Marquette vs. St. John's Prediction, Odds, Key Players for Saturday, Jan. 20
By Reed Wallach
Did Marquette break out of its mini slump?
After dropping two straight in Big East play, the Golden Eagles had a big offensive showing in a convincing win against Villanova on Monday. The team hits the road to face St. John's team that has been much improved with Rick Pitino on the sidelines this season. However, Pitino missed the team's last game against Seton Hall this week and it showed with the team's blowout loss to the Pirates by double digits.
Will Pitino be back? We got you covered with the betting guide for this Saturday matchup:
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Marquette vs. St. John's Odds, Spread and Total
St. John's vs. Marquette Betting Trends
- Marquette is 8-8-1 against the spread (ATS) this season
- St. John's is 4-1 ATS as an underdog this season
- St. John's is 10-8 ATS this season
- Marquette has gone OVER in six of 17 games
Marquette vs. St. John's How to Watch
- Date: Saturday, January 20th
- Game Time: 12:00 PM EST
- Venue: Madison Square Garden
- How to Watch (TV): FOX
- Marquette Record: 12-5
- St. John's Record: 12-6
Marquette vs. St. John's Key Players to Watch
Marquette
Tyler Kolek: Kolek got back on track in the Golden Eagles 13-point win against Villanova after two poor games, scoring 21 points and dishing out 11 assists. A lights out shooter last season at nearly 40%, he's down to about 35% this season for the Golden Eagles. If he rounds into form, this team has Final Four upside.
St. John's
Joel Soriano: The Red Storm big man is averaging nearly a double double while dominating inside, blocking nearly two shots per game. Marquette poses a significant threat on defense, forcing team's to shoot from the perimeter at a high rate, can that stunt Soriano's impact?
Marquette vs. St. John's Prediction and Pick
I think we are getting a good price on Marquette on the road to essentially win the game with a favorable matchup, even if Pitino returns to the sideline, which he is expected to.
The Red Storm thrive at generating turnovers and creating second chances, the team is sixth in the country in offensive rebounding rate.
However, Marquette does a great job of pressuring the ball and protecting it while also cleans the glass well. Shaka Smart's bunch is sixth in turnover rate and right at the national average in defensive rebounding rate. Further, the team's compact defense forces teams to beat you from the periemter, but St. John's is incredibly reliant on scoring from in close, 297th in three-point rate.
St John's is enjoying a good stretch ahead of the Pitino-less loss earlier this week, but the team is running on a ton of positive variance, holding teams to a 27.9% three-point percentage in league play. The team will run into Marquette, who is due a ton of good fortune from distance, shooting only 27.8% from beyond the arc.
To me, the Golden Eagles are still underpriced in the market and matchup well against St. John's, I'll take the road favorite.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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