St. John’s vs. Creighton prediction, tips and odds for today’s college basketball game

The St. John’s Red Storm travel to Omaha to take on the Creighton Bluejays in college basketball action on New Year’s Eve.

Rick Pitino has helped revitalize the Johnnies program and my predictions for St. John’s vs. Creighton have them pulling out a big road win tonight. Here are my top free college basketball picks for this Big East showdown on Tuesday, December 31st.

St. John’s vs Creighton Prediction

My best choice
St. John’s Moneyline (-110 at bet365)

My analysis

The St. John’s Red Storm have won six straight games and were coming off a 97-76 win over Delaware last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Creighton Bluejays haven’t played since Dec. 21, when they defeated Villanova 86-79. The Bluejays are 4-5 in their last nine games, with three of those losses coming by double digits.

While they earned a 76-63 home win over then-No. 1 Kansas during that span, 27 of those points came from Pop Isaacs, who subsequently underwent season-ending surgery. Isaacs averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, and his absence has been felt over the last three games.

The Bluejays thrive in half-court sets and prefer a slower pace, but they lack the ability to slow down opponents. They will have a hard time defending the fast and athletic St. John’s team that loves to run down the field in transition.

Creighton is outside the top 250 in turnover rate and will struggle with ball pressure from the Johnnies, who rank 36th in opponent TO rate (20.9%). The Red Storm also rank 24th nationally in rebound rate (55.3%), while the Bluejays have had a rebound rate of just 43.5% over their last three games.

The Johnnies played only one true away game this season, narrowly defeating Providence, even though the Friars were missing their best player. However, based on the quality of shots taken and allowed, they should have won 84-64 per ShotQualityBets.

With the Bluejays coming off an extended layoff and sorely missing Isaacs, they won’t have the offensive efficiency needed to keep up with the Johnnies.

Same parlay between St. John’s and Creighton

St. John’s Moneyline

Zuby Ejiofor Over 7.5 rebounds

Jackson McAndrew Made more than 1.5 threes

Despite the presence of 7-foot-1 star center Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton has struggled on the glass of late. St. John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor is expected to see plenty of minutes against Kalkbrenner and has grabbed 8+ rebounds in eight of his last 10 games.

Creighton freshman Jackson McAndrew saw an increase in his minutes and shot attempts following Issacs’ injury. He has scored more than 13 points in each of his last three games while knocking down at least three shots from long range. He should hit 1.5 three-pointers against a St. John’s team that ranks outside the top 200 in opponent 3-point percentage (34.6%).

Learn how to place a bet in the same game with these helpful tips and strategies.

St. John’s vs Creighton odds

St. John’s vs Creighton live odds

St. John’s vs. Creighton opening odds

• Spread: St. John’s -1 | Creighton +1
• Money line: St. John’s -115 | Creighton -105
• Over/Under: Over 154 | Under 154

Odds courtesy of bet365

St. John’s vs. Creighton betting trend you should know

The Johnnies are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games. Find more college basketball betting trends for St. John’s vs. Creighton.

Here’s how to watch St. John’s vs. Creighton

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