St. John’s Red Storm vs Butler Bulldogs Picks and Predictions January 4th 2025

St. John’s Red Storm vs Butler Bulldogs January 4th 2025

Don’t miss out on the NCAA showdown between the Bulldogs and Red Storm. The game is starting at 2:00 ET on FS1, and it’s hosted by the Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY. Get ready to place your bets! The odds for this Big East conference game currently have St. John’s as the -11.5 point favorite with the over/under line sitting at 147.5 points.

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Bulldogs vs. Red Storm Key Information

Butler’s season record dropped to 7-7 after a 73-65 home loss to Villanova on Wednesday. The Bulldogs entered the game as +1 underdogs and didn’t cover the spread. The combined points of 138 fell short of the 144.5 O/U line.

Butler led 31-30 at halftime but allowed 43 points in the 2nd half while scoring 34. Defensive struggles in the 2nd half were a key factor in the loss.

Butler’s offense put up 65 points in their last game, shooting 42.3% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 50%. They hit 32.1% of their threes, going 9-for-28, and connected on 54.2% of their two-point attempts.

At the free-throw line, they struggled, hitting just 52.2% of their attempts. The Bulldogs managed 6 offensive rebounds and dished out 15 assists. Eric Dixon led the way with 28 points, hitting 5 threes at a 50% clip, while Jahmyl Telfort added 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Butler’s defense gave up 73 points, with their opponents shooting 42% from the field. They allowed 13 two-point baskets on 24 attempts, a 54% success rate.

From beyond the arc, Butler’s opponents shot 32%, hitting 9 of 28 three-point attempts. At the free-throw line, they went 12 for 23, shooting 52%. Butler also gave up 6 offensive rebounds.

St. John’s fell to 11-3 on the season after a narrow 57-56 road loss to Creighton on Tuesday. Entering the game as +1 underdogs, the Red Storm pushed against the spread, while the game’s total of 113 points came in well below the O/U line of 151.5.

St. John’s led 28-26 at halftime but couldn’t hold on, scoring 28 points in the second half while allowing 31 to Creighton.

St. John’s struggled offensively in their last game, scoring just 56 points with a field goal percentage of 36.8%. Their effective field goal percentage was 38.2%, and they hit only 2 of 9 three-point attempts, shooting 22.2% from beyond the arc.

Steven Ashworth led the team with 18 points, shooting 33.3% overall and 40.0% from three. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Zuby Ejiofor each added 16 points, with both shooting 66.7% from the field. Ejiofor also made 2 of 3 three-point attempts.

St. John’s defense held their opponent to just 57 points, allowing them to shoot 41% from the field on 22 of 53 attempts. Inside the arc, they gave up 13 two-point baskets on 27 attempts, a 48% success rate for the opposition.

From three-point range, St. John’s allowed 9 made threes on 26 attempts, with the opponent shooting 34%. They also sent the other team to the free-throw line 7 times, where they made 4, shooting 57%. St. John’s gave up 11 offensive rebounds.

In this Red Storm vs. Red Storm matchup, our point-spread bet is on the Red Storm at -11.5. While we project the Red Storm to win 76-70, our recommendation is to bet on the Bulldogs for the point-spread.

Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 147.5, and our model predicts the Bulldogs and Red Storm to score a combined 146 points. We recommend betting on the under.

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St. John’s Looks to Get Back on Track vs. Butler

St. John’s, one of the highest-scoring teams in the Big East, aims to bounce back from its worst offensive performance of the season as it hosts Butler on Saturday afternoon in Queens, N.Y.

Offensive Struggles for St. John’s

The Red Storm (11-3, 2-1 Big East) average 82.7 points per game, ranking second in the conference behind UConn. However, their offensive rhythm has been inconsistent in Big East play. They shot 55 percent in a dominant win over DePaul on Dec. 17 but followed that up with a 39.7 percent effort in a comeback victory at Providence three days later.

Their struggles culminated on Tuesday in a 57-56 road loss to Creighton, where they shot just 36.8 percent and squandered an 11-point first-half lead. It marked their second-lowest scoring output in two seasons under coach Rick Pitino.

“We played with urgency,” Pitino said after the loss. “The weakness of this team is when they miss a shot, they deflate. They let it affect their play and they’re all guilty of it.”

Key Contributors for the Red Storm

St. John’s is led by R.J. Luis and Zuby Ejiofor, who have been the team’s top scorers in 13 games this season. Ejiofor led the way with 16 points against Creighton and is averaging 18.8 points over his last six games. Luis struggled with a season-low eight points on 4-of-15 shooting in the same game, missing two crucial shots in the final seconds.

Butler’s Challenges

The Bulldogs (7-7, 0-3) enter the matchup on a six-game losing streak, with four of those losses decided by single digits. Their most recent defeat was particularly disheartening—a 73-65 home loss to Villanova on Wednesday in which they let a 13-point lead slip away, surrendering a game-ending 22-1 run.

“I thought we were ready to play this game as best as we possibly could be, and just down the stretch we played with panic for some reason both offensively and defensively,” Butler coach Thad Matta said.

Key Players for Butler

Jahmyl Telfort, averaging 16.1 points per game, scored 25 against Villanova, but his performances have been inconsistent. He followed a seven-point outing against UConn on Dec. 21 with his strong showing on Wednesday.

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The Bulldogs are also looking for more consistent production from Pierre Brooks and Patrick McCaffery, who average 14.6 and 12.8 points per game, respectively. The duo combined for just 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting in the loss to Villanova after scoring 30 points together against UConn.

Outlook

Both teams are eager to rebound from disappointing losses. St. John’s will aim to regain its scoring form, especially at its on-campus arena, while Butler seeks to end its skid and find consistency in the backcourt. The matchup promises an opportunity for one team to find momentum as Big East play intensifies.