The Creighton Bluejays (11-3, 1-1 Big East) welcome the St. John’s Red Storm (10-4, 0-2 Big East) to CenturyLink Center Omaha as they try to lengthen their 10-game home winning streak. Creighton is a 12-point favorite on the opening line, while the Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 156 points. Action gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 3, 2018.
St. John’s Red Storm at Creighton Bluejays Free Preview
The Red Storm fell to the No. 23 Seton Hall Pirates in their last matchup, 75-70. Tariq Owens put together a good performance for St. John’s, leading the team in scoring with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Seton Hall had a free throw rate of 0.246 (above their season average of 0.239). St. John’s, on the other hand, forced the Pirates into a turnover percentage of 20.2 (above their season average of 16.4).
In the Bluejays last game, they thoroughly outplayed the Providence Friars, 83-64. With 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, Marcus Foster was Creighton’s leading scorer. Creighton dominated nearly every facet of the game. They had a fantastic free throw rate of 0.328 (above their season average of 0.212) and an effective field goal percentage of 0.552 (below their season average of 0.600). For those same stats, Providence recorded marks of 0.210 and 0.411, respectively.
This battle pits one of the NCAA’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses. Creighton currently ranks ninth in offensive efficiency and St. John’s is 30th in defensive efficiency.
These two teams are complete opposites in terms of the O/U total. Games involving St. John’s have finished under 60.0 percent of the time, while Creighton games have gone over 69.2 percent of the time. Both teams have respectable straight up (SU) records (10-4 for St. John’s; 11-3 for Creighton), but the Bluejays have the edge against the spread (ATS). Creighton is 8-5 ATS, while the Red Storm are 5-6-1.
This is the first time these teams will battle this year, after the Bluejays won both contests last season. In the last game, Creighton won 82-68. The Bluejays dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had a superb free throw rate of 0.265 and a superb offensive rebounding percentage of 27.9. For those same stats, the Red Storm were 0.121 and 15.9, respectively.
St. John’s Red Storm at Creighton Bluejays Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Creighton, ATS Winner – Creighton, O/U – Over
Betting Notes:
- The Red Storm rank 16th in steals per game (8.9) while the Bluejays rank 165th (5.3).
- St. John’s ranks fifth in blocks per game (6.6) while Creighton ranks 138th (2.9).
- Creighton is 6-2 ATS at home, while St. John’s is 2-5 ATS on the road.
- The total has gone under in 4 of the Red Storm’s 7 road games, while 5 of the Bluejays’ 8 home games have gone over.
- Creighton averages 28.1 three pointers per game, which ranks 14th in the nation. St. John’s ranks 225th in three pointers allowed per game (24.8).
- The Bluejays rank 34th in rebounds per game (40.2) while the Red Storm rank 235th in rebounds allowed per game (39.2).
- Creighton ranks fifth in assists per game (19.6) while St. John’s ranks 164th (13.1).
Bettings Trends:
- Creighton is 3-2 ATS with 3 overs and 2 unders in their last five games.
- Over their last five games, St. John’s is 1-3-1 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs.
- The Bluejays average margin of victory in their last five games has been 25.4, up from 18.7 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Red Storm have scored an average of 71.6 points per game (2.2 below their season average) and allowed an average of 76.6 points per game (10.7 above their season average).
