The St. John’s Red Storm (11-2, 1-1 Big East) host the No. 22 Xavier Musketeers (10-3, 2-0 Big East) Wednesday in what should be a fast-paced game. Xavier narrowly defeated the Seton Hall Pirates 73-70 at Cintas Center on December 20, their sixth win in a row.
With 23 points, Zach Freemantle was the top scorer. Colby Jones was another key contributor with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. The Musketeers fell to second in the Big East Conference.
St. John’s dropped their last game on Wednesday at Finneran Pavilion, falling to the Villanova Wildcats 78-63. Joel Soriano had 17 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in the loss to lead the team. The Red Storm fell to sixth in the Big East Conference.
The teams are meeting for the only time this season. St. John’s won both games between the teams last season, the last of which was an 81-66 triumph at Carnesecca Arena on March 2, their third straight head-to-head victory. Tareq Coburn led the Red Storm with 20 points and three blocks. Jones had 13 points in defeat.
Souley Boum is averaging 17.3 points per game to lead the Musketeers in scoring this season. Meanwhile, Jack Nunge is grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game, and Jones is dishing 5.4 assists. Soriano and David Jones have been the primary providers for the Red Storm on offense, averaging 15.4 and 14.6 points per game, respectively.
Soriano also has collected 12.6 rebounds per game, second-most in the country. Andre Curbelo has distributed 4.9 assists per game. Expect plenty of transition action in this matchup that showcases two of the NCAA’s most fast-breaking teams, as the Red Storm are 23rd in possessions per game while the Musketeers are 29th.
In the last 10 games, Xavier is 7-3 with an average margin of +7.5 (83.0-75.5). St. John’s has gone 8-2 over the last 10, scoring 76.3 points per game on average while holding opponents to 67.5 (+8.8 margin).
MUSKETEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
KyKy Tandy: 1.2 | 5.1 | -3.9
Assists per game:
Souley Boum: 6.2 | 4.6 | +1.6
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
St.Johns (+105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
