St. John’s vs Seton Hall Prediction & Best Bets (Big East Quarterfinals): Will the Pirates Banish the Red Storm to the NIT?
Written by: Eddie Griffin
Published: Thu Mar 14, 2024, 1:35 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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Along with Wake Forest-Pittsburgh, this afternoon's college basketball schedule features another conference tournament matchup between two bubble teams. In the Big East, St. John's and Seton Hall will meet in a quarterfinal showdown at Madison Square Garden that could see the winner lock down an NCAA Tournament spot and the loser potentially relegated to an NIT berth.
The Pirates (20-11, 13-7 Big East), the #4 seed in the tournament, are a #10 seed at ESPN and FOX Sports, while they are one of the last four teams at CBS Sports. With the potential for tournament runs by other bubble teams or bid stealers, that is not a secure position.
Seton Hall finished the regular season with a 7-3 stretch, losing only at Villanova, UConn, and Creighton. But despite a sweep of St. John's and home wins over UConn, Marquette, and Villanova, they are on unsteady ground still because of extremely underwhelming non-conference results.
The Red Storm (19-12, 11-9 Big East) find themselves in an even less secure position than the Pirates. At ESPN, FOX, and CBS, St. John's is one of the last teams in the field. But things look sunnier for the Johnnies than they did a few weeks ago.
When these two teams last met, St. John's led by 19 late in the first half but lost 68-62 on February 18. Since the loss and the postgame rant that followed by coach Rick Pitino, the Red Storm have won five straight games to give themselves a real chance to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Will today be a full-circle moment for the Red Storm? Or will the Pirates prevail for a third time this season and crush their March Madness dreams? Read on.
St. John's vs Seton Hall Odds
Odds are via BetOnline, a longtime fixture in the sports betting industry. Check out our BetOnline sportsbook review, then grab yourself a nice sign-up bonus to bet on today's NCAA basketball action.
Spread
- St. John's -4 (-105)
- Seton Hall +4 (-115)
Over/Under
- Over 143 (-115)
- Under 143 (-105)
Moneyline
- St. John's -172
- Seton Hall +152
Looking for more men's college hoops picks? Our NCAA basketball picks page features moneyline, spread, and total (over/under) picks for all of the top games each day.
St. John's vs Seton Hall Betting Analysis and Prediction
If Pitt takes out Wake Forest and too many of the likes of Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, Providence, Texas A&M, and Villanova advance to tomorrow in their respective conference tournaments, the St. John's/Seton Hall loser may be saying goodbye to the Big Dance and hello to the NIT.
Which of the two is likely to be locked into a spot in the field of 68 after today?
In their five-game win streak, the Red Storm have scored 92, 80, 82, 104, and 86 points. Prior to this run, St. John's had scored 80+ points just four times in their first 15 Big East games.
There is a caveat, however. The two closest wins in the streak came against Georgetown, a 90-85 road win on February 21 and an 86-78 home win on February 9. And their 104-point showing was in a 27-point road win at DePaul, who went winless in Big East play.
That isn't to say that Seton Hall won't have their hands full, because the Pirates absolutely will.
If the Red Storm can reach the 70-point mark, that could spell bad news for the Pirates.
Seton Hall is just 5-9 SU and 4-10 ATS this season when giving up more than 70 points, including 3-7 SU and 2-8 ATS when giving up 75 or more points. When giving up 70 or fewer points—which they did in all seven wins of their season-ending 7-3 stretch and all but one of their 13 Big East wins—the Pirates are 15-2 SU and 10-7 ATS.
By comparison, St. John's is 16-7 SU and 11-12 when scoring more than 70 points (16-4 SU and 11-9 ATS when scoring 75+ points).
Defense may win championships, and having played the Red Storm twice, the Pirates know who and what they are dealing with.
But there's something about St. John's having a meaningful game at MSG in March that compels me to roll with the Red Storm here.
St. John's vs Seton Hall Best Bets
St. John's/Seton Hall first half over 66.5 (+100) & St. John's/Seton Hall over 143
If St. John's wins, there will likely be a decent amount of scoring in the game, given that winning lower-scoring games has not been a frequent occurrence for the Red Storm this season. For me, these two plays are more eye-catching than the spread, even though the
Other NCAA Basketball Betting Information
Where Can You Bet on NCAA Basketball?
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- BetDSI Sportsbook Review
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- MyBookie Sportsbook Review
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Will both St. John's and Seton Hall be in the tournament field for the $200,000 Bracket Madness contest at BetOnline? Selection Sunday and the start of the contest aren't until Sunday, March 17, but the contest is now open for entry fees. In the meantime, you can take advantage of their 100% cryptocurrency welcome bonus and build your bankroll for March Madness.
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