St John’s and Marquette, a matchup in which in recent years, the Red Storm has been the low seed, and Marquette has won championships. The script, however, has been flipped on its head. St John’s is not only making a Big East Championship push, but a National Championship is very much possible.
For Marquette, they came in as the five seed in this tournament and scraped by Xavier in a thriller 89-87 to get to this game in the first place. They were led by Kam Jones, who had his 48th straight game of double-figure scoring with a 28-point performance. That is good for the longest active streak in the country, and they will need him to be the superstar that he is yet again.
The Golden Eagles trailed by as much as 14 but still found a way to get by Xavier, who now has to wonder if they will make it to the big dance at all. For Marquette, the Red Storm awaits now, and they are obviously no easy task. Here's how you can watch this potential Big East classic
How to watch St. John's vs Marquette
Date: Friday, March 14
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden
How to Watch (TV): ESPN2
Streaming: fubo TV
Marquette record: 23-9
St. John's record: 28-4
Marquette vs St. John's odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Marquette +160
-St. John's -194
Spread
- Marquette +4.5 (-110)
-St. John's -4.5. (-110)
Total
142.5 (Over-110/Under-110
St. John's injury report
Sean Dunlap (Knee) OUT
Marquette injury report
Jaiden glover (Wrist) OUT
Brady Dunlap (Abdominal) OUT
Marquette and St. John's series history
Marquette all-time record vs St. John's 23-15
Marquette vs St. John's prediction
St John’s boasts the Big East Player of the Year in RJ Luis, who led the team in scoring with a 20-point game against Butler. The Red Storm had no issue with the Bulldogs as they coasted to a 78-57 win. Kadary Richmond also almost had a triple-double yet again with 15 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.
So how do these two teams match up with each other? And who will have the edge in this one? Well, on paper, St. John’s has a heavy advantage in most categories. The Red Storm are more physical, they are one of the better rebounding teams in the country, and defense has been their calling card.
Marquette on the other hand has not had as much success in terms of defensive physicality, but their athleticism has put them second in the Big East in offensive rebounding, however, St. John’s leads the Conference by over a three-rebound margin per game.
One thing that Marquette can look to take advantage of is three-point shooting. The Red Storm are near the bottom of most categories in the Conference in this department. The Golden Eagles on the other hand lead the Big East in three-point attempts but are only eighth in terms of percentage.
But if Marquette can find a way to get hot from behind the arc, that is what can give them a good chance against the top seed in this tournament. At the end of the day though, it will come down to Rick Pitino vs Shaka Smart in a head coaching duel. So far, Pitino has gotten the best of Smart in both of their regular-season matchups, but Smart is no stranger to deep runs at Madison Square Garden.
However, the Red Storm simply will just be too much for them inside, and the coaching duel favors Pitino by a good margin. Marquette will put up a great effort and knock down plenty of outside shots, but the Red Storm are just too good to not make the Big East Championship. Marquette will have their hands full, and St. John's just has too many advantages on paper. However, anything can happen in the Big East Tournament.