way too risky for this Big East opener. Xavier (+195) has certainly not played up to the standard we're used to seeing in the past, but this is still a dangerous team, and it pushed around a very good mid-major team, Winthrop, last time out.
PASS.
Against the spread
ST. JOHN'S -5.5 (-120) is the play at home, as coach Rick Pitino's group should be able to win this one by at least 3 buckets.
Xavier +5.5 (-102) has only played once on the road, and that was against a ranked team. Still, we haven't seen much from the Musketeers that has been good until the past week.
The Red Storm has been very good at home, and we have a decent sample size, too, including a nice win and cover over Fordham. The Johnnies have covered 4 of the past 5 games, too. Trust St. John's on its home court.
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Over/Under
UNDER 156.5 (-110) might be the best play on the board.
The Musketeers have averaged 76.3 PPG, but it isn't a particularly good shooting team, especially from downtown. Xavier hits just 33.6% from behind the 3-point line. It leaves a lot of points on the floor, too, hitting just 70.2% from the free-throw line. However, defensively, Xavier is pretty solid, limiting teams to just 39.9% from the field, and 29.6% against 3-pointers.
The Johnnies roll up 80.0 PPG, but they're not a great shooting team, either, limping along with a 44.6% field-goal percentage, while managing just 70.1% from the free-throw line. Defensively, St. John's isn't very good, so that's the concern with an Under play. But the Under is 3-2 in the past 5 games overall for St. John's, while cashing in each of the past 3 at home.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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