The St. John’s Red Storm battle the North Texas Mean Green in the first round of the Charleston Classic on Thursday at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. The Red Storm (1-1), who are coming off an 89-73 loss to Michigan on Monday, are making their second appearance in the tournament, and first since 2012. The Mean Green (2-0), who are coming off a 75-64 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday, are the defending 2023 NIT champions. North Texas won a program record 31 games last season. This will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. ET. The Red Storm are 2.5-point favorites in the latest St. John’s vs. North Texas odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is set at 137. Before making any St. John’s vs. North Texas picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 2 of the 2023-24 season on an 87-56 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,700 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on St. John’s vs. North Texas and just locked in its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the college basketball odds and betting lines for St. John’s vs. North Texas:
- St. John’s vs. North Texas spread: St. John’s -2.5
- St. John’s vs. North Texas over/under: 137 points
- St. John’s vs. North Texas money line: St. John’s -144, North Texas +122
- STJ: The Red Storm have hit the moneyline in 3 of their last 8 away games (+4.40 units)
- NT: The Mean Green have hit the moneyline in 31 of their last 37 games (+17.05 units)
- St. John’s vs. North Texas picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why St. John’s can cover
Senior center Joel Soriano leads the Red Storm through the first two games at 18.5 points and 10 rebounds per game. He was the 2022-23 Big East Most Improved Player, and was named to the All-Big East second team. He averaged career highs in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (11.8) in 2022-23, and was second in Division I with 25 double-doubles. This season, Soriano was named a Preseason All-Big East first team selection and is on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Preseason watch list.
Graduate guard Daniss Jenkins is also off to a solid start to the season and is averaging 13.5 points and five assists per game. The transfer from Iona, logged 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting with eight assists and seven rebounds against Stony Brook on Nov. 7. At Iona, he led the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament, and started all 35 games as they went 27-8 and earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. He averaged 15.6 points and reached double-figure scoring in 31 games. See which team to pick here.
Why North Texas can cover
The Mean Green, who return three starters from a year ago, have been led by junior forward Aaron Scott. In two games, he is averaging 22 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He played in and started all 38 games for North Texas a year ago, averaging seven points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one steal. He led the team with 210 total rebounds, and had a season field goal % of 58.4.
Also helping power North Texas is junior guard CJ Noland. He is averaging 14.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, including an 18-point performance on Saturday in the win over Omaha. The transfer from Oklahoma played in 26 games for the Sooners last season, making eight starts. In 2022-23, he averaged 3.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game and had a season-high five rebounds twice. See which team to pick here.
How to make St. John’s vs. North Texas picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning over on the point total. It says St. John’s Jordan Dingle will better his season average by 8.5 points, while North Texas’ John Buggs III will score five more points than his. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in over 70% of simulations. You can only get the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins St. John’s vs. North Texas, and which side of the spread cashes in over 70% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the St. John’s vs. North Texas spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $1,700 on its college basketball picks dating back to last season, and find out.
