You can’t undersell this one, it’s the biggest game of the college basketball season Friday night – and the place to be is The Garden.
St. John’s hosts Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies in a pivotal measuring-stick game for both teams as they look to separate themselves in the battle for Big East supremacy.
The Red Storm is sitting as a 2.5-point home underdog at BetMGM.
Rick Pitino’s group went 2-0 last year against Hurley’s squad and has played them tough in their five meetings.
This UConn team is a bit different from last year’s, though, with the Huskies rated No. 3 and St. John’s sitting at No. 22.
The Red Storm has won six straight after a really troubling start to the season, losing three of their first six games.
Expect the best of efforts to come from St. John’s on Friday as they look to spurn the upset.
St. John’s vs. UConn prediction
The scoring projection via FTN’s college basketball betting model comes in at 70 to 69.59 for the Hskies, so there’s surely some value on St. John’s here.
But we need to find the right angle.
We expect this game to be a very slow smash-mouth style game where both teams get into the paint and foul calls come at a premium.
KenPom’s rankings hold both of these defenses in high regard. UConn checks in as the No. 5 defense in the country, while St. John’s currently grades out as the 18th-best.
FTN points out that St. John’s ranks No. 10 in offensive rebounding, while UConn comes in at No. 92 in defensive rebounding.
You can bet that Pitino is telling his guys to crash the glass every which way Friday night.
Betting on College Basketball?
The total for this game comes in at 144.5, and given the projected score of 70 to 69.59, we see some significant value on the total at a five-point edge.
You can bet on St. John’s +2.5 at a two-point edge or the game total under at a five-point edge, but I prefer to parlay the two given there’s some correlation there (lower-scoring games in theory point to the underdog keeping it close because fewer points are scored).
Target a same-game parlay on Under 144.5 and St. John’s +2.5 and watch them crash the glass for a big win at home.
PREDICTION: Under 144.5 + St. John’s +2.5 (+262, Fanatics Sportsbook)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.