The Marquette Golden Eagles take on the St. John's Red Storm in New York, New York. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
St. John's is favored by 3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -170. The total is set at 147 points.
Here are my Marquette vs. St. John's predictions and college basketball picks for February 4, 2025.
Marquette vs St. John's Prediction
My Pick: St. John's -3 (Play to -4.5)
My Marquette vs St. John's best bet is on the Red Storm 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.
Marquette vs St. John's Odds
| Marquette Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -115 | 147 -112o / -108u | +142 |
| St. John's Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -105 | 147 -112o / -108u | -170 |
- Marquette vs St. John's spread: St. John's -3
- Marquette vs St. John's over/under: 147 points
- Marquette vs St. John's moneyline: St. John's -170, Marquette +142
- Marquette vs St. John's best bet: St. John's -3 (Play to -4.5)
Spread
I'm taking St. John's to win and cover based on the Red Storm's advantages on the defensive end of the floor.
Moneyline
While I'm taking the Red Storm to win, I'm taking them to cover the short spread instead of betting them on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I don't have a pick on the total in this game.
My Pick: St. John's -3 (Play to -4.5)
Marquette vs St. John's College Basketball Betting Preview
The schedule-makers have made things interesting for this stretch of Big East basketball. Four teams sit atop the conference and are currently in a storm of games against one another.
UConn faces Marquette, St. John's and Creighton in a row, while Marquette plays UConn, St. John's and Creighton.
Creighton will face Marquette, Connecticut and then St. John's in that order.
Within two weeks, the Big East Tournament seeds will look clearer, with one or more of these teams eyeing a top seed in the Big Dance.
Marquette Basketball
A late run by Marquette made the final score in a Saturday loss to Connecticut look a little better, but those who watched the game saw the Huskies roll into Milwaukee as significant underdogs and build a lead that grew as high as 22 points.
Amazingly, UConn did this in a game while committing 25 turnovers, the program's most in a regulation game since December 2019.
Despite those turnovers, UConn scored 1.17 points per possession while shooting 63% from outside the arc and rebounding half of its own missed field goals.
Marquette's game plan is built to force turnovers defensively and make the most of every offensive possession, as the Golden Eagles commit turnovers at the lowest rate in the nation.
On Saturday, however, UConn shot and bullied its way out of the possession disadvantage. The Marquette frontcourt was dominated in the paint. In fact, center Ben Gold played 21 minutes without registering a rebound.
That performance can't be repeated when the Golden Eagles head to Madison Square Garden for a date with St. John's. The Red Storm are the best offensive rebounding team in the Big East and win games by controlling the paint.
St. John's Basketball
St. John's hasn't lost since flipping the calendar to 2025, with just one defeat since Thanksgiving. The Red Storm also haven't lost a game by more than one possession all season.
Rick Pitino has his team firing on all cylinders, and it's really doing so in old-school fashion. St. John's has the best record in the Big East despite shooting just 24.2% from outside the arc.
That wouldn't only be the worst 3-point percentage in conference play by a team to win this conference this century, but it would also be the worst 3-point shooting percentage by any team in Big East play since 2000.
Only 2013's St. John's team and 2010's South Florida team managed to play a Big East slate without hitting a quarter of their 3s. Needless to say, neither of those teams competed atop the conference. These Johnnies are unique.
How are they not surviving but thriving in spite of that 3-point percentage? Simply put, St. John's defense has been otherworldly. The Red Storm have the best defense in the Big East, bar none.
Just one Big East opponent has managed 1.0 points per possession against the Johnnies with Villanova hitting 10 3s in a double-digit loss.
Pitino has his defense humming at every level. The St. John's guards are relentless in pressure. Help defense readily and actively swarms to the ball when needed. At the rim, Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor has emerged as a force.
Over a larger sample size, you'd expect a team with St. John's offensive limitations to have a lower ceiling, yet time and time again, the Johnnies have proven they can stay in games and win with stops on the defensive end.
Marquette vs. St. John's Betting Analysis
Marquette is the least turnover-prone team in the nation. Even the intense St. John's defense isn't going to make Shaka Smart's veteran lineup crack. Marquette won't lose this game with empty possessions.
Instead, the Golden Eagles will continue to be one of the more 3-point focused offenses in the Big East. They take the long ball at the second-highest rate in the conference. Unfortunately for them, they make them at the eighth-best rate. Any time Marquette gets hot, it can win — including in this matchup.
It's more likely, however, that St. John's advantages elsewhere can counteract even an above-average shooting night by Marquette.
Ejiofor will prove to be a tough test for Marquette's bigs, with the rest of the Red Storm crashing the offensive glass against a mediocre rebounding unit from Milwaukee.
On top of that, St. John's simply can't continue to shoot 24% from long range. Starters Simeon Wilcher and Aaron Scott both have seasons hitting better than 40% from outside in their careers but sit under 30% this season.
I'll bank on the Johnnies out-wrestling Marquette in the paint with the hope someone on the home team gets hot from deep as I take the Red Storm to cover.
