The St. John’s Red Storm (8-2) will be at home in Madison Square Garden when they square off with the Iona Gaels (4-4). The games Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 153.5 points with St. John’s opening as a 10-point favorite. Action starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 17, 2017.
Iona Gaels vs. St. John’s Red Storm ATS Preview
In the Gaels last outing, they defeated the Yale Bulldogs, 83-67. E.J. Crawford was the top scorer from either team with 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Iona dominated nearly every facet of the game. They had a phenomenal effective field goal percentage of 0.657 (above their season average of 0.517) and a free throw rate of 0.222 (above their season average of 0.180). For those same stats, Yale was 0.482 and 0.211, respectively.
The Red Storm are trying to rebound after their 82-70 loss to the No. 16 Arizona State Sun Devils in their last outing. Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s in scoring with 19 points on 6-for-23 shooting. Arizona State did an excellent job of converting from the charity stripe (23-27; 85.2 percent). St. John’s, meanwhile, forced the Sun Devils into a turnover percentage of 17.3 (above their season average of 13.9).
Ball protection could play an integral role in this meeting. Since last season, Iona has committed the 38th-fewest miscues in the NCAA (turnover percentage of 16.4 percent), while the ball-hawking defense of St. John’s has forced the 57th-most (opponents turnover percentage of 22.3 percent).
Games including these teams tend to finish under the projected point total. Iona games have finished under 66.7 percent of the time, while 66.7 percent of St. John’s games have gone under. The Red Storm hold the substantial advantage straight up (SU) (8-2 vs. 4-4), but the Gaels have been superior against the spread (ATS) (4-2 vs. 4-4).
Iona Gaels vs. St. John’s Red Storm Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Iona, ATS Winner – Iona, O/U – Over
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Gaels average 35.0 rebounds per game, which ranks 178th in the nation. The Red Storm rank 232nd in rebounds allowed per game (38.7).
- St. John’s averages 22.9 three pointers per game, which ranks 104th in the nation. Iona ranks 148th in three pointers allowed per game (22.0).
- St. John’s ranks 10th in blocks per game (6.0) while Iona ranks 129th (3.0).
- The Gaels average 15.9 assists per game, which ranks 56th in the nation. The Red Storm rank 153rd in assists allowed per game (14.0).
- Iona ranks 17th in steals allowed per game (4.8) while St. John’s ranks 79th (6.1).
