St. John’s Red Storm vs. Xavier Musketeers College Basketball Preview

The St. John’s Red Storm will look to right their ship on Saturday when they visit the Xavier Musketeers. Mike Andrson’s club is coming off of a loss at home to Seton Hall which makes three losses in their last four contests. The Musketeers enter the game as a (-10) road favorite despite being short-handed. The game is scheduled for a 5:00 PM EST tip-off from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH and will be broadcast on Fox.

Xavier Musketeers Overview

Despite the loss of their superstar forward, Zach Freemantle, the Musketeers were able to take down the Providence Friars in their last outing. The game went to overtime, but Sean Miller’s club came away victorious thanks to a trio of players scoring twenty-plus points. Forward Colby Jones, along with center Jack Nunge and point guard Souley Boum combined to score 63 points in the victory and bring the Musketeers to 18-5 overall with a 10-2 record in Big East league play. 

The Musketeers have a winning record against the spread on the season but are just 12-10-1 against the number. Sean Miller’s team is just 6-6-1 at home against the anticipated margin, but it has outperformed the number by +1.3 points per contest. They are a middle-of-the-road team in the Big East in regards to a home margin of victory at +11.8 points. This indicates they are typically heavy home favorites when playing in the Cintas Center.

St. John's Red Storm Overview

The Red Storm are one of the most difficult teams in the nation to get a good read on. This is backed up by their less-than-mediocre performance against the number at just 9-14 on the season. Despite their poor performance against the number, Mike Anderson’s club is 14-9 on the season though just 4-8 in Big East play.

6’11 senior forward Joel Soriano leads the Johnnies on the season in both points and rebounds. The Yonkers native is averaging a double-double on the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds per contest. He struggled in Wednesday’s loss to the Seton Hall Pirates with just nine points but did log ten rips in the defeat when he shot just 2-8 from the field.

Mike Anderson’s club is one of the worst teams in the Big East in true road games this season against the spread at just 2-4. The Storm are the second worst team in the conference in performance against the number at -3.7 points per contest on the road with a margin of victory a horrendous -11.3 points.

How to Lean

The Musketeers have the advantage in many aspects of this contest, including home court, coaching and talent. That said, Xavier is a different team without Freemantle, who has long been a star for the program. The Johnnies have the talent to pull off this upset on the road, but winning in the Cintas Center is no easy feat, regardless of who Miller puts on the floor.