St. John’s Red Storm vs. Indiana Hoosiers 11/17/21

When: Wednesday, November 17, 9 p.m.

Where: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IND

TV: FS1

Point Spread: STJ +6/IND -6 (Intertops – Sign up through our special link, deposit $25 and then go to their “Special Promotions” page and enter bonus code ROOKIE200 and they’ll give you an extra 50 bucks! This amounts to a massive 200% bonus!)

Moneyline: STJ +150/IND -185

Total: 150.5

Last Time Out:

St. John’s ripped St. Peter’s 91-70; Indiana routed Northern Illinois 85-49.

About the Matchup:

A pair of teams looking to prove themselves match up in their first real tests of the season. Indiana has beaten a couple of MAC squads to get the year going, but with Mike Woodson still new to Bloomington, there’s still a lot to be figured out with this team and just how good the Hoosiers really are.

St. John’s doesn’t have a new coach, as Mike Anderson is in his third year in New York, but the Red Storm have so many new faces that they might as well be a brand new team. The Red Storm bid goodbye to nine players from last year’s squad, replacing them with three freshmen and six transfers. But so far, it’s two of the three returnees, Julian Champagnie and Posh Alexander, who are making the difference for the Red Storm in the early going. St. John’s hasn’t seen anyone up to Indiana’s capabilities, though, making this a steep increase in difficulty from facing the likes of St. Peter’s.

Scouting the Red Storm:

Can you win with four guards and a center in the Big East? Mike Anderson seems intent on trying, as the Red Storm are opting for speed over height and seemingly sacrificing the rebounding battle. It’s worked out so far, as St. John’s hasn’t been threatened yet, but there are signs that this might not be sustainable.
First, the Red Storm aren’t going to shoot the 69 percent they did against Mississippi Valley State. Second, St. John’s still turns the basketball over too often, coughing up the ball 15 times against St. Peter’s. That might work out against a team from the Metro Atlantic, but against better teams, the Red Storm will not be able to waste possessions and get away with it. Champagnie and Alexander are solid guards, but when you’re too dependent on your guards, you really have to get good shooting and limit mistakes with the ball. So far, the Red Storm haven’t done the latter.

Scouting the Hoosiers:

The question with the Hoosiers is whether they’ve learned the lessons from last season when they decided they’d be better off with an offense of Trayce Jackson-Davis and little else. The big man was an outstanding option a year ago, but too often, the rest of the Hoosiers would take foolish shots that either meant a Jackson-Davis rebound or a wasted possession.
So far, Indiana seems to be learning a little better than last year, although the Eastern Michigan game still represented a few of the hiccups from a season ago. The Hoosiers still made plenty of mistakes and nearly allowed a mediocre team to execute a comeback and ruin their evening. St. John’s is a stronger squad than Eastern Michigan and thrives on extra possessions, so if the Hoosiers aren’t getting the job done with their shots, this could be a long night.

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St. John’s will Cover If:

The Red Storm can keep Jackson-Davis from taking over the game. St. John’s doesn’t have the interior play to win the battle in the post, but the Red Storm can neutralize him with good shots and tracking down long rebounds. If the guard play does its job, the Red Storm can win.

Indiana will Cover If:

The Hoosiers get Jackson-Davis the ball and let him go to work. Indiana has the best player on the floor and needs to play with that advantage in mind. If the Hoosiers settle for bad looks at the basket, they’re in trouble.

Dan’s Best Prop Bets

These teams like to push for shots, and St. John’s will especially be trying to push the tempo and get as many shots as possible. This game should see both teams in the 70s, so the over has a decent shot at cashing in this one.

Dan’s Pick to Cover the Spread

Indiana has looked decent so far, but the Hoosiers haven’t really shown enough to suggest that they’ve broken all of the bad habits they had from last year. This should be a game that Indiana controls, but I can’t help but think the Hoosiers are going to do something foolish that causes the Red Storm to cover this. I’m taking the points with St. John’s. Bet your St. John’s vs. Indiana pick and ALL your college basketball predictions for FREE this week by taking advantage of a 100% REAL CASH bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $300 at MyBookie Sportsbook! (Must use bonus code PREDICT100 in order to qualify for the special bonus). Click here to sign up now!