St John’s vs Xavier Picks and Odds (Feb. 16)

• St. John’s (13-11, 5-8 Big East) takes on Xavier (17-7, 7-6 Big East) Wednesday, February 16th, at 6:30 pm ET in Cincinnati
• The Red Storm were defeated 63-60 by No. 24 UConn at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, while the Musketeers beat those same Huskies 74-68 at home Friday
• See the current St. John’s vs Xavier odds, point spread, and game total, plus predictions

The St. John’s Red Storm (13-11, 5-8 Big East) — who have won three of their last four conference road games — take on the Xavier Musketeers (17-7, 7-6 Big East) in college basketball on Wednesday at the Cintas Center. Tip off is at 6:30 pm ET on CBS Sports Network.

St. John’s vs Xavier Odds

Odds as of February 15th, 2022 at FanDuel Sportsbook. 

Xavier is an eight-point favorite over St. John’s, while the total is 139. The -530 moneyline price for the Musketeers amounts to a 84.1% implied win probability, while St. John’s +390 odds to win is equal to 20.4% implied probability.

Xavier is currently projected as a #6 seed in the March Madness bracket, while the Johnnies are not among the 68-team field.

Mike Anderson’s team held the Huskies to just 36% shooting, but could only muster a 34% field goal percentage of its own. Senior guard Montez Mathis had 14 points off the bench to spark the Red Storm, who were playing without Posh Alexander for a second straight game.

Meantime, Travis Steele’s club got a team-high 22 points from Jack Nunge against UConn to snap a two-game losing streak. The junior forward also grabbed nine rebounds in the six-point victory. But the win wasn’t enough to keep the previously 25th-ranked Musketeers from falling out of the AP poll.

Xavier Has Utterly Dominated St. John’s in H2H History

The Red Storm defeated the Musketeers 93-84 at Carnesecca Arena the last time these two teams faced each other last year. But prior to that matchup, Xavier owned a 12-game win streak against the Johnnies. Now, with St. John’s coming off a loss that saw leading scorer Julian Champagnie and Aaron Wheeler each finish with 13 points. offense appears to be an ongoing issue.

Well another tough close loss for the Johnnies as they fall 63-60 to UConn. Johnnies once again missing layups and free throws. 5 pts in the final 7 mins and change is not good especially when some of those mins UConn weren’t scoring either. Enjoy the Super Bowl everyone #SJUBB

— Michael A Szabo (@Michael_ASzabo) February 13, 2022

Anderson’ group only managed 24% (5-for-21) from 3-point range and 54% (7-of-13) from the free-throw line. Plus, without reigning Big East Freshman of the Year Alexander — who is nursing a sprained right ankle — St. John’s seems to be in trouble heading into this matchup. His status remains unclear for the Xavier game.

This team likes to push the pace (St. John’s owns the third-highest adjusted tempo rate in college hoops) — but that’s with Alexander running the point for the majority of the season. This team started 8-2, but has gone only 5-9 since.

Junior guard Champagnie leads the team in points (18.3) and rebounds (6.8) and is capable of taking over any game. But he faces a daunting task against the Musketeers.

Xavier is 3-7 ATS in Last 10

Xavier has gone 5-5 in its last 10 games (after opening the season with a 12-2 mark that included non-conference wins over Ohio State and Virginia Tech). But the Musketeers are below .500 in that same stretch against the spread, dropping to a 3-7 record. However, one of those three wins came Friday against UConn.

Steele has a balanced roster led by Nunge’s 13.1 points per a game. Two other players — Paul Scruggs (12.3 ppg) and Colby Jones (10-.3 ppg) — join him in double-digits. Two others  — Nate Johnson (9.8 ppg) and Zach Freemantle (9.7 ppg) — are just below the threshold. Eight different players have led the team in scoring this season.

The Musketeers are 33th in offensive adjusted efficiency and 42nd in defensive adjusted efficiency and are 12-3 at home this season.

St. John’s vs Xavier Prediction

Xavier flat-out owns St. John’s, winning 12 of the last 13 matchups. But the Musketeers recent record against the spread should give bettors caution.

That said, the home team has more than enough firepower to take down a Johnnies squad that lacks offensive punch and is not good from the charity stripe.

Pick: Xavier -8 (-110)

Editor’s note: New Yorkers looking to bet this game will not find it on New York betting apps. NY law prohibits wagering on in-state college teams like St. John’s