The No. 8 seed St. John's Red Storm will face the No. 9 seed Butler Bulldogs in the opening round of the Big East Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. St. John's rolled to a 77-61 win over Butler at home on Jan. 10, but the Bulldogs got revenge with their 68-66 win at home on Feb. 7. The winner of Wednesday's game will face top-seeded Marquette in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET. The Red Storm are favored by 5.5 points in the latest St. John's vs. Butler odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 142.5. Before entering any Butler vs. St. John's picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week at 76-51 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on St. John's vs. Butler. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for St. John's vs. Butler:
- St. John's vs. Butler spread: St. John's -5.5
- St. John's vs. Butler over/under: 142.5 points
- St. John's vs. Butler money line: St. John's -240, Butler +196
- St. John's vs. Butler picks: See picks here
Why St. John's can cover
St. John's dominated Butler at home in January, taking the lead several minutes into the game and never trailing again. The Red Storm easily covered the spread as 3.5-point favorites, led by center Joel Soriano's 20 point, 10 rebound double-double on 10-of-13 shooting. He has been one of the best big men in college basketball this season, averaging 15.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game en route to winning Big East Most Improved Player of the Year honors.
The Red Storm won three of their final six games of the regular season, including a 73-68 win against Providence last month. Butler failed to score 70 points in its final 12 regular season games and reached 60 just four times during that span. St. John's has won and covered the spread in four of the last six head-to-head meetings between these teams.
Why Butler can cover
One of the four times that Butler reached 60 points in its final 12 games came in its 68-66 win over St. John's on Feb. 7. The Bulldogs trailed the Red Storm by seven points at halftime, but they outscored them by nine points in the second half. Sophomore guard Jayden Taylor led Butler with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while senior center Manny Bates added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
St. John's lost three of its final four games and is coming off a heartbreaking loss at Marquette. The Red Storm have failed to cover the spread in eight of their last 12 games, and Butler has covered at an 8-2-1 clip in its last 11 Wednesday games. Taylor leads Butler with 13.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, but he has three teammates who are also scoring in double figures.
How to make St. John's vs. Butler picks
The model has simulated Butler vs. St. John's 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins St. John's vs. Butler? And which side of the spread is hitting over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 76-51 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.
