The 15th ranked Villanova Wildcats will travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the St. John’s Red Storm this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.
The 15th ranked Villanova Wildcats improved to 17-6 on the season after defeating the 17th ranked UConn Huskies, 85-74, this past Saturday. Villanova was outstanding offensively against the tough UConn defense and had no trouble securing the victory after taking a 65-44 lead with 9:52 left in regulation. Villanova shot 59.2% from the field & 54.5% from beyond the arc while allowing UConn to shoot 50.0% from the field & 40.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Wildcats was Eric Dixon who had a double-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, Villanova is averaging 73.0 ppg on 40.9% shooting from the field. The Wildcats are averaging 9.3 three-pointers per game on 36.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Villanova has been led by Collin Gillespie (17.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.1 spg), Justin Moore (15.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg), Jermaine Samuels (9.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.5 apg), & Eric Dixon (9.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.5 apg). Villanova was without Justin Moore against UConn due to an ankle injury and is questionable for this matchup, while Collin Gillespie should also be considering questionable after suffering an ankle injury in UConn in which he did return from.
Defensively, Villanova is holding their opponents to an average of 61.7 ppg on 40.9% shooting from the field. The Wildcats have a rebound margin of 3.4 and a turnover margin of 3.0 and a turnover margin of 3.0.
The St. John’s Red Storm won their 2nd straight game and improved to 13-9 on the season after defeating the Butler Bulldogs, 75-72, this past Saturday. St. John’s struggled a bit on the defensive end against Butler, however, the Red Storm was able to fight back from an 57-48 deficit early in the 2nd half and was able to hold off Butler for the victory after taking a 71-68 lead with 1:19 left in regulation. St. John’s shot 48.1% from the field & 12.5% from beyond the arc while allowing Butler to shoot 51.8% from the field & 35.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Red Storm was Julian Champagnie who had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, & 2 steals.
On the season, St. John’s is averaging 79.7 ppg on 45.5% shooting from the field. The Red Storm are averaging 7.3 three-pointers per game on 33.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, St. John’s has been led by Julian Champagnie (18.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.9 spg, 1.2 bpg), Posh Alexander (14.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 2.5 spg), Dylan Addae-Wusu (9.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.5 spg), & Montez Mathis (8.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg).
Defensively, St. John’s is allowing their opponents to average 74.3 ppg on 41.9% shooting from the field. The Red Storm have a rebound margin of -0.7 and a turnover margin of 4.0.
The Wildcats are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Tuesday games & 13-10 ATS overall on the season. The Red Storm are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games, however, are just 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Villanova is no doubt the better team, however, with injuries to Justin Moore & Collin Gillespie who both could miss this game, I think it’s hard to back the Wildcats as a road favorite in this one. St. John’s has a great offense which ranks 22nd in scoring offense and although the Red Storm didn’t have much success against on the road at Villanova, I think St. John’s keeps this one competitive enough to cover with the points. Good Luck!