Check out our free St. John’s vs Villanova pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Villanova. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
St. John’s vs Villanova Pick & Preview: Wednesday, December 21st Betting Odds
Red Storm vs Wildcats Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: St. John’s Red Storm at Villanova Wildcats
- Where: Villanova at Finneran Pavilion
- Date: Wednesday, December 21st
- Betting Odds: St. John’s +4.5, STJOHN +164 | VILL -204 O/U 146.0
Red Storm Preview:
The St. John’s Red Storm head into today’s game in what will be their 13th game of the season, posting a record of 11-1. So far, the Red Storm have played 3 games on the road, with a record of 2-1. For the season, St. John’s has been the underdog in 1 game, sitting with a mark of 0-1. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Red Storm being +4.5 point underdogs.
Joel Soriano comes into today’s game as the Red Storm’s leading scorer at 15.25 points per contest. Not only has Soriano been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is St. John’s’ top rebounder at 12.58 boards per contest. Behind Soriano, the team has benefited from the strong play of David Jones who is second on the team in scoring at 15.08 points per game. Overall, he has hit 41.7% of his shots and is adding 7.42 boards per game.
St. John’s comes into today’s matchup vs Villanova, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 79.6 points per game. Through 12 games, they have hit 45.3% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Red Storm’s have prefered to slow the game down, ranking 207th in possessions per game.
Wildcats Preview:
Villanova heads into this matchup having played 11 games and have an overall record sitting at 6-5. So far this season, Villanova has played 6 games at home, sitting with a record of 4-2. The Wildcats’ are sitting with a betting line that is -4.5 points in their favor. For the season, Villanova has been favored to win in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 6-4.
Villanova will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Caleb Daniels who is averaging 15.91 points per game for the Wildcats. Daniels is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Wildcats’ offensive gameplan is the play of Eric Dixon who has hit 50.0% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 15.91 points per game.
Coming into today’s game, Villanova will be looking from some improved play from their offense. Currently, the Wildcats are ranked 158th at 72.6 points per game. A major reason for their low scoring mumbers is the fact that they tend to work the clock on offense. This year, they are the 662nd ranked team in terms of pace. When looking at their 3-point shooting numbers, Villanova is close to the NCAA average at 35.9%.
Free Spread Prediction: St. John’s Red Storm +4.5
After running our analysis on this game, we’ve identified the best side to take on the spread. Currently, the oddsmakers have Villanova as the favorites with a line coming in at -4.5. However, based on how these team’s matchup, we see this number being too high and like the St. John’s Red Storm to cover. Both team’s have knocked down the 3-point shot at a rate similar to the NCAA average this season with Villanova at 9.3 made 3’s per game compared to St. John’s at 7.25. Look for St. John’s to put together a strong enough defensive effort to cover the spread vs the Wildcats.
