Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between St. John’s and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a quick 36-31 lead against Villanova.

If St. John’s keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 14-3 in no time. On the other hand, Villanova will have to make due with an 11-6 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who’s Playing

Villanova Wildcats @ St. John’s Red Storm

Current Records: Villanova 11-5, St. John’s 13-3

How To Watch

• When: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
• Where: Madison Square Garden — New York, New York
• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Watch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV
• Live Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
• Ticket Cost: $60.00

What to Know

We’ve got another exciting Big East matchup on schedule as the Villanova Wildcats and the St. John’s Red Storm are set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 79.3 points per game this season.

St. John’s is hoping to do what UConn couldn’t on Wednesday: put an end to Villanova’s winning streak, which now stands at three games. Villanova skirted past UConn 68-66. Having forecasted a close victory for the Wildcats, the oddsmakers were right on the money.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Villanova to victory, but perhaps none more so than Eric Dixon, who had 23 points. Dixon’s evening made it eight games in a row in which he has scored at least 22.4 points. Another player making a difference was Wooga Poplar, who went 6 for 10 en route to 18 points.

Xavier typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday St. John’s proved too difficult a challenge. They walked away with an 82-72 win over the Musketeers. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Red Storm.

St. John’s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zuby Ejiofor, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Aaron Scott, who earned 12 points plus eight rebounds and four steals.

St. John’s smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive matchups.

Villanova’s win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-5. As for St. John’s, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-3 record this season.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday’s contest: Villanova has been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 41.4% of their threes per game. It’s a different story for St. John’s, though, as they’ve only made 30% of their threes this season. Given Villanova’s sizable advantage in that area, St. John’s will need to find a way to close that gap.

Villanova is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, keep Villanova’s opponent in mind: they have a subpar 3-7 record against the spread vs St. John’s over their last ten matchups.

Odds

St. John’s is a solid 7-point favorite against Villanova, according to the latest college basketball odds.

Bettors have moved against the Red Storm slightly, as the game opened with the Red Storm as a 8.5-point favorite.

The over/under is 145.5 points.

See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Villanova has won 7 out of their last 10 games against St. John’s.

• Jan 24, 2024 – St. John’s 70 vs. Villanova 50
• Jan 06, 2024 – St. John’s 81 vs. Villanova 71
• Jan 20, 2023 – Villanova 57 vs. St. John’s 49
• Dec 21, 2022 – Villanova 78 vs. St. John’s 63
• Mar 10, 2022 – Villanova 66 vs. St. John’s 65
• Feb 08, 2022 – Villanova 75 vs. St. John’s 69
• Jan 29, 2022 – Villanova 73 vs. St. John’s 62
• Feb 23, 2021 – Villanova 81 vs. St. John’s 58
• Feb 03, 2021 – St. John’s 70 vs. Villanova 59
• Feb 26, 2020 – Villanova 71 vs. St. John’s 60