St. John’s vs Arizona State March Madness Odds & First Four Preview

The last two NCAA men’s basketball teams to receive at-large bids into March Madness were St. John’s vs Arizona State. Many prognosticators had viewed those two programs as among the “first four out,” meaning that they would be among those who failed to make it in, but they will play Wednesday in Dayton, for the chance to face sixth-seeded Buffalo in the West Region. St. John’s (21-12, 8-10 Big East) split with Villanova and beat Marquette twice, so that sub-.500 conference record shows considerable inconsistency. Arizona State and St. John’s both played Princeton and Cal; Princeton beat Arizona State by one on the road, while St. John’s beat Princeton by 13 in a holiday tournament. Arizona State swept Cal, and St. John’s beat Cal in a November tournament. We have your March Madness betting preview for this play-in contest below.

St. John’s vs Arizona State March Madness Odds & First Four Preview

Keepin’ it loose. #SJUBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/KlMg1wJKIb

— St. John’s BBall (@StJohnsBBall) 19 de marzo de 2019

When: Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 9:10pm ET Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OH TV: truTV Radio: None Live Stream: March Madness Live 2019 March Madness Odds: Arizona State -1.5, O/U 152.5

Why should you bet on St. John’s?

St. John’s comes in on a bit of a skid, having dropped five of seven down the stretch. The Red Storm’s offense is fairly productive, averaging 77.5 points per game and shooting 45.4 percent from the floor. Shamorie Ponds leads the Red Storm with 19.5 points per game and also dishes out 5.2 assists per contest. Mustapha Heron and L.J. Figueroa also average double figures in points, and Marvin Clark II leads the team with 5.4 boards per game. From downtown, St. John’s struggles a bit, shooting 36.1 percent. The defense for St. John’s is more of a question mark, as they allow 74.8 points per game. That is one reason why St. John’s has dropped four straight away from home. In their last 10 non-conference games, they have only covered three times, and in their last 16 games on a neutral floor, they have only covered four times. If you like St. John’s, you see the longer trip that Arizona State has to take playing a role, and you also see the Red Storm rebounding from a tough finish.

Why should you put your money on the Sun Devils?

Arizona State comes in playing solid ball right now, winners of six of eight, and with those two losses both coming against a red-hot Oregon team. The Sun Devils’ offense averages 77.8 points per game, and the team shoots 44.7 percent from the floor. Like St. John’s, Arizona State allows a lot of points as well, permitting 73.1 points per game. Luguentz Dort leads the Sun Devils with 16.1 points per game, grabbing 4.3 boards per contest. Remy Martin and Zylan Cheatham also score in double figures per game. One problem for Arizona State could be free throw shooting, as the team makes just over two-thirds of their attempts from the charity stripe. However, they have won four of six away from home and have covered five times in the last six games coming after a game in which they failed to cover. In their last six non-Pac 12 games, they have covered just once, but that trend could reverse given the cold play St. John’s has shown lately.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

An important predictor for the teams coming into March Madness has to do with their play down the stretch. Despite sweeping Marquette and beating Villanova, St. John’s has only won two of seven and is definitely sputtering entering the tournament. Arizona State is moving in the right direction as far as their quality of play, and I see them holding off the Red Storm in a 78-70 victory to get a chance to face Buffalo in the first round this weekend.