The St. John's Red Storm take on the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha, NE. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET on Peacock.
St. John's is favored by 1.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -126. The total is set at 153.5 points.
Here are my St. John's vs. Creighton predictions and college basketball picks for December 31, 2024.
St. John's vs Creighton Prediction
My Pick: Creighton ML +105 (Play to -1.5)
My St. John's vs Creighton best bet is on the Bluejays moneyline, 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.
St. John's vs Creighton Odds
| St. John's Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -115 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | -126 |
| Creighton Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -105 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | +105 |
- St. John's vs Creighton spread: St. John's -1.5
- St. John's vs Creighton over/under: 153.5 points
- St. John's vs Creighton moneyline: St. John's -126, Creighton +105
- St. John's vs Creighton best bet: Creighton ML +105 (Play to -1.5)
Spread
I would take Creighton the spread up to -1.5.
Moneyline
I like the Bluejays at -115 or better.
Over/Under
I'm avoiding the total.
My Pick: Creighton ML +105 (Play to -1.5)
St. John's vs Creighton College Basketball Betting Preview
St. John's is red hot and has won six straight games, including a road victory over Providence. The Johnnies are deep, athletic and lengthy, which has helped them look like one of the top contenders in the Big East.
Meanwhile, Creighton has a thin bench, lost Pop Isaacs for the season and was absolutely burned by Georgetown on the road in an 81-57 loss.
But I think there's value on the Bluejays in this game.
Creighton does a good job of defending the interior with Ryan Kalkbrenner manning the middle. That'll force the Johnnies to either score via the 3 (a shaky 33% from deep) or off of offensive rebounds.
St. John's is 15th in the country in offensive rebounding, but it doesn't have Joel Soriano anymore, and the Bluejays are seventh nationally in defensive rebounding (essentially canceling out a huge St. John's advantage).
While I love Rick Pitino's club in the long term, this is only St. John's second true road game of the season. At Providence, the team trailed by 16 points before it came back to win on a Zuby Ejiofor last-second putback. Let's also remember that the Friars' best player — Bryce Hopkins — didn't play in that game.
Creighton is also a much different team when playing at home, as evidenced by its wins over then-No. 1 Kansas and UNLV. This is partially because the Bluejays live-and-die by the 3, and they shoot it much better in the friendly confines of Omaha.
Even though St. John's has more depth and athleticism, I'm going to back Creighton based on location of the game, its ability to shoot the 3 at a much higher level and the matchup advantages it has when it comes to defending drives and the painted area.
