The St. John’s Red Storm and the Providence Friars meet Saturday in college basketball action from Amica Mutual Pavilion. Here’s a Providence vs St. John’s prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Providence vs St. John’s pick.
St. John’s Red Storm Betting Preview
St. John’s kicked off their campaign this year on a rough 4-3 stretch. The losses during that run were versus Alabama, Iowa State and Auburn. St. John’s then managed a 5-1 stretch in six games, losing to Kentucky alongside wins over Ole Miss, Iona, DePaul, Harvard and Georgetown. After that came a loss to Providence. Since then it’s been 10 straight victories for the Red Storm, giving the team a very nice 19-5 overall record in 24 games so far.
In the Xavier matchup back on Monday, the Red Storm had a tight matchup. St. John’s was tied up 42-42 by the end of the first half, then hit a 36-36 stretch in the second that forced overtime. After the extra period, the Storm eventually emerged victorious 87-82. Zuby Ejiofor put up 25 points with seven rebounds and five assists, while Bryce Hopkins had 19 points with nine rebounds.
Providence Friars Betting Preview
Over on the Providence side, they weren’t looking terrible in early December with a 7-4 overall record in the books. The Friars would win just two of their next 11 games though, losing to Butler, Seton Hall, UConn, Xavier, Villanova, Marquette, Georgetown, UConn and Villanova. After wins over Butler and DePaul in the next pair, Providence was left with an 11-13 record over their first 24 games of the season.
In game 25 versus Seton Hall back on Wednesday the Friars were up by four points at the break 43-39. Providence was outscored 48-37 the rest of the way however, leading to an eventual 87-80 loss in a road matchup. Leading the team in scoring was Jaylin Sellers with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Stefan Vaaks added 20 points with four rebounds.
Why the Providence Friars will win
- The home team has won seven of Providence’s last eight games.
- St. John’s has lost seven of its last nine games at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
- The home team has won the first half in five of the last six games between St. John’s and Providence.
Why the St. John’s Red Storm will win
- St. John’s has won each of its last 10 games.
- Providence has lost each of its last nine games against AP-ranked opponents.
- St. John’s has won the first half in each of its last six day games against Providence.
Providence vs St. John’s Prediction
I’ll take a stab on Providence here, but you could argue it either way. The Friars couldn’t stick with a good Seton Hall team in a tricky road matchup this week, despite hitting 49 percent from the field and 94.1 percent (16-of-17) from the line. The 50.8 percent shooting allowed on defense didn’t help, nor did the 16 turnovers. That gives Providence a rough 2-5 run over their last seven games, but to be fair they’ve played some pretty tough teams in that time and have mostly been competitive.
These teams last met up back on January 3 in a 77-71 road upset by the Friars. In that one Providence didn’t shoot very well (39.1 percent) but St. John’s shot even worse (28.2 percent). The Friars also had a 38-20 advantage in the paint and were competitive on the boards. The Red Storm are going to be keyed up for some revenge this road rematch, but if all goes well I think the Friars can get in there for a cover. I wouldn’t be surprised to see St. John’s dominate either, however.