No. 20 St. John’s occasionally plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena, and that’s the case on Wednesday as it tries for the regular-season sweep of Big East rival Xavier and is a solid favorite on the NCAA Basketball Betting odds.

Xavier vs St. John’s: 2025 NCAAB Expert Analysis in Week 12.

College Basketball Betting: Xavier vs St. John’s & TV Info

NCAAB Moneylines: St. John’s -345 / Xavier +264
When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports Live

NCAA Basketball Betting Analysis: Xavier

Xavier (12-7, 4-4 Big East) won its third straight game Saturday, a 59-57 upset at No. 7 Marquette to snap the Golden Eagles’ six-game winning streak. The Musketeers never trailed and led by as many as 19 but needed to make a stop in the final seconds to preserve the victory.

Down 59-57, MU got one last chance when David Joplin forced a tie ball with Xavier’s Ryan Conwell with 8.6 seconds remaining. Chase Ross inbounded the ball to Kam Jones, whose pass was deflected before Mitchell got it in 3-point range. Mitchell tried driving to the basket but couldn’t attempt a shot thanks to strong defense from Dailyn Swain.

Zach Freemantle

Freemantle topped the Musketeers with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double. Swain added 12 points and nine boards, while McKnight contributed nine points and five assists. Foster also had nine points and eight rebounds.

He, who missed Xavier’s first three Big East games due to a knee injury, leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg (sixth in the league) and in rebounding at 7.8 rpg (fourth in the Big East). McKnight leads XU in assists at 4.8 apg and is second in the Big East and 14th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.41.

First Half

The Musketeers finished shooting 40.4 percent (23-57) from the floor after connecting on 50 percent of their first half shots (14-28). The Golden Eagles shot 37.1 percent (23-62) from the floor overall. Xavier forced Marquette into 13 turnovers, matching the Golden Eagles’ season high.

Against Ranked Teams

Xavier got the signature win they needed to boost their NCAA Tournament credentials. Xavier recorded its first win over an AP top 10 team since beating No. 2 UConn 83-73 on Dec. 31, 2022 at Cintas Center. XU’s last win over an AP Top 10 team on the road was its 74-62 win at No. 10 Seton Hall on Feb. 1, 2020.

⚔️ | Congratulations to Ryan Conwell on being named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second time this season!

✍️ | https://t.co/7Ww6BaDU7p#LetsGoX | ALL IN pic.twitter.com/86AJD5crDR

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) January 20, 2025

Ryan Conwell

Conwell, after a standout 34-point game against Villanova, managed only six points with a 3 of 13 shooting performance, including 0 of 8 from beyond the arc, in Saturday’s win. He is second on his team and seventh in the Big East with an average of 16.5 points per game. Conwell ranks third in the league for 3-point field goals made per game, showcasing his shooting talent.

The Stats

Xavier ranks third in the Big East and 20th nationally for free throw percentage at .783, with Swain (sixth), Conwell (seventh), and McKnight (ninth) among the top 10. They also lead in fastbreak points (17.3 ppg) and are second in 3-point percentage (.381).

St. John’s Basketball Analysis

No. 20 St. John’s (16-3, 7-1 Big East) won its fifth straight game Saturday, 79-51 at Seton Hall – the Red Storm led 39-16 at the break and never looked back. It marked the Johnnies’ first win inside the Prudential Center since Feb. 13, 2014, and the largest margin of victory in the series in 45 years, when it dominated the Pirates, 97-64, on Jan. 12, 1980, at Alumni Hall in Queens.

RJ Luis Jr.

Luis Jr. led the Johnnies with 24 points, shooting 9-of-13 and 4-of-5 from three. Zuby Ejiofor added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron Scott contributed his fourth consecutive game in double digits with 10 points and eight boards.

He has been the team’s best player as he ranks third in the Big East in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game and has tallied six 20-plus point outings this season. Luis Jr. also ranks tied with teammate Zuby Ejiofor for the league-lead in double-doubles with six. Ejiofor holds a streak of 11 contests finishing in double-digits and remains second in the country in offensive rebounding, adding 4.5 per outing.

KenPom Rankings

RJ currently ranks eighth in the KenPom.com Player of the Year standings and has been efficient for the Johnnies as of late. Over the last three games, he is averaging 24.3 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor. Richmond, meanwhile, is 12 points and one helper shy of becoming the fourth active player in NCAA Division I to record 1,500 or more career points and 600-plus total assists.

RJ named to the @BIGEASTMBB Weekly Honor Roll 👏

🗞️: https://t.co/HAtROEP4N2#RedStorm pic.twitter.com/X7CmOyuqf5

— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) January 20, 2025

Kadary Richmond

Seton Hall transfer Richmond had an efficient night, totaling 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (71.4%), six assists, five rebounds and two steals in his return to the Prudential Center. He is native has dished out five or more assists in each of his last five appearances. Ruben Prey was staunch defensively, protecting the rim with a season-high five blocks. They were the most swats by a St. John’s freshman since Kasoum Yakwe on Feb. 3, 2016 against Xavier.

Rick Pitino

Coach Pitino lauded the team’s defense as “brilliant,” as they allow only 62.2 points and 36.6% shooting during their five-game win streak. They rank fifth in defensive efficiency, permitting 91.9 points per 100 possessions, while ranking third in blocks (6.2) and seventh in rebounding (41.9).

Rankings to Consider

Thanks to winning those five straight and 11 of its last 12, St. John’s returned to the national polls on Monday (to keep an eye for NCAA Basketball betting). The Red Storm received a No. 20 ranking in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll. The Red Storm re-enter the poll after being ranked for back-to-back weeks for the first time in nine years on Nov. 11 and Nov. 18.

St. John’s achieved its highest AP ranking since the 2014-15 season, reaching No. 20. The team also started 7-1 in Big East play, its best start since the 1998-99 campaign.

Home Record

The Red Storm hold an unscathed 12-0 record when playing at home this season. St. John’s joins Indiana (14) and San Francisco (12) as the only three teams in NCAA Division I to boast an undefeated mark at home through 12 games this season. The Johnnies have dominated while playing in the Big Apple, winning 11 of their 12 contests by double-digits and hold a plus-18.0 scoring margin of victory on their home court.

Xavier vs St. John’s Last Meeting

The season series concludes, unless they meet in the postseason. On Jan. 7, St. John’s defeated Xavier 82-72, bolstered by Zuby Ejiofor’s 18 points and 12 rebounds, and RJ Luis Jr.’s 18 points and 10 boards. Zach Freemantle led Xavier with 22 points.

Xavier leads the all-time series 17-8 and the school’s first Big East game was a 70-60 victory over St. John’s at Cintas Center in the 2013-14 season.

POLL ALERT: Auburn a unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25, Duke up to No. 2; Michigan State into top 10, Louisville ends 4-year poll drought.

Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/ubdzCEut4W

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 20, 2025

MyBookie College Basketball

---

College Basketball Odds | Online Betting

mybookie App Download App

Download Remind me later