Arkansas vs. St. John's predictions, odds & picks for March 22 | NCAA Tournament 2025

No. 10-seed Arkansas looks to continue its giant-killing ways when it battles No. 2-seed St. John's in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Saturday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

Saturday's showdown also pits two Hall of Fame coaches whose bitter rivalry in the past is set to be reignited. Razorbacks coach John Calipari and Red Storm bench tactician Rick Pitino met 23 times in college basketball with the 66-year-old Calipari holding a 13-10 edge over the 72-year-old Pitino (per ESPN).

Both coaches have guided Kentucky to the national championship, with Pitino doing it in 1996 and Calipari duplicating the feat in 2012.

Arkansas and St. John's are coming off big wins in the first round. The Razorbacks surprised No. 7-seed Kansas 79-72 while the Red Storm overwhelmed No. 15-seed Omaha 83-53.

The winner of the second-round clash will qualify for the Sweet 16 and face the winner of the Round of 32 showdown between No. 11-seed Drake and No.3-seed Texas Tech.

---

Arkansas vs St. John's prediction

Arkansas had a good start in the nonconference part of the 2024-25 season, going 11-2 with notable wins over 2025 March Madness qualifier Michigan and Oakland. The Razorbacks struggled in the SEC regular season, losing their first five games before righting the ship and going 8-5 the rest of the way.

Arkansas took advantage of the at-large tournament bid, surprising the Kansas Jayhawks 79-72 on Jonas Aidoo's 22 points and Johnell Davis' 18 points. The Razorbacks won the game without scoring leader Adou Thiero and freshman Boogie Fland playing spare minutes after returning from an injury.

Davis, D.J. Wagner, Aidoo and Trevon Brazile are expected to reprise their excellent performances over Kansas in Arkansas' second-round matchup against St. John's. However, it's also possible that Fland, Billy Richmond and Zvonimir Ivisic could be given bigger roles against St. John's.

The Red Storm, meanwhile, overcame early jitters to beat Omaha by 30 points in the first round. Rick Pitino's men throttled the Mavericks in the second half, outscoring them 50-25.

RJ Luis Jr. scored 22 points while Kadary Richmond had an all-around game of 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Simeon Wilcher and Zuby Ejiofor added 13 and 10 points, respectively for St. John's, who limited Omaha to 25.7% from the field while making 37.8% of their 3-point attempts.

NCAA Tournament betting experts give the Red Storm a 7.5-point advantage against the Razorbacks. The total for the much-anticipated clash is 144.5 and the moneyline is pegged at +260 for Arkansas and -320 for St. John's

Prediction: St. John's Red Storm 76, Arkansas Razorbacks 68

---

Arkansas vs St. John's odds

Team	Spread	Total	Moneyline
Arkansas	+7.5 (-115)	Over 144.5 (-115)	+260
St. John's	-7.5 (-105)	Under 144.5 (-105)	-320

---

Arkansas vs St. John's head-to-head

It will be the third meeting of Arkansas and St. John's. They split their first two matches and both took place in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

St. John's beat Arkansas 68-65 in their first meeting on March 16, 1985 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Chris Mullin scoring 26 points. The Razorbacks returned the favor in their second clash in Winston Salem, North Carolina on March 20, 1993, winning, 80-74.

---

How to watch Arkansas vs St. John's

The Arkansas-St. John's showdown will tip-off at 2:40 p.m. ET at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. CBS will feature the second-round March Madness 2025 clash on live television. The game is available on livestream through Fubo and Paramount Plus.