St. John’s Red Storm at Seton Hall Pirates

Betting Odds

Point Spread: St. John’s -2
Game Total Line: 128
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The St. John’s Red Storm will look to run their current winning streak to seven games with a victory over the Seton Hall Pirates this Thursday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

St. John’s has to be considered the most dangerous team in the Big East with victories over three ranked opponents in its six-game tear. The Red Storm most recently knocked-off No. 19 Villanova 81-68 as a 6 ½-point road underdog. Prior to that, they took out No.16 Connecticut 89-72 on Feb.10 as a two-point home underdog and stunned No.5 Pitt 60-59 as a 4 ½-point home underdog on Feb.19. They are now 19-9 straight-up overall (14-13 against the spread) and tied with Louisville for third-place in the Big East standings at 11-5 SU.

Senior guard Dwight Hardy has emerged as a prime-time player with a team-high 17.9 points a game. He is joined by senior forward Justin Brownlee, who is second in scoring with 12.1 points a game, and senior guard-forward D.J. Kennedy, who is averaging 10.5 points and a team-high six rebounds to help form a potent and highly experienced starting lineup.

St. John’s is shooting 45.7 percent from the field but just 33.8 percent from three-point range. It has also struggled a bit from the foul-line; converting on just 70.9 percent of its attempts. The Red Storm are averaging 70 points but have also been a bit weak under the boards; averaging just 33 rebounds a game.

Seton Hall comes into this game having lost its last three including a 60-48 loss to No.7 Notre Dame as a 10-point road underdog this past Saturday. The Pirates are just 3-11 SU in their last 14 games and 11-17 SU overall (12-14 ATS). They lead the bottom tier of the Big East with a 5-11 SU record in conference play.

The one bright spot for the Pirates has been the play of senior guard Jeremy Hazell. He leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points a game and is averaging 3.2 rebounds. Senior forward Jeff Robinson is averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds and junior forward Herb Pope adding 10 points and has a team-high 8.2 rebounds a game.

Seton Hall is averaging 66 points and 36 rebounds a game. It is shooting just 40.5 percent from the field and has been horrible from three-point range; hitting just 28.4 percent of its attempts. The Pirates have also been less than stellar from the foul-line; converting on just 68.7 percent of their attempts.

St. John’s is 3-2 ATS in its last five road games but 6-0 ATS in its last six games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its last five games.

Seton Hall is 3-2 ATS in its last five games at home and 5-3 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its last seven games.

Head-to-head, the Pirates have won three of the last five games SU and is 3-2 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of the last four meetings.

Against the Spread Game Pick

This time around St. John’s should open as a moderate road favorite and remains a solid pick as long as the line does not go too high. Stick with the Red Storm to avoid a letdown against a team they should easily handle with another solid conference win.
Take the Red Storm -2 at 5Dimes and get reduced juice on game day!