You thought we'd only cover today's daytime hoops? Don't fret, there's more to come.
Let's dive into the Big East and Big 12 tournaments, respectively. No. 7 seed St. John's squares off against No. 2 Marquette, which it already beat twice in the regular season, before No. 6 Texas takes on No. 3 Kansas. Those squads split their two previous matchups.
Where's the value in these two games? Let's break them down.
Betting Odds: St. John's Red Storm vs. Marquette Golden Eagles
- Spread: St. John's +4
- Over/Under: 149
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox Sports 1
>> All odds as of noon ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time CBB odds and live win probabilities on your bets.
The Golden Eagles (18-12-1 against the spread) have lost four straight games — both outright and ATS. Meanwhile, the Red Storm (13-17-2 ATS) snapped their three-game skid with a victory over DePaul in the opening round of the Big East Tournament, and covered -5.
It's difficult to cover three consecutive matchups vs. the same program, but Chris Mullin's bunch possesses the defense needed to pull it off.
Marquette owns the highest 3-point clip (39.8%) and third-highest scoring rate from behind the arc (37.0%), respectively, in Big East play. Much of Steve Wojciechowski's offense relies on 3-point demon Markus Howard, yet he's shot a combined 7-of-32 (17.9%) in his two contests vs. St. John's this season.
It's credit to Red Storm guard Shamorie Ponds and Justin Simon's undervalued on-ball tenacity. Expect their second-ranked 3-point defense (34.1%) to give Howard and Co. issues once again, especially in what's essentially a home game for them at Madison Square Garden.
The Golden Eagles have also generated the fourth-highest turnover rate (19.0%) in their league slate — a product of their loose ball-handling — and St. John's has amassed the second-highest percentage (19.9%) in that area. That should give Ponds and his teammates an opportunity to the control the pace via their 48th-ranked Adjusted Tempo (70.8 possessions per 40 minutes).
THE PICK: St. John's +4
Texas Longhorns vs. Kansas Jayhawks
- Spread: Kansas -3
- Over/Under: 137
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN2
The Jayhawks (13-17-1 ATS) are stumbling into the Big 12 tourney from a gambling perspective, failing to cover in four of their past five contests (1-3-1 ATS). On the flip side, the Longhorns (15-16 ATS) dropped their final two regular season games ATS.
Nevertheless, Shaka Smart's crew will get its leading-scorer Kerwin Roach II (15.0 ppg) back after serving a five-game suspension. The 6-foot-4 guard is one of Texas' primary ball-handlers, plus he contained the speedy Kansas guard Devon Dotson in both of their matchups.
Roach's elite on-ball defense helped the Longhorns cover in each of those games, as well as their ability to control the boards The 6-foot-11 Jaxson Hayes (5.1 rpg) played a major role in that department, and he also managed to limit Naismith Player of the Year candidate Dedric Lawson to just 13 points (4-of-15 shooting) in their second meeting.
The Jayhawks rely on 18.1% of their scoring to come from the line, tallying the third-highest free-throw rate (32.8%) in conference play. Texas has held its Big 12 opponents to the fourth-lowest rate (29.8%), though, so Bill Self's unit could get into trouble if it's unable to push the floor by owning the glass.
At the other end, Kansas is yielding the highest 3-point scoring rate (38.4%) in league play. That won't bode well vs. the Longhorns' third-ranked perimeter scoring percentage (36.1%), led by freshman guard Courtney Ramey (39.3%).
THE PICK: Texas +3
