Big East Game of the Month CBB 10*
(NCAAB) St. John's vs. Xavier, 01/31/2024 6:30 PM, Score: 77 - 88
Money Line: -125.00 Xavier (Home)
Result: Win
#670 ASA PLAY ON Xavier -1 or Pick -120 over St John’s. Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET - Look for Xavier to play very well in this game after an absolutely embarrassing performance no Sunday @ UConn. The Musketeers lost that game 99-56 in what UConn coach Danny Hurley said was “one of our best performances on both ends of the court”. The Huskies shot 59% overall and 58% from beyond the arc and just missed triple digits. That alone should give Xavier plenty of motivation as they come back home on Wednesday. On top of that, XU already lost @ St John’s in December 81-66 in what was their 2nd worst performance of the season behind their effort @ UConn on Sunday. In that loss @ St John’s they shot just 35% and made only 19% of their triples. The Johnnies might be a bit overconfident after that first meeting and they have a massive game at home on Saturday vs UConn so a flat spot is possible here. The Musketeers have played the #1 most difficult conference slate and the #2 most difficult schedule in the nation overall (per KenPom). They have already faced Houston, Purdue, and UConn (twice) the #1, #2, and #3 teams in the nation per KenPom. XU has only 1 home loss in Big East play and that was a 5 point setback to UConn. They also went to the wire here with Houston (#1 per KenPom) losing by 6 so they’ve shown they can compete with the best in the nation at the Cintas Center. St John’s is just 2-3 SU in road games and in league play the Johnnies are the worst 3 point shooting team (30%) and the worst FT shooting team (69%). With the opening line set at -1 for the host, we simply need Xavier to win this game and we think they will.