Seton Hall vs St. John's Odds, Picks and Predictions: Ledlum Leads Way on Defense

Two bubble teams that desperately need to string together some wins will clash on Sunday afternoon in New York as the Seton Hall Pirates take on the St. John’s Red Storm. 

The Pirates have won three of their last four games after a three-game losing streak and now find themselves near the top of the Big East standings at 9-5 in conference play. The Red Storm have lost a seven of their last nine games and are 6-8 in Big East play. Will the Red Storm bounce back at home and cover in the college basketball odds this week? 

Here are our free college basketball picks and predictions for Seton Hall vs. St. John's at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY on Sunday, February 18.

Seton Hall vs St. John's best odds

Seton Hall vs St. John's picks and predictions

These two programs met a month ago in Newark, and the Seton Hall Pirates easily covered with an 80-65 home win. At that point in time, the St. John’s Red Storm were 12-6 and still solidly in the NCAA Tournament picture. However, they have only won two games since then and one was over lowly DePaul. 

The good news here for St. John’s is that they are back at home, where they are 10-3 overall. This is not their true home court, but they defeated Hofstra and DePaul in their other two home games played in Elmont. Meanwhile, the Pirates are mediocre on the road with a 4-4 overall record. 

The Pirates have some problems with ball control as they rank 274th in turnovers per game at 13.0. They also allow opponents to average 7.6 steals per contest (310th). In their previous game with the Red Storm this season, they turned the ball over 14 times and allowed the Red Storm to compile 10 steals. 

St. John’s has a solid defense that ranks 57th in KenPom’s defensive efficiency and forces 13.2 turnovers per game (73rd). They also average 7.3 steals per game at home this year. The Pirates average 13.4 turnovers per game on the road and allow 8.3 steals per contest. 

The best defender in terms of forcing turnovers and getting steal for the Red Storm is Chris Ledlum. He averages 1.3 steals per game in Big East play and has 17 steals at home this season. He has 10 games with at least two steals and two games with three steals. 

We can get Ledlum to record two or more steals at great odds in this game. Even though he only had one steal in their last matchup, that was on the road in a defeat that was not very close. This game will be much more in favor of the Red Storm, and I believe we will see more turnovers from the Pirates and a great opportunity for double-digit steals. 

My best bet: Chris Ledlum Over 1.5 steals (+155 at DraftKings)

Seton Hall vs St. John's same-game parlay

St. John’s moneyline

Joel Soriano Over 7.5 rebounds

Under 144.5

+320 at DraftKings

Unfortunately, we cannot use our best bet in same-game parlays. However, we can string together a few plays that go in line with our best bet. 

With the turnover issues and steals creating more scoring opportunities for the Red Storm, it should lead to a home win for them. St. John’s is 10-3 straight up in home games and that includes wins over Xavier, Providence, Butler, and Villanova — all teams comparable to this Seton Hall team.

Next, there should be plenty of rebounding opportunities for both squads. Neither team shoots that well from the field and both teams are excellent at grabbing offensive boards. Since the Red Storm will likely have more shots, I will go with the Over on rebounds for their leading rebounder in Joel Soriano. 

Finally, we will finish this up with the Under on the game total. The Under is 8-5 in St. John’s home games and it is 5-3 in Seton Hall road games. The biggest weakness for the Seton Hall defense is allowing 3s and the Red Storm do not shoot well at all from downtown. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Seton Hall vs St. John's spread and Over/Under analysis

While the Red Storm are very good at home straight up, they are only 7-6 against the spread in those games. Seton Hall is both 4-4 straight up and ATS in road games. One thing that is noteworthy for the Pirates is that they have yet to cover a game on the road in which they also lost. 

The Red Storm are going to dominate the possessions and number of shots with their steal prowess on defense and ability to control the offensive glass on their misses. With all those extra opportunities I would have to lean towards taking them against the spread here at home. 

The last matchup barely stayed Under the total at almost the same number we have in this matchup. However, the Red Storm typically play higher-scoring games on the road and the Pirates games are higher-scoring at home. I expect there to be fewer points this go around and with a much better defensive performance from the Red Storm to keep this game Under the total.

Seton Hall vs St. John's betting trend to know

St. John's has hit the Game Total Under in 10 of their last 16 games at home. Find more college basketball betting trends for Seton Hall vs. St. John's.

Seton Hall vs St. John's game info

Seton Hall vs St. John's key injuries

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