St. John’s vs Creighton – Second-Half Betting Picks & Predictions
- St. John’s vs Creighton is the only college basketball game that didn’t get canceled on Thursday morning (Mar. 12)
- The score is 38-35 for St. John’s at the half
- The second-half might be your last chance to bet on a sporting event for weeks (or months); what’s the play?
The first quarterfinal game in the 2020 Big East tournament, St. John’s vs Creighton, tipped off at 12:00 PM ET this morning (Thursday, March 12th). All other NCAA basketball games scheduled to take place this morning were canceled due to coronavirus. (Basically every other bettable sporting event, period, has been canceled.)
The score is 38-35 for St. John’s at halftime.
The table below shows the second-half line
St. John’s vs Creighton – Live Betting Odds at Halftime
| Odds | St. John’s | Creighton |
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | +135 | -180 |
| Spread | +2.5 (-115) | -2.5 (-115) |
| Total | Over 152.5 (-120) | Under 152.5 (-110) |
Bet the Over in the Second Half
The two previous meetings between the teams this year averaged 169 points per game. The Johnnies play at a frenetic pace (21st-fastest tempo in the country) and are playing on their home court. Even without fans, MSG is an environment where they thrive. When they hosted the Bluejays on March 1st, they lit them up for 91 points.
Creighton doesn’t play at the same pace (178th) but they have the third-most efficient offense in the country and the sixth-bet three-point percentage. They are dynamic on offense, and highly suspect on D.
This is also a do-or-die scenario for St. John’s. They are not likely to get an at-large bid in the tournament (if it even happens), so winning the Big East title is really their only chance to reach March Madness. In these scenarios, teams tend to get desperate early. We could see a lot of fouls if Creighton opens up a lead in the second half.
While Creighton is comfortably in the tournament, they too will recognize that this could be the last game of their season due to coronavirus. Basically, I’m counting on both teams treating this as something akin to a championship game. If they do, there’s a strong chance it’s a gigantic foul fest in the last five minutes, at least.
When you add in the scorelines from their previous two games, OVER 152.5 is how I would play this. Plus, with the score tight at the break, there’s also the potential for OT. Lord knows that would be welcome, since we may not see another game in any sport for quite some time.
Pick: Over 152.5 (-120)
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.
