The Big East Conference is heating up, and there isn’t any other Tuesday night matchup hotter than the St. John’s Red Storm heading to Newark for a conference tilt with the Seton Hall Pirates.
St. John’s saw their five-game winning streak snapped brutally Saturday at Creighton, while Seton Hall is looking to win their fifth-consecutive matchup after a pair of enormous road wins over Georgetown and Butler.
Buckle your seat belts as I take a closer look at the college basketball odds with free college basketball picks for St. John’s vs Seton Hall on Tuesday, January 16.
St. John's vs Seton Hall best odds
St. John's vs Seton Hall picks and predictions
St. John’s has been the surprise team in the Big East. They are 4-2 in the conference, with a couple of huge wins over Xavier at home and at Villanova. They lost a heartbreaker Saturday at Creighton, where they blew a nine-point lead before Trey Alexander sunk two from the charity stripe with a dozen ticks on the clock to send the Johnnies home with a one-point loss.
Before Saturday’s heartbreaking loss, the Red Storm had reeled off four straight victories. St. John’s knocked off Butler and Providence at home with a ‘Nova away sandwich in between. Head coach Rick Pitino tweaked the Johnnies’ defense by adding a 2-3 matchup zone to go along with his acclaimed “pressure defense,” which has done wonders on both ends of the floor.
Responding to adversity fueled St. John’s four-game winning streak, and Pitino will use Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to fuel the Johnnies' away victory Tuesday night.
Losing the way St. John’s did at Creighton was disappointing. The Johnnies didn’t put the same defensive effort into the final two minutes as they did during the previous 18 minutes of the second half. They held the BlueJays to 22% shooting from downtown and 36.7% overall, won the battle of the glass by one carom but still suffered a one-point away loss.
Center Joel Soriano posted his tenth double-double of the season, guard Daniss Jenkins added 11 points with five dimes, and that one-two punch that has been spectacular this season must now regroup to face a Seton Hall program riding a four-game winning streak after overcoming a tough away loss of their own.
Seton Hall isn’t a particularly good shooting team from anywhere. They are below average from downtown and slightly better from inside the arc. The Hall snares an above-average amount of offensive rebounds and makes their free throws. The Pirates attack the rim and defend the cup well but have major turnover issues, which will be the difference in this tilt.
Finally, look for St. John’s to win a tough away matchup over a solid Seton Hall program. The Johnnies' defense has been the difference, and the one-two punch of Soriano and Jenkins fell a bit short Saturday. Still, the Red Storm are good at bouncing back from tough losses, are playing exceptional defense, and will find a way to sneak out of Newark with a much-needed Big East road victory against a Seton Hall program with turnover issues and not enough offense to make up the difference.
My best bet: St. John's moneyline (-110 at FanDuel)
St. John's vs Seton Hall same-game parlay
St. John's moneyline
Under 147.5
Both teams are playing terrific ball, but the Johnnies have been unlucky, and they will likely win this one and cover the spread.
Defense is the calling card for both programs, and they each play terrific defense. Neither bench is offensive-minded, and neither program relies very much on the triple. St. John’s plays much faster, but the shorter rotation deployed by Seton Hall will have more experience on the floor and dictate play, and we’ll wind up with an extremely physical slog of a low-scoring matchup.
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St. John's vs Seton Hall spread and Over/Under analysis
St. John’s and Seton Hall have had many great battles over the years, and Tuesday night’s tilt should be one for the ages.
FanDuel gave us better odds than what anyone else offered to lay at least -1, so I grabbed it. FanDuel has St. John’s -1.5 at even money, but why take a chance? Both teams are playing basketball at a high level, and this game may end with St. John’s winning by one point.
The -1.5 FanDuel offers at +100 is the worst number but the best odds among the US sportsbooks. The rest of the US sportsbooks have St. John’s -1 at -110, which is ultimately the same odds as FanDuel offers for a straight-up wager.
DraftKings offers 148 (-110), which is the best number available for the total. FanDuel opened at 147.5, and it has remained, while Caesars opened at 148 and it’s dipped to 146.5 (-110).
My St. John’s moneyline bet is locked in, and I may want to take points and middle this wager if I can. My lean would be to look for Seton Hall +3 or higher as an in-game wager. The Pirates are 2-0 ATS over their last two home games, and I believe St. John’s will feel lucky to sneak out of Newark with a one-point victory.
St. John's vs Seton Hall betting trend to know
St. John's has hit the moneyline in 16 of their last 30 games (+7.35 Units / 9% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for St. John's vs. Seton Hall.
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St. John's vs Seton Hall game info
| Location: | Prudential Center, Newark, NJ |
| Date: | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 8:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | FS1 |
St. John's vs Seton Hall key injuries
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