Marquette vs St. John’s Expert Picks & Predictions (Jan 13)

• Marquette is 0-4 on the road this season
• St. John’s aims to exploit its massive statistical advantages at home
• Our analysis reveals why the Red Storm are positioned to cover the substantial consensus 14.5-point spread

The struggling Marquette Golden Eagles venture to Madison Square Garden to face the St. John’s Red Storm tonight. Tip-off is 6:30 pm, ET (Peacock).

These programs couldn’t be arriving at the historic gym from more opposite directions. St. John’s (11-5, 4-1 Big East) is riding momentum from a two-game winning streak. Marquette (6-11, 1-5 Big East) is 2-8 over its past 10 games.

The Red Storm are heavy home favorites, making the central betting question not whether they’ll win, but by how much. Elite performances from St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor and Marquette’s defensive catalyst Chase Ross will largely dictate the margin. This breakdown examines the statistics, odds, and delivers our top predictions for Tuesday night’s matchup.

St. John’s vs Marquette Expert Predictions & Best Bets

This matchup epitomizes a dominant home favorite facing a struggling road underdog. While St. John’s moneyline victory appears virtually guaranteed (reflected in consensus -1351 odds), the real betting value emerges in the margins. The Red Storm possess multiple pathways to domination, particularly through their interior advantage, while Marquette’s hopes rest almost exclusively on Chase Ross’s two-way brilliance.

St. John’s isn’t merely winning games — it profiles as a team capable of blowout victories, especially at home against opponents who’ve yet to secure a road win. The key catalyst will be forward Zuby Ejiofor’s interior dominance. Averaging 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.19 blocks per game, Ejiofor presents a nightmare matchup for Marquette’s frontcourt. His 3.56 offensive rebounds per game should generate numerous second-chance opportunities. For the Golden Eagles to maintain competitiveness, they’ll need a heroic effort from Chase Ross (15.5 PPG).

Best Bet: St. John’s -13.5 (-120) via FanDuel

The consensus spread is 14.5, but FanDuel is offering 13.5 on January 13. No doubt, that’s still points represents substantial territory, but the gulf between these teams justifies the hefty number. Marquette’s 0-4 road record demonstrates its struggles away from home, particularly against quality Big East opposition. Chase Ross (15.5 PPG) and Nigel James Jr. (13.5 PPG) are quality players, but efficiency concerns plague both. Ross shoots just 39.7% from the field, creating vulnerability during cold stretches.

Conversely, St. John’s deploys a balanced, efficient offensive attack featuring four double-figure scorers: Zuby Ejiofor (15.8 PPG), Bryce Hopkins (13.3), Ian Jackson (11.1), and Oziyah Sellers (10.9). Ejiofor’s interior excellence — shooting 57.1% on two-pointers — will pressure Marquette’s foul-prone defense while controlling the paint. The Red Storm’s depth and home-court advantage create multiple avenues to cover this spread.

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Over/Under Selection: Under 157.5 (-110) at Bet365

This total appears inflated considering Marquette’s offensive limitations on the road. The Golden Eagles struggle to score efficiently away from home, walking into Madison Square Garden against one of the conference’s premier rim protectors in Ejiofor (2.19 bpg, 3rd in Big East). While St. John’s possesses offensive firepower, Marquette’s perimeter pressure could disrupt their rhythm.

Chase Ross ranks second in the conference with 2.18 steals per game, while Nigel James Jr. contributes 1.65 steals per contest. These forced turnovers could fragment St. John’s offensive flow, especially since Ejiofor actually leads the conference with 2.56 turnovers per game. Expect choppy possessions and stifling Red Storm defense to suppress Marquette’s scoring, making the 157-point threshold difficult to reach.

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Public Betting Patterns for St. John’s vs Marquette

The college basketball public betting market reveals fascinating contrasts between ticket distribution and money allocation across different wagers. This lopsided matchup creates distinct patterns in moneyline, spread, and total wagering that illuminate sharp versus public sentiment.

Moneyline: Overwhelming Red Storm Support

As expected with such a heavy favorite, public bettors are unanimously backing St. John’s for the straight-up victory. An overwhelming 94.74% of moneyline tickets support the Red Storm, though the money distribution shows slightly less commitment at 81.71% of total handle. This disproportion indicates that while nearly everyone expects a St. John’s victory, the few contrarian bettors backing Marquette (5.26% of tickets) are placing larger individual wagers, accounting for 18.29% of the money.

Spread: Market Division Emerges

The point spread creates more nuanced betting patterns. While most tickets (62.43%) back St. John’s to cover, the money tells a different story with only 53.73% of handle supporting the favorite.

Marquette attracts just 37.57% of tickets but commands a significant 46.27% of betting handle, suggesting larger, potentially sharper wagers believe the Golden Eagles can keep the margin closer than the spread suggests. This contradicts our official recommendation but represents crucial market intelligence for bettors.

Total: Strong Under Consensus

The most unified market sentiment emerges on the game total. A substantial 72.35% of all tickets target the Under, backed by even stronger money support at 73.35% of total handle. This heavy action aligns with our prediction, reflecting widespread belief that Marquette’s offensive struggles and St. John’s defensive pressure will suppress the final score.

Statistical Breakdown: St. John’s vs Marquette

The offensive disparity proves most striking. Marquette’s 0-6 record against top-50 RPI opponents underscores its inability to compete with quality competition.

Marquette Golden Eagles vs St. John’s Red Storm Current Odds

The betting market clearly positions St. John’s as an overwhelming home favorite, with prohibitively expensive moneyline odds making the spread and total the primary wagering markets for most bettors.

• Moneyline: St. John’s (-1351) | Marquette (+787)
• Spread: St. John’s -14.5 (-104) | Marquette +14.5 (-116)
• Total: Over 156.5 (-110) | Under 156.5 (-110)

Odds as of January 13, 8:19 AM EST from consensus sportsbooks.

The -1351 moneyline implies an extremely high probability of St. John’s victory, while Marquette’s +787 odds signal a potential massive upset. The spread has moved against Marquette from an opening -15.5 to the current -14.5, suggesting some market respect for the underdog’s covering ability. The total has similarly shifted upward from 155.5 to 156.5.

After removing bookmaker vig, the true implied probabilities are:

• St. John’s victory: 89.2%
• Marquette victory: 10.8%

To illustrate the moneyline’s lopsided nature, a successful $20 wager on St. John’s would profit just $1.48, while a successful $20 bet on Marquette would return $157.40 in profit.