Kansas vs St John’s Odds and Picks (Dec. 3)

• #8 Kansas is a 7-point favorite over St. John’s on Friday (December 3rd, 7 pm ET) at UBS Arena, in Elmont, NY
• Both programs are off to a 5-1 start
• Read below for odds, analysis and a betting prediction

Fresh off dropping four spots in the AP rankings, #8 Kansas travels to St. John’s on Friday (Dec. 3) to face the Red Storm. The Jayhawks slide in the polls comes after their first loss of the season last Friday, when Dayton hit a buzzer-beater to steal a one-point victory.

Kansas responded two days later with a win over Iona, and now will look for its first true road victory of the young season.

#8 Kansas vs St. John’s Odds

Odds as of Dec. 2nd at DraftKings.

The Jayhawks opened up as a 7-point favorite, in a game that features a total of 157. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm ET at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, a building where the Red Storm are 5-0 this season.

Kansas Jayhawks Betting Analysis

Kansas’ 96-83 victory over Iona was led by Christian Braun, who poured in 18 points and grabbed 7 boards. Leading scorer Ochai Agbaji splashed 13, while five Jayhawks in total reached double-figures.

Agbaji is enjoying a fast start to his senior season, averaging 22.5 points per game, the seventh highest mark in the nation. Six of Kansas’ top-seven scorers are upperclassmen, and that experience is expected to propel them to a deep run in March.

meet me at the rim 😤 @youngoch pic.twitter.com/ITEtjlWt7w

— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) November 28, 2021

The Jayhawks shot 54.9% from the field versus the Gaels, racking up 22 assists and a +14 rebound differential. They’re the 12th highest scoring team in the country, and also rank 12th in effective field goal percentage, while checking in at number 11 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Defensively they still need some work. They’ve allowed back-to-back opponents to eclipse 50% from the field and 74 points, after holding their previous three opponents to 62 points or less.

gimme that @Ballin25Braun pic.twitter.com/fBkEZFNaYB

— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) November 28, 2021

They rank 145th in scoring defense, 193rd in opponent effective field goal percentage, and are 137th at defending the three-point line.

St. John’s Red Storm Betting Analysis

St. John’s enters Friday night’s game fresh off three straight victories. Last time out, they needed overtime to sneak past NJIT 77-68, the 254th ranked team in the country. In fact, outside of their lone loss to Indiana, who ranks 31st per KenPom’s overall efficiency metrics, none of the Red Storm’s six opponents have been a top-185 team. Needless to say, Kansas will be a major step up in competition.

💪💪💪 @joelsoriano22 pic.twitter.com/sUUvyZXjlR

— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) November 28, 2021

Joel Soriano and Posh Alexander led the way with 16 points versus the Highlanders, while leading scorer Julian Champagnie chipped in 14. Champagnie is averaging 21.3 points per outing this season, which ranks 16th in the nation.

Damn is Julian Champagnie fun to watch. So smooth. Hell of a performance at Assembly Hall tonight — 32 points in the losing effort.

I expect both Indiana and St. John’s to be NCAA tourney teams this season.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 18, 2021

A big reason the matchup was so tight versus NJIT, was due to poor shooting from St. John’s. The Red Storm knocked down only 39.2% of its looks, which is well below their season average.

They rank sixth in the nation in points per game, 17th in effective field goal percentage, and second in assists. Like the Jayhawks however, the defense is a work in progress.

St. John’s boasts the nation’s 175th best scoring defense, and ranks 110th in opponent effective field goal percentage. They make up for those mediocre numbers by racking up tons of steals and blocks. They forced 20 turnovers versus the Highlanders, and rank 11th in both steals and blocks.

Kansas vs St. John’s Pick

Neither one of these two programs have been kind to its backers in the early going. The Red Storm are just 3-3 against the spread, while the Jayhawks have covered only twice in six outings.

Attacking totals in games featuring either one of them has been a different story. St. John’s games have eclipsed the total four times in six contests, while the over is 5-1 in Kansas games.

Business trip ✈️ pic.twitter.com/VGQ1sxwsiq

— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) December 2, 2021

Given that both teams excel on offense and are still figuring things out on defense, this contest profiles as a high-scoring affair as well. Play the over.

Pick: Over 157 (-110)