Bulldogs vs. Red Storm Prediction
The 11th-ranked Butler Bulldogs will open Big East Conference play tonight at the St. John’s Red Storm. Can Butler cover the spread as the road favorites?
Game Snapshot
811 Butler Bulldogs at 812 St. John’s Red Storm
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Carnesecca Arena at 7:30PM ET
TV: FS1
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According to oddsmakers, the Bulldogs are a 4.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 134.5 points. As of Tuesday afternoon, exactly 50 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Butler and host St. John’s. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Bulldogs suffocate Warhawks
Butler earned a 67-36 home win Saturday over Louisiana-Monroe to improve to 12-1 overall and 8-0 at home. The Bulldogs led 33-14 at halftime en route to the victory. Derrik Smits paced Butler with 16 points off the bench in 13 minutes of action on 5-of-7 shooting plus 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Sean McDermott accounted for 10 points and three rebounds. Bryce Nze added 10 points and seven boards.
Red Storm upset Wildcats
St. John’s picked up a 70-67 victory over Arizona 10 days ago in the Basketball Hall of Fame Al Attles Classic in San Francisco. The Red Storm (11-2) led 40-26 at halftime on their way to the victory. L.J. Figueroa paced St. John’s with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting including 2-of-6 from 3-point range plus 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. He also recorded four rebounds and three steals. Rasheem Dunn added 14 points, two boards and two assists off the bench.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Butler
The Bulldogs are 5-0 ATS in their last five road games. Butler is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games as a favorite.
St. John’s
The Red Storm are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games overall. St. John’s is 7-18-1 ATS in its last 26 Tuesday games.
Prediction:
The Bulldogs have a defense ranked inside the top 10 nationally in terms of adjusted efficiency and they face a Red Storm squad here that has the majority of their issues on the offensive end. Butler has done an exceptional job being road warriors and will be geared up tonight as it opens conference play. While St. John’s was impressive in its win over Arizona, part of that was due to the Wildcats playing poorly. The Red Storm are certainly on the upswing, but I don’t see them hanging for 40 minutes with the Bulldogs tonight.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: BUTLER BULLDOGS -4.5