This matchup between the Providence Friars and St. John’s Red Storm will take place at Madison Square Garden. Action starts at 12:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5 and can be seen on FS1.
The Red Storm are hoping to rebound after their 100-59 loss to Creighton in their last matchup. Christian Jones was the team’s high scorer with 17 points. The Friars are coming off a 70-66 win over that same Creighton squad in their last game. Ben Bentil had a good performance, posting 27 points and 10 rebounds to claim his sixth double-double of the season.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Friars won the first game 83-65. Kris Dunn was a standout player in the game, producing 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block, and four three-pointers.
The Red Storm have gone 8-22 Straight Up (SU) and 12-18 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Red Storm, ranking sixth in the country in blocks per game with 5.8.
Across the court, the Friars have records of 15-14 ATS and 21-9 SU. Offensively, the Friars have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 73.6 points per game after averaging only 65.7 during that stretch. The Friars are getting to the foul line at a high rate. Their 511 free throws made ranks 49th in Division I. The Friars are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 15.7 assists per game. The Providence defense has allowed an average of 80.1 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 69.6. Teams seem to consistently miss three-point shots against the Friars, who are the 23rd-best team in the country in terms of three-point field goal percentage allowed at .312.
Providence won the last meeting this season between these two teams, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over their most recent games (5-5). However, St. John’s holds the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. St. John’s and Providence each held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once over the last five matchups.
Predictions: SU Winner – Prov, ATS Winner – Prov
Notes
“St. John’s is 1-19 SU in its last 20 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. John’s’s last 6 games “.
“St. John’s is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“St. John’s is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games at home”.
“St. John’s is 7-17 SU in its last 24 games when playing Providence”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. John’s’s last 7 games when playing Providence”.
“St. John’s is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games when playing at home against Providence”.
“St. John’s is 5-10 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Providence”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. John’s’s last 5 games when playing at home against Providence”.
“Providence is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games when playing on the road against St. John’s”.
St. John’s is struggling at 1-16 SU in its conference, while Providence sits at 9-8 SU.
Providence scores 73.3 points per away game (ranked 83rd). St. John’s ranks a poor 142nd in points allowed at home, allowing 69.1 points.
The Providence Friars have a defensive rating of 98.3 (ranked 47th), while the St. John’s Red Storm have an offensive rating of 92.2 (ranked 342nd).
St. John’s has an average field goal percentage of 39.8%. Providence is a winning 14-9 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The St. John’s Red Storm rank lower for their field goal percentage (336th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (330th), but the Providence Friars have a better FG% ranking (294th) than eFG% ranking (299th).
Providence ranks 48th in assists, recording 15.7 per game. St. John’s performs worse at 210th with 12.9 assists per game.
The St. John’s Red Storm average 5.8 blocks per game, the sixth-ranked team in the country. The Providence Friars rank a lowly 147th in blocking with just 3.6 per game.
On average, St. John’s makes 6.4 steals per game. Providence has a winning 11-6 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
