The Xavier Musketeers take on the St. John's Red Storm. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Xavier St. John's prediction and pick.

The Xavier Musketeers and St. John's Red Storm are arguably the two Big East basketball programs with the most pressure on their shoulders heading into the heart of the conference seasons. Both schools have a rich basketball heritage and a history with a lot of success. Yet, both programs have struggled to maintain high standards established in previous eras. Both programs missed the NCAA Tournament last season and have not been particularly consistent over the past few seasons. Fans at both programs are restless, hoping for something much better this season. With the two teams meeting just before the start of the new year in a conference game which might shape the next few weeks — if not the whole conference season itself — there is potent symbolism attached to this game for both sides. They need a fresh start, and a win in this game will give the winning team reason to think it is finally heading in the right direction.

Here are the Xavier-St. John's College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Xavier-St. John's Odds

Xavier Musketeers: -1.5 (-115)

St. John's Red Storm: +1.5 (-105)

Over: 163.5 (-110)

Under: 163.5 (-110)

Why Xavier Could Cover the Spread

The Musketeers will look at St. John's and think this team bears a close resemblance to last season's Xavier squad which imploded late in February and early in March to miss the NCAA Tournament. Xavier's downward spiral late last season was a case of “playing just well enough to lose,” meaning that for all the good things which might have happened during various games, the team came out narrowly on the losing side, doing just enough to offset all the positives. That's the reality for a St. John's team which has lost the two most important games of its season thus far. The Johnnies lost at Iowa State, and then they fell short against Villanova in a previous Big East game. St. John's is fine at fattening up its record against clearly inferior teams, but the Red Storm have not passed big tests versus quality competition. That core reality could be the difference for Xavier, which has tripped up several times but has beaten Florida, Cincinnati, and West Virginia in nonconference play. Xavier has beaten a number of teams St. John's has not been able to handle. It's hard to ignore that particular reality when comparing the bodies of work forged by these two teams through Christmas Day. In this first game after Christmas, Xavier has shown more than SJU has.

Why St. John's Could Cover the Spread

The Johnnies know this is almost a must-win game for them. They know they lost ground with the loss at Villanova. They know they missed an opportunity against Iowa State. They know they have to protect their home court in the Big East Conference, and that failure in this game puts them behind the eight-ball in both the Big East standings and in the pursuit of an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament. Playing at home should give St. John's a lot of needed energy. Having lost to Villanova should impress upon this team the importance of tending to the small details of basketball, the things Villanova has been so good at doing over a very long period of time. St. John's can apply the lessons it learned against Villanova to this game against Xavier, which has some good wins but has also fallen short against Indiana, Duke, and Gonzaga.

Final Xavier-St. John's Prediction & Pick

You should frankly stay away from this game, given how these teams are in such similar situations in terms of urgency and inconsistency. If you absolutely insist on a pick, go with the home team, St. John's.

Final Xavier-St. John's Prediction & Pick: St. John's +1.5