It is the Big East semi-final as St. John's faces UConn. It is time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a St. John's -UConn prediction, pick, and how to watch.
St. John's entered the tournament as the five seed and would face Seton Hall in the second round. The first half was tight, but St. John's held a five-point lead going into the second half. From there, they were dominant. They scored 46 in the second half while holding Seton Hall to just 32, on their way to a 91-72 victory.
Meanwhile, UConn was the top seed in the Big East Tournament. They would face Xavier in the second round, who has defeated Butler to get there. It was a dominant second half that made the difference. UConn went into halftime up just one point, but in the second, the offense came alive. After scoring just 34 points in the first half, they would put in 53 in the second, on their way to an 87-60 victory.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: St. John's-UConn Odds
St. John's: +9.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +390
UConn: -9.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -530
Over: 145.5 (-110)
Under: 145.5 (-110)
How to Watch St. John's vs. UConn
Time: 5:30 PM ET/ 2:30 PM PT
TV: FOX
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why St. John's Will Cover The Spread/Win
St. John's ranks 29th in KenPom's adjusted efficiency rankings this year, sitting 30th on the offensive side and 39th on the defensive side of the adjusted efficiency rankings. St. John's is 52nd in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting fifth in field goal attempts per game this year, and 21st in field goals made per game. Daniss Jenkins comes into the game this year with 14.7 points per game. He is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, but his best aspect is his passing. Jenkins leads the team with 5.5 assists per game. He would add 11 points against Seton Hall.
Meanwhile, Joel Soriano comes in with 14.1 points per game, while shooting 58.2 percent from the field. He shot well against Srton hHall hitting five of seven shots and scoring 14. Rounding out the top scorers is Jordan Dingle. He comes in with 11.2 points per game this year. Further, RJ Luis Jr. is coming off a great game off the bench. He scored 18 against Seton Hall, with two assists and nine rebounds.
St. John's has been solid in rebounding, sitting 30th in the nation in total rebounds as well this year. They are fifth in the nation in offensive rebounding. This is another area where Soriano has been great. He comes in with 9.4 rebounds per game on the year, with just under four rebounds per game on the offensive side of the ball. Soriano added six offensive rebounds and six defensive rebounds in his last game. He is helped out by Chris Ledlum, who comes away with 6.9 rebounds per game this year, while also scoring 9.5 points per game. Like Soriano, over a third of his rebounds come on the offensive end of the floor.
The St. John's defense sits 132nd in points against per game this year. Daniss Jenkins has been solid on defense, with 1.5 steals per game. Meanwhile, Chris Ludlum has 1.4 steals per game while also having 1.1 blocks per game this year. Further, RJ Luis has 1.2 steals per game, while Zuby Ejiofor has 1.1 blocks per game this year.
Why UConn Will Cover The Spread/Win
UConn comes in ranked second in KenPom's adjusted ratings this year. They are third in adjusted offensive efficiency this year while sitting 12th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They are 22nd in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting ninth in the nation in effective field goal percentage. UConn has been a great shooting team inside the arc, sitting eighth in the nation in two-point field goal percentage this year.
UConn has been led by the combination of Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, and Tristen Newton this year. Newton leads the way this year with 15.0 points per game this year. He is shooting the worst of the group though, shooing just 40.5 percent. He does lead the team in assists, coming in with 5.8 per game. Further, he is coming off a 13-point outing against Xavier. Spencer comes in with 14.7 points per game this year. He is shooting 49.2 percent from the field. He did not shoot great last time out but did add 13 points. Finally, Karaban has 14.2 points per game this year, while also shooting 50.3 percent from the field.
UConn sits 32nd in the nation in rebounds per game, but they are 12th in the nation in offensive rebound percentage while sitting 42nd in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage this year. This is led by Newton, who comes in with 7.1 rebounds per game this year. Still, most of his are on the defensive end. He added seven total rebounds and six on the defensive end last time out. The major offensive rebounding threat is Donovan Clingan. He comes in with 6.9 rebounds per game, with nearly three rebounds per game being on the offensive side. Further, he scores 12.4 points per game, while shooting 63.7 percent.
On defense, UConn is tenth in the nation in points against per game this year. They sit fourth in opponent effective field goal percentage this year as well. UConn forces people into the middle, where one of their big men often causes difficult shots this year. They are ninth in the nation in blocks this year and sixth in block percentage this year. Clingan leads the way here with 2.3 blocks per game this year, while Samson Johnson adds 1.0 blocks per game. Further, Cam Spencer has 1.5 steals per game this year.
Final St. John's-UConn Prediction & Pick
St. John's was the favorite last time out as the lower seed. They are not that in this game. UConn had a massive spread to cover and did so with ease in their game. UConn has six players score double-digit points in the game. While no one player was dominant, the team was. Expect that to continue in this one.
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Final St. John's-UConn Prediction & Pick: UConn -9.5 (-120)
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