The Arkansas Razorbacks take on the St. John's Red Storm in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 2:40 p.m. ET on CBS.
St. John's is favored by 7.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -305. The total is set at 144.5 points.
Here are my Arkansas vs. St. John's predictions and college basketball picks for March 22, 2025.
Arkansas vs St. John's Odds
| Arkansas Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7 -110 | 145 -110o / -110u | +260 |
| St. John's Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7 -110 | 145 -110o / -110u | -320 |
- Arkansas vs St. John's spread: St. John's -7
- Arkansas vs St. John's over/under: 145 points
- Arkansas vs St. John's moneyline: St. John's -320, Arkansas +260
- Arkansas vs St. John's pick: Arkansas 1H +3.5 (Play to +3)
My Arkansas vs St. John's best bet is on the Razorbacks on the first-half spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
My Arkansas vs St. John's NCAAB Preview
Tell me six words that describe an awesome NCAA Tournament game — John Calipari, Rick Pitino, March Madness. Glorious!
The Arkansas Razorbacks secured a win over the Kansas Jayhawks in the Round of 64, and the St. John's Red Storm saved some trash cans, as it ended Omaha's trash-can-beating tradition.
I rarely opt for first-half plays, as it's just not something I see a lot of value in. It's not something I think has enough of a trend to make it worthwhile compared to the full game.
This is the exception, though. You probably saw St. John's trailing Omaha for most of the first half. That's not a one-off thing. St. John's has trailed or led by one at the half in its past three contests.
It happened a lot earlier in the year, as well. The Johnnies get off to slow starts, and their inability to shoot doesn't help matters.
I actually feel Arkansas matches up well with the Johnnies. The Razorbacks have the length to match St. John's, which very few teams do. The emergence of Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo — each of which went off in the Round of 64 — has changed Arkansas' outlook.
Brazile has recorded a double-double in four of his past five games, and Arkansas is 4-1 during that stretch. He's not only excelling at limiting teams on the glass, but he's also 12-of-25 from deep during that time period. Meanwhile, Aidoo has scored 14+ points in four straight games.
What makes me feel best about this matchup? At some point, starting slow becomes less of a coincidence and more of a trend. It almost feels like the Johnnies need Rick Pitino to go deep into the bench and yell at the starters for a few minutes before locking in.
The way St. John's fights back into the game is by using defensive pressure to force turnovers and get easy transition buckets. Arkansas can be a bit careless with the ball, posting a 17% turnover rate since February 1.
But Arkansas has some extra ball-handling with Boogie Fland back.
The Razorbacks rank 18th nationally in defensive efficiency over their past 14 games.
Brazile and Aidoo are cutting off driving lanes, and mid-range looks for Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis Jr. should flummox a St John's offense that ranks outside the top 50 in offensive efficiency since February 1 and outside the top 60 for the year.
Arkansas might also have success getting to the rim. The Razorbacks are in the top 15 in free throw rate over the past month and a half, and the one "weakness" in the Johnnies' defensive profile is stopping teams inside the arc.
Arkansas also has a pretty profound size advantage on the interior. If the 6-foot-11 Brazile and Aidoo cause problems for Luis — who stands at 6-foot-7 — Pitino will pivot and play 7-footer Ruben Prey over Aaron Scott.
If that happens, St John's loses one of its few shooters.
I just want no part of whatever Pitino tells his team at halftime. Whatever it is works, so I'll look to take advantage of a season-long struggle for the two-seed.
Pick: Arkansas 1H +3.5 (Play to +3)
