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Villanova vs. St. John's Prediction and Odds (Wildcats on Upset Alert with Top Scorers Injured)

By Matt De Saro

The St. John's Red Storm are in a good spot to upset a shorthanded Villanova team on Tuesday night.
The St. John's Red Storm are in a good spot to upset a shorthanded Villanova team on Tuesday night. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Big East rivals match up tonight at Madison Square Garden when the No. 15 Villanova Wildcats visit the St. John’s Red Storm.

The Wildcats go for a season sweep of the Red Storm after beating them 73-62 on Jan. 29. The odds suggest the Red Storm have a good chance at a revenge upset win as 3.5 point underdogs.

Villanova is currently second in the conference with a 10-3 mark in the Big East; trailing Providence (10-1) who have won their last seven games in a row and are 20-2 overall. It will be a tough hill to climb but they have to beat St. John’s, and teams like them, if they have a shot to overtake the Friars.

Here are the odds for this Big East brawl, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Villanova vs. St. John's Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

  • Villanova -3.5 (-110)
  • St. John's +3.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

  • Villanova -180
  • St. John's +150

Total: 144 (Over -110/Under -110)

Villanova vs. St. John's Prediction and Pick

The spread is a lot shorter than it should be for a game between these two teams due to some injury issues for Nova. Villanova’s two leading scorers, Justin Moore and Colin Gillespie are both questionable for tonight and listed as game-time decisions. The pair are both dealing with ankle injuries along with forward Nnanna Njoku.  

According to head coach Jay Wright, the team feared that Gillespie fractured his ankle on Saturday but he got away with a severe sprain. He added that “even if they play, I don’t expect either of them to be 100 percent.” Neither player was able to practice yesterday. 

If neither can go, the value that St. John’s on the moneyline becomes very attractive. The Red Storm is a top 15 scoring offense and, without their best players, Nova might struggle to keep up. The Wildcats already have a pretty tepid offense that ranks outside of the top 100 and without Gillespie and Moore, things could get ugly. Keep an eye on the injury report, but at this point, I think Villanova will be significantly shorthanded tonight. 

Pick: St. John’s +150 moneyline

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE

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