Fresh off winning both the Big East regular season championship and Big East Tournament, St. John's is set to face off against Omaha as the West region's two seed. The Red Storm, who snapped their 6-year NCAA Tournament drought dating back to 2019, are in the midst a historical season that has seen them have their first 30 win season since 1986. The Red Storm are lead by the 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr, who is looking to add on to his already fantastic season in the NCAA Tournament.
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino has continued to show why he is among college basketball's all-time greats, transforming a St. John's program that was seemingly dead in the water into a championship contender in just two seasons. It also marks the sixth different school he has coached in the NCAA Tournament, after previously coaching Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and Iona to many NCAA Tournament appearances through the years. On top of this, St. John's now has the opportunity to become the fourth different Pitino-led school to reach the Final Four.
Their path begins with a matchup against 15-seeded Omaha, who are making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, having become a DI program ahead of the 2011-12 season. Led by third-year head coach Chris Crutchfield, the Mavericks have had a strong season, winning the outright Summit League regular season title before going on to win the Summit League Tournament and punch their first ever ticket to the big dance. Omaha is led by forward Marquel Sutton, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
Here's everything you need to know about this opening round matchup between St. John's and Omaha, and how you can watch.
How to watch St. John's vs. Omaha
- Date: Thursday, March 20
- Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
- Venue: Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, RI)
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Streaming: fubo TV
- St. John's record: 30-4
- Omaha record: 22-12
St. John's vs Omaha odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline
- St. John's -3500
- Omaha +1280
Spread
- St. John's -18.5 (-110)
- Omaha +18.5 (-110)
Total
147.5 (over -115/under -110)
St. John's Injury Report
• Brady Dunlap, F: OUT (Abdominal Tear)
• Jaiden Glover, G: OUT (Wrist)
Omaha Injury Report
N/A
St. John's and Omaha series history
Thursday's game marks the first ever matchup between these two schools.
St. John's vs Omaha Prediction
In recent years, the 2-15 matchups have produced several surprise upsets. This included a stretch of three straight tournaments (2021-23) that not only saw a 15 seed defeat a 2 seed, but advance to the Sweet 16 - or Elite Eight in the case of St. Peter's in 2022. And even if there isn't a 2-15 upset, it is very likely that there will be a 2-15 game that is much closer than expected.
Omaha is a solid 15 seed that is nothing to scoff at. They rolled through their conference (and conference tournament) and enter this one of a 6 game winning streak. However, St. John's is a formidable opponent led by a Hall of Fame Coach, having handily won their conference and are entering the tournament on a 9 game winning streak of their own.
The Red Storm have loads of talent across the board, and in addition to Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr, forward Zuby Ejiofor and guard Kadary Richmond are both averaging double figures in scoring. St. John's has an elite defense that is one the most efficient defenses in the entire country and are a nightmare matchup for most teams. The Red Storm are also highly experienced, with most of their rotation being experienced juniors and seniors. St. John's is been a team that has been incredibly calm under close game pressure this season, and they have showed it time and time again. They squeeze the life out of opponents as the game goes on, and often if a game is close, they will slowly wear their opponents down and pull away late in the game.
There's a real chance Omaha could hang with the Red Storm for a good portion of the first half in this game. But once St. John's flips the switch early in the second half, they will likely assume control of the game rather quickly. I expect the St. John's impressive second half tendencies to be on full display in this one as the Red Storm ultimately cruise to victory with a strong second half and winning their first NCAA Tournament game in 25 years.