Connecticut Huskies (10-2) vs St. John's Red Storm (8-3)
2023-12-23 20:00:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Connecticut Huskies -11.5 -- Over/Under: 150
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The St. John’s Red Storm and the UConn Huskies meet in college basketball action from the XL Center on Saturday. Can St. John’s build on their conference-opening win? Or will UConn get on the board after striking out in their opener? Let’s dive in and find out with our St. John’s vs. UConn Prediction.
St. John’s Team Preview
The St. John’s Red Storm come into this game looking to build on back-to-back wins after an 81-66 win over Xavier last time out. Joel Soriano leads the Red Storm in scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double per game with 18 PPG and 10.8 RPG along with 2.3 BPG while Daniss Jenkins has 11.2 PPG with a team-high 5.9 APG to lead the Red Storm in the assist department. Jordan Dingle has 11.2 PPG and Chris Ledlum has 11.1 PPG with 7.7 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for St. John’s up to this point in the year. As a team, St. John’s is averaging 80.1 PPG on 44.8% shooting from the field, 35.5% from three and 69.7% from the foul line this season.
UConn Team Preview
The UConn Huskies come into this one looking to rebound from a 75-60 loss to Seton Hall last time out. Tristen Newton leads the Huskies across the board with 16.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 5.6 APG while Cam Spencer has 14.8 PPG with 3.7 RPG and 3.6 APG. Alex Karaban has 14.7 PPG with 6.2 RPG and Donovan Clingan has 13.9 PPG with 6.3 RPG to round out the scoring in double figures for UConn up to this point in the year. As a team, UConn is averaging 84.2 PPG on 50.2% shooting from the field, 33% from three and 73.2% from the foul line this season. UConn is 10-2 but is 0-1 in the Big East conference play.
St. John’s vs. UConn Prediction
I’m backing UConn here. I think UConn got the clunker out of their system against Seton Hall but now it’s time to get back to business. I’d be a bit concerned here if UConn were to drop this game as well, but then again, UConn had a slow start to conference play last year and look how that ended. Either way, I think UConn just blows by St. John’s here as I don’t think the Red Storm hold up defensively in this one.
