The No. 3-ranked Villanova Wildcats (11-1 SU, 8-4 ATS) are large favorites Wednesday night as they entertain the St. John’s Red Storm (11-7 SU, 10-8 ATS) at Carnesecca Arena. The Wildcats have dominated this matchup, winning 16 of the last 18 against the Red Storm.
- Date/Time: February 3, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: Carnesecca Arena
- TV Coverage: CBS Network
- Sportsbook Odds: Villanova -8 | O/U 153.5 (Line History)
- Villanova vs St. John’s Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Villanova, one of the hottest teams in the NCAA, opened as an 8-point favorite against the Red Storm, who are 6-0 ATS in their last six games. The total was set at 153.5 with both teams breaking out offensively of late.
Villanova News & Notes
It seems like just another year for Jay Wright and Villanova’s dominance. The Wildcats enter this game at No. 3 in the country and climbing. They have won nine straight games dating back to November, and have also won nine in a row on the road. Villanova has covered seven of its past nine and is coming off an impressive 80-72 road win against Seton Hall.
The Wildcats operate a very short rotation and lean heavily on their starting five. Leading the way is reliable senior guard Collin Gillespie, who is tied with Jeremiah Robinson-Earl for the team lead in scoring at 15.5 points per contest and paces the Wildcats with 4.7 assists per game, which is good for third in the Big East.
Robinson-Earl has taken a major leap forward in his sophomore season. The six-foot-nine wingman has hiked his scoring average by five points per game since last year and leads Villanova starters in field-goal efficiency at almost 52 percent.
St John’s News & Notes
The Red Storm enter this contest hoping to build on a 75-73 victory over Marquette as a slight underdog in their last outing. Offensively, St. John’s is averaging 79.56 points per game, good for 41st in the country and just a shade ahead of Villanova (79.0).
Sophomore Julian Champagnie leads the Big East in scoring at 19.8 points per game and is also the Red Storm’s top rebounder by a considerable margin at 6.8 boards per game.
Coach Mike Anderson has toyed with his lineup quite a bit, starting nine different players so far this year.
Betting Pick: UNDER 153.5
Although both teams have hiked their offensive output recently, Villanova and St. John’s have combined to average only 135 points in their past three head-to-head meetings. Expect Villanova to control the tempo and hold St. John’s to under 70 points.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Villanova has won 9 straight games.
- The UNDER is 5-0 in the last 5 games in this matchup.
- St. John’s is 6-0 ATS in its last 6 games.
