The #22 Xavier Musketeers will head to Queens tonight to face the St. John's Red Storm in a big-time Big East clash. Both teams have gotten off to great starts this season, as Xavier is 10-3 and St. John's is 11-2.
Xavier has won six consecutive games and that includes their only two road games of the season to this point. Their only three losses this year were to teams ranked in the top 25.
Both of St. John's losses came this month, but they won three games between them. The Red Storm is undefeated at home, and none of the games were very close.
Something has to give tonight, so let's see if the Musketeers can win and keep shooting up the rankings, or if the Red Storm will continue to successfully defend their turf.
Xavier vs. St. John's Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Xavier vs. St. John's Match Details
Fixture: Xaviers Musketeers @ St. John's Red Storm
Date and Time: Wednesday, December 28, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Carnesecca Arena
Xavier vs. St. John's Key Stats
Both of these offenses are among the best in college basketball. Xavier averages 83.8 points per game, which is 14th in the country. St. John's is 51st in that same statistic, scoring 79.5 per game. However, Xavier is far more efficient, hitting 51.1% of their shots (5th), compared to St. John's who only hits 46.1% (124th).
But both teams are lackluster defensively. St. John's surrenders 68.4 points per game (174th), while Xavier gives up 73.6 per game (299th). Xavier's opponents are much more efficient, though, hitting 44.1% of their shots, 256th in the nation. St. John's opponents only hit 41.3% of shots, 102nd in the country.
Xavier's ball movement is second to none, as they average the most assists per game with 21.2.
St. John's is an elite rebounding team, pulling down 42.6 per game, the fourth most in the nation. They also average 9.0 steals per game, good for 42nd in the NCAA.
Xavier vs. St. John's Betting Prediction
St. John's seems like a more complete team, and they're on their home floor. Xavier's offense is one of the best around, but the Red Storm's offense can keep up. They'll probably get more stops and force more turnovers, meaning more possessions to score against a lackluster defense. St. John's should come out of this game with another victory.