The St. John’s Red Storm are about to face their toughest test of the season – a road game against the Duke Blue Devils, who are working their way back to the top of the Top 25 AP poll. Will the Red Storm pull off a shocker in Durham? Or will Duke add another to their list of victims this season? Going into the game, NCAA Futures price the Blue Devils at +200 to win the College Basketball Championship while the Red Storm are a far cry at +15,000. Read on for deeper look at this intriguing Big East-ACC matchup.
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Betting Preview for the Saint Johns Red Storm vs. Duke Blue Devils College Basketball Game on February 2, 2019
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
When: Saturday, February 2, 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Saint Johns Red Storm (odds) vs. Duke Blue Devils (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Saint Johns Red Storm (15-5 Overall / 3-5 Conference)
Red Storm junior guard Shamorie Ponds will get his chance to showcase what he has to a broader audience this coming Saturday, as any game with Duke in it is going to be a TV blockbuster. Ponds has been on a tear of late, having averaged 21.0 points over the last three games. After sitting out a 79-71 home loss to the DePaul Blue Demons on Jan. 12 due to a back issue, Ponds has been prolific on offense, so there should not be much worry about his health heading into the showdown with the Blue Devils. Although St. John’s will go as far as where Ponds takes them, he will need his teammates to elevate their level of play several notches up. That means increased effort from Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa. Ponds is leading the team with 20.6 points per game, while Heron is right behind him with 15.5. Figueroa, meanwhile, makes 14.6 per game. Including Marvin Clark II and Justin Simon, who are averaging 12.4 and 10.8 points, respectively, the Red Storm have six players averaging in double figures scoring. Duke’s defense is stiff, but if St. John’s top guns get hot, the Red Storm can be a big problem for the Blue Devils.
St. John’s, which is putting up 82.2 points per game, is 5-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last six meeting with Duke.
Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (17-2 Overall / 6-1 Conference)
After missing two games due to a shoulder injury, freshman guard Tre Jones returned to action on Saturday against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a 66-53 win at home. Jones scored six points to go with four assists and four rebounds in 35 minutes, and while those aren’t numbers that will blow anyone away, the presence of a steady point guard to stabilize the lethal offense of Duke is a very much welcome luxury for the Blue Devils. Luxury is what a five-star recruit like Jones is to the Blue Devils, who have two beasts in NBA-bound freshmen RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson. The pair teamed up anew to pummel Georgia Tech, with Barrett scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Williamson adding 22 points, seven boards, two steals, and three blocks. Duke is third in the nation with 87.4 points per game and allows just 66.2. Duke is achieving those numbers largely because Barrett and Williamson aren’t just unstoppable players on offense, but are also just as dedicated to wreak havoc on the other end of the court.
At home so far this season, the Blue Devils are 12-1 straight up (SU) and 7-6 against the spread (ATS), going 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Writer’s Prediction
Duke wins, 83-69.
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