julian-champagnie-getty-1400.jpg
Getty Images

Xavier has fallen out of the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings for the first time since early December, and looks to start its climb back with a home matchup against St. John's on Wednesday evening. The Red Storm won for the first time in 13 games against the Musketeers at the end of last season, but could be without two of their top players this evening. Starting guard Posh Alexander has missed the last two games with a hurt ankle, and his status is in doubt again on Wednesday, as is top rotation player Aaron Wheeler, who left early in the Red Storm's last game, a loss to UConn on Sunday.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Cintas Center in Cincinnati and the game will air on CBS Sports Network. The Musketeers are favored by 7.5 points in the latest Xavier vs. St. John's odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 149.5. Before entering any St. John's vs. Xavier picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Xavier vs. St. John's. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for St. John's vs. Xavier:

  • Xavier vs. St. John's spread: Xavier -7.5
  • Xavier vs. St. John's over-under: 149.5 points

What you need to know about Xavier

After four loses in six games, Xavier got back on track in its last game against UConn on Friday with a 74-68 win. The Musketeers' leading scorer for the season, Jack Nunge, turned in another quality performance and scored 22 points to go with nine rebounds. Xavier also got 12 points apiece from forward Zach Freemantle and guard Nate Johnson. Johnson's status is up in the air for Wednesday evening, as he has been hampered with a knee injury recently.

Guard Colby Jones has 173 total rebounds this season, which translates to 7.5 per game and places him in the Big East's top 10. He'll have his work cut out for him on Wednesday against St. John's who has been one of the nation's top rebounding teams. The Musketeers haven't been as strong on the boards, but they have been draining shots in conference play -- particularly inside the three-point line -- where they have made 50.4 percent of their attempts.

What you need to know about St. John's

The Red Storm's last game also came against UConn, but St. John's didn't have the same good fortune that Xavier had against the Huskies in a 63-60 loss on Sunday. Guard Stef Smith's performance was part of the problem, after he finished with just six points on a 2-for-10 shooting night. Wheeler might have finished as the game's top scorer had he not gotten hurt, but he also had been struggling through an inefficient 5-for-18 shooting night.

Both sides come in as elite rim-protecting sides on defense, but the Red Storm have been one of the nation's best at 5.8 blocks per game. Joel Soriano leads the effort when it comes to turning away opponents' shots, and averages 1.9 per contest. He has 18 blocks over his last seven starts, including three in his last outing against UConnn.

How to make St. John's vs. Xavier picks

The model has simulated Xavier vs. St. John's 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

Who wins Xavier vs. St. John's? And which side of the spread is a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.