Villanova vs. St. John’s odds, line: College basketball picks, predictions from model on 99-67 run

Thirteenth-ranked Villanova faces a stiff test Sunday when it travels to St. John’s for a Big East Conference showdown. The defending national champion Wildcats (20-5, 11-1) have beaten the Red Storm (18-7, 6-6) in 20 of the past 22 meetings, but split last year’s two games and had to rally at home to beat them in their Jan. 8 meeting. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET from Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm are the reason why the Wildcats lead the conference, having knocked off second-place Marquette twice.

Villanova is favored by three points in the latest Villanova vs. St. John’s odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 146. Before making any Villanova vs. St. John’s picks of your own, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 15 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 99-67 run on top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now the model has dialed in on the Villanova vs. St. John’s spread. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it has a strong against-the-spread pick that cashes in 60 percent of simulations. That one is only available at SportsLine.

Villanova, still smarting from its one-point loss to Marquette last week, rebounded by routing Providence on Wednesday. Since a mid-December loss at Kansas, the Wildcats have gone 12-1. Villanova is 11-2 on its home court and has won 32 or more games in each of the past four seasons.

Senior guard Phil Booth has been instrumental in the Wildcats’ recent hot streak and averages 18.5 points. He has surpassed his average in seven of the past 10 games and had 23 points in the January win over the Red Storm. Equally as impressive has been senior forward Eric Paschall (17.6 ppg). He has equaled or surpassed his average in nine of the past 10 games and had 25 points against St. John’s Jan. 8, and also added 25 versus Providence Wednesday.

But just because Villanova leads the Big East and has been playing well does not guarantee they will win or even cover against St. John’s.

The Red Storm are tied for third in the conference with Seton Hall and are having their best season since going 21-12 and losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15. St. John’s has been ranked as high as No. 24 in the Jan. 7 Associated Press poll, and have two notable wins over Marquette, 89-69 at home on Jan. 1 and 70-69 in Milwaukee on Feb. 5.

St. John’s averages 79.7 points, 40th-best in the country, compared to 76.2 for Villanova (97th best). Junior guard Shamorie Ponds (20.5) leads the Red Storm in scoring, and has equaled or surpassed that in eight of the past 10 games, including 28 against Marquette Feb. 5. He also scored 23 at Villanova Jan. 8.

So who wins Villanova vs. St. John’s? And which side of the spread can you bank on in 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Villanova vs. St. John’s spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $5,200 on its college basketball picks the past two years, and find out.