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St. John’s basketball tonight: St. John’s vs. Xavier Injuries, Prediction

By Kevin Connelly

St. John's basketball guard AJ Storr (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
St. John's basketball guard AJ Storr (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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St. John’s basketball returns home for the first time since December 10 for a pivotal matchup. 

The calendar has yet to turn to 2023 and the St. John’s basketball team, arguably, has its biggest game to this point of the season on Wednesday night.

The Johnnies (11-2, 1-1 Big East) will host No. 22 Xavier (10-3, 2-0 Big East) on the heels on a 15-point loss to Villanova in which the Red Storm were outscored 60-34 over the final 26:16 of regulation.

It was a massive step back for a St. John’s team which looked to prove it was a contender in the Big East on the road against a formidable opponent.

Now, one of the Top-3 teams in the league comes to Queens for a game that could dramatically help the metrics of St. John’s (No. 89 NET) as its daunting test to begin Big East play continues.

Xavier is lead by Sean Miller and has proven to be one of the offensive teams in the country, averaging 83.8 points per game, but its defense has left much to be desired as opponents are posting 73.6 points per contest.

Georgetown scored 89 points against Xavier on December 16.

St. John’s defense, which has been susceptible to the 3-point ball, will be tested against the potent backcourt of Souley Boum, Colby Jones, and Adam Kunkel (42.6 PPG) while Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle have been excellent in the paint for the Musketeers.

St. John’s Basketball Injury Report vs. Xavier

St. John’s remains fully healthy entering Wednesday’s game against Xavier.

St. John’s vs. Xavier Odds: Spread, Over/Under & Betting Pick

WynnBET’s college basketball odds lists St. John’s as a 1.5-point underdog while the total is listed at 159.5.

The home court advantage should greatly favor St. John’s and the Red Storm should be playing with some sense of desperation as its NCAA Tournament resume is fairly bare with quality victories.

A victory against Xavier would be a Quadrant 2 win for the Red Storm.

Posh Alexander and Andre Curbelo have to play with poise and consistency for St. John’s to be successful and head coach Mike Anderson has to play guards Rafael Pinzon and AJ Storr to try and space the floor for post-ups for Joel Soriano and drives for David Jones.

St. John’s is willing to get in a track meet with any team in the conference and Xavier could give the Johnnies just what they want.

We will take St. John’s to win the game outright and the total to go over the number listed.

Make your pick now on WynnBET. 

What Channel is the St. John’s Basketball Game On?

The game will be broadcasted at 9:00 p.m. E.T. on FoxSports1 and with be an All-Access game.

There will be very limited commercial interruptions as both head coaches will be microphones and cameras will give viewers a behind the scenes look into locker rooms and timeout huddles.

St. John’s vs. Xavier Live Stream

Wednesday’s St. John’s basketball game can be streamed live on Fubo TV.

St. John’s Basketball Next Game and Schedule:

  • Saturday, December 31 at. Seton Hall (12:00p.m. ET)
  • Tuesday, January 3 vs. Marquette (6:30p.m. ET)
  • Saturday, January 7 vs. Providence (12:00p.m. ET)