The No. 9 Creighton Bluejays visit the St. John's Red Storm in a Big East clash on Thursday evening. Creighton enters the season as a highly-ranked team, boasting a 4-2 overall record. The Bluejays' losses came to quality opponents in Kansas and Marquette, though Creighton is 0-1 on the road and 0-1 in Big East play this season. St. John's sits at 5-3, though the Red Storm have dropped the last two games, including an overtime loss to Georgetown in the last outing.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET in Queens. William Hill Sportsbook lists the Blue Jays as 6.5-point road favorites, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 160.5 in the latest Creighton vs. St. John's odds. Before entering any St. John's vs. Creighton picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It's also off to a fast start in the 2020-21 season, going 8-4 on all its top-rated picks and returning well over $300. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Creighton vs. St. John's. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for St. John's vs. Creighton:
- Creighton vs. St. John's spread: Creighton -6.5
- Creighton vs. St. John's over-under: 160.5 points
- CREI: The Bluejays are 3-3 against the spread this season
- SJU: The Red Storm are 14-8-1 against the spread in the last 23 home games
Why Creighton can cover
Creighton is an offense-first team, but the Bluejays also hold up defensively. Opponents are shooting just 43.0 percent on 2-point attempts against the Bluejays this season, with Creighton also posting a 10.5 percent block rate and an 11.0 percent steal rate. Creighton is also above-average in shooting efficiency allowed, with St. John's shooting just 29.9 percent from 3-point range this season.
Offensively, Creighton is a top-five team in points per possession, and the Bluejays are shooting 61.9 percent from 2-point range and 37.5 percent from 3-point range. St. John's is outside the top 250 in the country in shooting efficiency allowed defensively, and that should pave the way to impressive numbers. Beyond that, Creighton is elite in ball security, turning the ball over on only 13.2 percent of possessions, and the Bluejays are well above-average in both 3-point attempt rate and assist rate in 2020-21.
Why St. John's can cover
Sophomore standout Julian Champagnie leads the way for the Red Storm. He is averaging 20.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game this season, and having star power always helps an offense. From there, St. John's is a very good offensive rebounding team, pulling down 33.6 percent of available boards, and the Red Storm are a very good free throw shooting team at 74 percent.
Defensively, St. John's makes waves in creating turnovers at a 25.0 percent rate, and that includes a top-10 national mark in steal rate at 15.0 percent. The Red Storm are also above-average on the defensive glass, grabbing 73.4 percent of available rebounds, and Creighton struggles on the offensive glass to the tune of a 20.3 percent offensive rebound rate so far this season.
How to make Creighton vs. St. John's picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, with at least three players on each team projected to reach double figures in scoring. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 60 percent of simulations. You can get that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins St. John's vs. Creighton? And which side of the spread hits in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Creighton vs. St. John's spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
