Saint Louis vs Saint Joseph’s Prediction 1-3-25 College Basketball Picks

The Saint Joseph’s Hawks and the Saint Louis Billikens meet Friday in college basketball action from Chaifetz Arena. Here’s a Saint Louis vs Saint Joseph’s Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Saint Louis vs Saint Joseph’s pick.

Saint Joseph’s Hawks Betting Preview

The Hawks’ season kicked off on a pretty nice 4-1 run. The lone loss in that time was versus Central Connecticut. Otherwise, it was wins over Navy, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and Texas Tech. A 2-3 stretch followed for St. Joseph’s, featuring losses to Texas, Princeton, and Charleston alongside wins over Coppin State and La Salle. The Hawks would then recover with three straight victories over American, Virginia Tech, and Delaware State for a 9-4 start this year.

On Tuesday versus UMass, the Hawks came into the second half with a 37-33 edge. St. Joseph’s kept it going during a nice second half on a 44-39 run and eventually powered out the win 81-72. Leading the team in scoring was Rasheer Fleming with 16 points and six rebounds. Erik Reynolds added 14 points and four assists as well. Dasear Haskins (nine rebounds), Anthony Finkley (six rebounds off the bench), and Xzayvier Brown (seven rebounds; five assists off the bench) each chipped in 11 points for the winning cause.

Saint Louis Billikens Betting Preview

Over on the St. Louis side, they also got off to a promising start, going 5-2 over their first seven games. The Billikens lost to Santa Clara and Wichita State (in the first four games) but otherwise took out Avila, Loyola Marymount, Quinnipiac, UMass Lowell, and Jackson State in that time. The next six games were a rough 2-4 stretch, though. St. Louis beat only Chicago State and William Woods in those half-dozen outings. Otherwise, it was losses to San Francisco, Illinois State, Wofford, and Grand Canyon for a 7-6 start over the first 13 outings.

Matched up against Fordham on Tuesday, the Billikens exited the break on a nice 42-29 edge. St. Louis closed with a 46-34 run to keep the pressure up in an eventual win 88-63. Topping the team in scoring was Gibson Jimerson with 33 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Robbie Avila added 19 points with five rebounds and four assists. Tops in bench scoring was Max Pikaar on six points, one steal, and two blocks.

Why the Saint Louis Billikens will win

• Saint Louis has won seven of its last eight home games.
• Saint Joseph’s has lost 13 of its last 15 road night games against the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Saint Louis has won the first half in seven of its last eight home games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Saint Joseph’s Hawks will win

• Saint Louis has lost 10 of its last 11 night games against the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• Saint Joseph’s has won each of its last four games.
• Saint Joseph’s has won the first half in each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Saint Louis vs Saint Joseph’s Prediction

I’ll lean toward Saint Joseph’s, but this should be a pretty fun matchup if both teams play well. The Hawks have had a couple of rough patches during the season so far, however, they’re generally and pretty reliable team. St. Joseph’s has posted 75 or more points in six straight games now, notching a 5-1 record during that time. Outside of a couple of scoring duds this year—specifically 58 points versus Texas and 67 versus Central Connecticut—the Hawks are normally putting up some very healthy points totals, which obviously helps in the win column.

In Tuesday’s game versus UMass, the Hawks shot quite well on 45.6 percent and also owned the boards with a 49-35 advantage. There was one big blemish on the stat sheet, though. That was the 17 turnovers for 16 Minutemen points. St. Joseph’s is going to have to clean that up; otherwise, Saint Louis will make them pay on the other end of the court.

Speaking of Saint Louis, they were looking pretty good over their first nine games or so, but they haven’t been quite so consistent lately. The Billikens have scored well lately, though, notching 71 or more points in six straight games. The trouble is, St. Louis is only 3-3 in those games.

In the Tuesday matchup with Fordham, the Billikens shot a nice 60.3 percent from the floor with 37 rebounds and 15 team assists against a decent team. St. Joseph’s should have plenty of room to score in this one, and I like a high total here. Cover/win-wise, though, it’s basically a coin flip; the line seems right on point.