St. John’s Red Storm vs Villanova Wildcats Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our Villanova vs St. John's NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in New York.

Villanova vs St. John's Prediction

Making on a bet on this NCAA game featuring the Wildcats versus the Red Storm? Tip off is at at 7:00 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on CBSS. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. The over/under for this game is set at 146.5 points, and St. John's is favored by -7.5 vs. Villanova in a Big East conference matchup.

Villanova vs. St. John's Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: Villanova Wildcats at St. John's Red Storm
Where: New York at Madison Square Garden
Date: Saturday, January 11th
Betting Odds STJOHN -7.5, VILL +271 | STJOHN -351 O/U 146.5

Wildcats Preview: Will the Wildcats Pull Through as the Away Underdog?

Villanova improved to 11-5 on the season with a 68-66 win over UConn on Wednesday. The Wildcats were -1.5 point favorites and covered the spread, while the game’s total points of 134 fell under the O/U line of 143.5.

Villanova led 32-25 at halftime but allowed 41 points in the 2nd half. Despite this, they managed to score 36 points after the break to secure the win.

Wildcats Offense Breakdown

Villanova put up 68 points in their last game, shooting 43.6% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Their effective field goal percentage was 50.9%, and they were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, hitting 92.3% of their attempts.

Eric Dixon struggled with his shot, going 6/20 overall and 2/8 from three, but still managed 23 points. Wooga Poplar contributed 18 points on 60% shooting, while Solo Ball added 16 points, hitting 4 threes at a 40% clip. Hassan Diarra was efficient, making 4 of 5 shots and dishing out 9 assists.

Wildcats Team Defense

Villanova's defense gave up 66 points while allowing the opposition to shoot 43% from the field, with 24 made baskets on 55 attempts. Inside the arc, they held the other team to 45% shooting, as they went 16/35 on two-point shots.

From beyond the arc, Villanova's opponents hit 8 of their 20 three-point attempts, shooting 40%. They also sent the other team to the free-throw line 13 times, where they converted 12 for 92%. Villanova allowed 7 offensive rebounds in the game.

Red Storm Preview: Do the Red Storm Have What it Takes to Win as Home Favorites?

St. John's improved to 13-3 on the season with an 82-72 road win over Xavier on Tuesday. The Red Storm entered the game as -1.5 favorites and covered the spread. The total points for the game were 154, just over the pre-game O/U line of 152.5.

St. John's led 41-37 at halftime and maintained their edge by scoring 41 points in the 2nd half while holding Xavier to 35.

Red Storm Offense Breakdown

St. John's put up 82 points in their latest game, shooting 42% from the field (34/81) and just 12.5% from three-point range (2/16). Their effective field goal percentage was 43.2%, but they excelled at the free-throw line, hitting 92.3% (12/13). The Red Storm dominated the offensive glass with 20 rebounds and dished out 16 assists.

Zach Freemantle led the way with 22 points, while Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. each added 18 points, with Ejiofor grabbing 12 rebounds and Luis pulling down 10. Simeon Wilcher contributed 15 points, and Dailyn Swain was efficient, shooting 80% (4/5) and adding 8 rebounds.

Red Storm Team Defense

St. John's Red Storm gave up 72 points in their last game, despite holding their opponents to just 36% shooting from the field. The defense limited two-point shots to 42% (18/42) and did even better from beyond the arc, where they allowed only 4 made threes on 18 attempts, a 22% success rate.

Even with the strong defensive effort, St. John's sent their opponents to the free-throw line 25 times, where they converted 24 of those attempts, shooting 96%. The Red Storm also allowed 7 offensive rebounds in the game.

Wildcats vs Red Storm Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

Across their last three road contests, Villanova has been good against the spread posting a mark of 2-1. Their overall mark in these games was 2-1, while averaging 82 points per game.
In their last three games at home, the Red Storm have a straight up record of 2-1 while going 1-1-1 vs the spread. The team averaged 70 points per game in this stretch.
Looking back on the team's last three games as the underdog, the Wildcats have a straight up record of 1-2. Their record vs the spread in these games was 2-1.
Through their previous three contests as the betting favorite, the Red Storm have a strong record of 3-0. Their record vs the spread in these matchups is 1-2.