Fordham vs St. John's Picks and Predictions: Rams Will Use Perimeter Shooting to Hang Around

The Fordham Rams will stay in New York to take on the St. John’s Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY. 

Fordham has looked solid to start the season. The Rams have won three straight games and have wins over quality teams like Akron and Rice on the year. Of course, St. John’s will be Fordham’s biggest test to date.

Meanwhile, St. John’s is currently 5-2 on the season after two losses to Indiana and Kansas. Basically, the Red Storm won games they were supposed to and lost games against top competition. If the trend continues, St. John’s should have no problem winning tonight’s game.

Here are our picks and predictions for the Fordham Rams against the St. John’s Red Storm at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. 

Fordham vs St. John's odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

St. John’s opened as a 15-point favorite and is currently staying at 15 at most outlets. Meanwhile, the total has adjusted from 143.5 at open to as high as 146.5. However, there are a couple of outlets with a 145.5 number so make sure to shop around if you’re looking to bet the Over. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.

Fordham vs St. John's predictions

• Prediction: Fordham +15 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 145.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Under 145.5 (-110)

Predictions made on 12/5/2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Fordham vs St. John's game info

• Location: Carnesecca Arena, New York City, NY
• Date: Sunday, December 5, 2021
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1

Fordham at St. John's betting preview

Injuries

Fordham: No injuries to report.
St. John's: No injuries to report.

Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.

Betting trend to know

Under is 5-0 in Rams' last five games following a SU win of more than 20 points. Find more NCAA betting trends for Fordham vs. St. John's.

Fordham vs St. John's picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

This is a game between two teams that have done exactly what they’ve been expected to do. Fordham has a silly loss to Maryland Eastern Shore in double overtime, but overall, the Rams have stuck around in every game they’ve played this season.

On the other hand, St. John’s lost to Indiana and Kansas but knocked off lesser tier opponents, despite only covering in a couple of those games. 

This is one of the reasons I like Fordham a bit more. St. John’s is coming off a 20-point loss to Kansas just two days ago. Before that game, it took overtime to beat NJIT and the Red Storm almost lost to St. Francis Brooklyn, 76-70 prior to that game.

There’s no denying Fordham’s offense is bad. The Rams are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 48.9% and have hit just 30.7% of long-range jumpers. Meanwhile, inside, the Rams are hitting 50.8% of their shots while getting to the line at a very high rate to start the season. 

The one area where Fordham should have success is on the offensive glass. So far this season, the Red Storm has allowed opponents to grab 33.8% of offensive rebounds. Plus, while Fordham isn’t shooting threes all that well, the Rams are completely capable of hitting them. 

The Rams are shooting above the college basketball average from long range and can hit them when given good looks. St. John’s has not defended the perimeter all that well this season, which could help Fordham bust out of a little shooting slump.

The Red Storm is certainly the better offense and more than likely will win this game outright. St. John’s is shooting a 56.6% effective field goal percentage while scoring 59% inside the arc.

However, the Red Storm has turned the ball over 20.8% of the time. It’s likely due to a fast pace of play and sometimes too much ball movement. 

I like Fordham to stick around in this game with the three-ball. If the Rams can stay aggressive and get to the line at a higher rate, that will help their case too. 

Prediction: Fordham +15 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

St. John’s is going to want to play quickly like always, but if Fordham wants to stick around in this game, slowing down the tempo of the game will be crucial. 

The Red Storm are third in the nation in average possession length. That’s also why turnovers are high, to begin with. This season, it just seems like St. John’s always has a moment or two in a game where shots just don’t fall, and points are hard to come by. It took overtime to get 77 points against NJIT and in an extremely fast game against St. Francis Brooklyn, the total only hit 146.

To get 146 points in a game is extremely hard for any game. Let’s grab the Under here. 

Prediction: Under 145.5 (-110)

Best bet

I’ll stick with the Under as my best bet. St. John’s is one of the quickest teams in the nation but don’t be tricked into taking the Over because of that. Moving quickly isn’t always the best option. 

With that, you must account for more turnovers and fatigue from both sides. Fordham doesn’t really have much of a bench. The starting lineup has done well, and the Rams are still a very good team. 

But without a bench, Fordham is going to want to slow things down and not get in foul trouble. Both areas will be crucial to hit this Under. 

Pick: Under 145.5 (-110)

Pages related to this topic