Big East betting action takes center stage Friday night as No. 12 St. John’s travels to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT, to face No. 19 Connecticut in a primetime College Basketball showdown. Rick Pitino’s Red Storm enters on an eight-game winning streak, most recently securing a 70-64 home win and cover against Marquette to take sole possession of first place in the Big East (11-1). Meanwhile, Dan Hurley’s Huskies will be well-rested, having had six days off since their impressive 77-69 road win over Marquette as 7-point underdogs, improving to 8-3 in conference play.
I expect oddsmakers to list this first of two scheduled meetings between these teams at a near pick ‘em on the college basketball odds, with the total set around 140 at the crypto sportsbook.
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St. John’s Red Storm
Off to the program’s best start since the 1985-86 season, everything is coming up roses for the Johnnies who after ousting the Golden Eagles Tuesday night sit in the catbird seat of the Big East standings. Trailing 31-30 at the break, Kadary Richmond came up huge over the final 20 minutes scoring a game-high 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting and ripping down 11 rebounds to help lead St. Johns to the comeback win and point spread cover as one possession home chalk.
RJ Luis Jr. added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but it was his defensive play – four steals and 3 blocked shots - that helped seal the deal late. The win moved St John’s to an unblemished 15-0 record at home, but it will hit the road for this one where its only Big East loss was incurred at Creighton back on December 31 after falling 57-56 as 1-point underdogs.
Connecticut Huskies
Liam McNeeley was a game-time decision in each of the Huskies last two games, but failed to get the go-ahead from the medical staff. He ended up not being needed after the Huskies won 72-61 but failed to cover the closing 13.5-point CBB odds against DePaul. They then stormed the Fiserv Forum over the weekend and upset Marquette as multiple possession underdogs. Solo Ball erupted for a season-high 25 points which included a stellar 7 of 9 showing from beyond the arc. He also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Alex Karaban chipped in with 15 points, while Samson Johnson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.
Even though UConn turned it over a mind-numbing 21 times, hot shooting (60%) paired with holding the Golden Eagles to a 40 percent success rate allowed the defending champs to come up with the huge outright road win and cover.
St. John’s at Connecticut Same Game Parlay Picks
This is no doubt a spot Pitino’s kids have had circled after losing to the Huskies in the regular season then getting bounced by them in the Big East Tournament. Connecticut went into Madison Square Garden and scored the 77-64 win and cover as 3.5-point road favorites in the first meeting, but the Johnnies managed to cover the closing 9.5-point spread in the tourney matchup falling 95-90. The pair of wins moved the Huskies to 6-1 SU and 2-5 ATS in the last seven overall matchups with the over paying out four times and 155.3 points scored on average.
St. John’s will attempt to push the pace in this matchup, aiming to exploit a surprisingly vulnerable UConn defense (No. 89). The Red Storm rank No. 56 in KenPom’s tempo ratings, averaging just under 70 possessions per game. In contrast, Connecticut prefers a much slower pace, averaging fewer than 64 possessions per 40 minutes (No. 335). With the match taking place on the Huskies’ home court, I expect the home team to control the tempo.
McNeeley’s anticipated return Friday night should further strengthen a UConn defense that has shown improvement, holding three of its last five opponents to 69 points or fewer. Both teams excel at protecting possessions, setting the stage for a defensive battle. Offensively, UConn holds major edges in both field goal percentage (No. 12) and 3-point shooting (No. 52), and with its defensive resurgence, I anticipate a grind-it-out affair. With that, I’ll be backing the defending champs and the under as my college basketball parlay picks for this marquee matchup.
Connecticut Huskies (-)
St. John’s/Connecticut Under
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