Villanova vs St. John’s prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Thursday, March 10
Villanova vs St. John’s Game Preview, Big East Tournament How To Watch
Date: Thursday, March 10
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
How To Watch: FS1
Record: Villanova (23-7), St. John’s (17-14)
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Why Villanova Will Win
It’s a rested Wildcat team that handled St. John’s just fine in the first two meetings.
The threes are still flying, no one is better at the free throw line, and few teams are more efficient overall at getting the right shot and making capitalizing.
That’s not a positive for a St. John’s defense that gives up 75 pints per game and is awful at guarding the three, but …
Why St. John's Will Win
The Red Storm defense forces tons of mistakes.
Villanova is careful with the ball and doesn’t get bogged down by turnovers, but it gave it up a season-high 16 times in the second meeting – a 75-69 Wildcat win – and St. John’s is about to attack, attack, and attack some more.
It had the energy of the home crowd in the 92-73 win over DePaul in the first round, forcing 15 turnovers, moving the ball around for 22 assists, and the D came up with a big performance on the Blue Demon outside shooters.
It needs to keep Villanova’s offense from going off from three, but …
Villanova vs St. John's: What’s Going To Happen
The Wildcats are used to this.
The St. John’s defense might be aggressive, but it also gives up a whole lot of points and is about to give up a whole lot of assists for easy points.
But it’s a conference tournament in Madison Square Garden – the Red Storm will keep this close, but they won’t hit the free throws Villanova will.
Villanova vs St. John's: Prediction, Lines
Villanova 76, St. John’s 71
Line: Villanova -6.5, o/u: 148
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Villanova vs St. John’s Must See Rating: 3
5: Calvin Ridley’s suspension
1: The NFL bombardment of gambling ads
