Xavier Musketeers vs St. John's Red Storm Prediction, 12/20/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs St. John's Red Storm

Date: Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Location: Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Xavier Musketeers (6-5) are on their way to Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday where they will play the St. John's Red Storm (7-3).

The Xavier Musketeers took the court against Winthrop and walked away with a win by a score of 75-59 in their last game. Xavier wrapped up the game with a 50.0% FG percentage (28 of 56) and made 7 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Musketeers buried 12 of their 15 tries for a percentage of 80.0%. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected 39 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 19 assists in this game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With respect to defense, Xavier allowed their opponent to shoot 37.9% from the floor on 22 of 58 shooting. Winthrop earned 17 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. In addition, Winthrop collected 24 rebounds (8 offensive, 16 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Winthrop finished the game shooting 36.8% when shooting free throws by burying 7 of their 19 tries. They also made 8 out of their 23 attempts from distance. With respect to personal fouls, the Musketeers finished with 19 while Winthrop finished the game with 17 personal fouls.

Quincy Olivari is a guy who came through for the matchup. He finished 50.0% from the floor but didn't record an assist. He played for 34 minutes and grabbed 3 boards. He ended up with 22 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

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Xavier heads into this one with a mark of 6-5 for the year. They are giving up possession 12.5 times per game and as a team are committing 17.5 fouls every game. As a unit, Xavier is collecting 39.5 rebounds per game and has racked up 197 assists for the season, which has them ranked 19th in the country in terms of passing. The Musketeers are hitting 33.6% from downtown (71 of 211) and 70.2% from the charity stripe. They average 76.3 points per outing (151st in college hoops) while connecting on 45.6% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Musketeers are forcing 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. They surrender 29.7% from 3-point land and they are 158th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (69.9). The Musketeers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.9% (279 of 700) and they surrender 36.8 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 315th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 165 conceded on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the St. John's Red Storm walked away with a victory by a final of 77-55 when they played Fordham. When talking about cleaning up the glass, St. John's allowed Fordham to snag 37 in total (9 on the offensive side). They shot 11.1% from distance by connecting on 2 out of 18 and finished the game at 23 out of 26 from the charity stripe (88.5%). The Red Storm permitted Fordham to convert 15 of their 59 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 25.4% in the game. When all was said and done, the Red Storm ended up going 30 out of 69 from the field which had them at 43.5%. When discussing 3-point shots, St. John's converted 6 of their 18 tries (33.3%). They were able to bury 11 of those for a percentage of 57.9%. Fordham had 18 personal fouls in the game which took the Red Storm to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They coughed it up 14 times, while earning 9 steals in the matchup. The Red Storm earned 29 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in this game.

Joel Soriano ended up having an impact for the Red Storm in this matchup. He buried 9 out of 15 in this game for a field goal rate of 60.0%, and accounted for 10 rebounds. He totaled 20 points in his 23 mins on the court and accumulated 3 dimes for the game.

St. John's has a mark of 7-3 so far this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Red Storm are shooting 44.6% from the field, which is 201st in the country. St. John's has scored 800 points on the campaign (80.0 per contest) and they average 42.1 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 17.4 times per contest (30th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 12.8 times per game. The Red Storm have committed 18.6 personal fouls every game and they hit 70.1% from the charity stripe.

The St. John's defense surrenders 35.0% on 3-point attempts (62 of 177) and their opponents are making 73.2% of their foul shots. They surrender 11.5 dimes and 33.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 101st and 121st in those categories. The Red Storm on the defensive end are ranked 147th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 69.4. They have forced 14.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.6% from the floor (121st in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier

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