Butler vs. St. John’s prediction and odds for Tuesday, January 10
By Josh Yourish
The Johnnies were rolling into Big East play, they have fresh talent and a fast pace, things were looking up.
Then, they lost five in a row to fall to 1-5 in conference play and 11-6 overall. They started with a tough conference schedule, so now they need to make up ground against the other teams at the bottom of the standings to pull themselves out of the basement.
Butler would be a perfect stepping stone for St. John’s at home. The Bulldogs are 10-7 and 2-4 in conference, but got killed by Seton Hall last time out.
St. John’s is a slight favorite, so Vegas likes them to pull the parachute and stop their free-fall to the bottom of the Big East.
Butler vs. St. John’s odds, spread and total
Butler vs. St. John’s prediction and pick
I love the way the Johnnies play, they get out and run which has led them to be 42nd in the country in points per game scoring 79.1. However, they’re 91st in offensive efficiency, their idea is quantity over quality. It’s not a bad idea, but if you struggle to shoot or can’t defend for a few games, you end up with a five game losing streak.
To try and salvage things, Mike Anderson has tinkered with his lineup, bringing Andre Curbelo off the bench for the first time a few games back and that’s helped Posh Alexander be more comfortable running the offense as the point guard.
They found a good balance against Providence and nearly upset No. 19 on the road. I think that strong level of play will carry over to tonight against Butler.
The Johnnies are still playing very fast and Joel Soriano has been steady as ever inside.
Butler is the second worst rebounding team in the Big East, some of that has to do with its slow pace of play, but the Bulldogs are 206th in defensive rebounding percentage at 72.5%. That’s bad news against the Johnnies who are 31st in the country in offensive rebounding percentage.
The Johnnies will beat Butler with pace and on the glass. That’s a bad combination for the Bulldogs and why I’m taking St. John’s to cover.
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