8:30 pm
February 21

St. John’s @ Marquette

Who will WIN this matchup?

St. John’s Red Storm (14-13)

@ Marquette Golden Eagles (15-11)

 

Current odds:

St. John’s Red Storm: (+175)

Marquette Golden Eagles: (-210)

 

• The line for the game is Marquette by 4.5 points.

• Coming off consecutive single-digit scoring duds in losses to Creighton and Butler, Ponds put together one of the most incredible five-game stretches of any player this season – scoring 31 in a narrow loss to Xavier, then averaging 32.3 during an unlikely four-game winning streak highlighted by a 44-point eruption against Marquette.

• That scoring surge has moved Ponds in to the Big East lead in scoring at 21.6 points per game – just of ahead of Golden Eagles star Markus Howard (21.3). That matchup likely won’t be featured Wednesday night – Howard is doubtful with a hip contusion – but there are plenty of other storylines, including whether Marquette can continue to bolster its NCAA Tournament hopes after rallying from a 15-point deficit to upend Creighton 90-86 last time out. The Golden Eagles will also be looking to halt a three-game home losing skid that includes a demoralizing 20-point loss to Butler.

• In addition to taking more shots and making them over the past five games, Ponds has benefited from improved 3-point shooting – connecting on 17-of-35 attempts from long range in that span to improve to 26.4 percent on the season. Justin Simon (11.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists) is the most well-rounded player on the roster and the sophomore guard has scored 16 in each of his previous three games, while posting a pair of double-doubles over that stretch. Bashir Ahmed contributes 11.3 points per contest but has just 11 combined over his previous two games.

• The Golden Eagles will be in tough without Howard, who averaged 23 points in six games before suffering the injury after playing just 13 minutes against Creighton. Guard Sacar Anim picked up the majority of the scoring slack in his absence, pouring in a career-best 26 points, while backcourt mate Andrew Rowsey added 21 and is averaging 27.5 points over his past two games. The Golden Eagles have made their offensive bones largely from the foul line, draining 79.6 percent of their free-throws – the third-best rate in the nation.

• St. John’s (34.0 per game) and Marquette (32.3) are the bottom two rebounding teams in the conference.

4/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Marquette Golden Eagles
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