The Creighton Bluejays take on the St. John's Red Storm in New York, NY. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. ET on FOX.
St. John's is favored by 13.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -1050. The total is set at 153.5 points.
Here’s my Creighton vs. St. John's predictions and college basketball picks for February 21, 2026.
Creighton vs St. John's Prediction
My Pick: St. John's -13.5
My Creighton vs St. John's best bet is on the Red Storm to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Creighton vs. St. John's Odds
| Creighton Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13.5 -122 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | +660 |
| St. John's Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13.5 +100 | 153.5 -110 / -110 | -1050 |
- Creighton vs St. John's spread: St. John's -13.5
- Creighton vs St. John's over/under: 153.5 points
- Creighton vs St. John's moneyline: Creighton +660, St. John's -1050
Creighton vs St. John's College Basketball Betting Preview
Creighton Basketball
Creighton, which played some pretty uninspired basketball for the last month, pulled off a stunning win over UConn on Wednesday. That win lifted the Bluejays to 14-3 overall and 8-8 in conference play.
To no surprise, Creighton is an offensive-first unit under Greg McDermott. It ranks 59th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and showed what can happen when it gets hot from the 3-point line in the win over UConn. The Bluejays scored 1.21 points per possession and went 10-for-21 from downtown.
All five of the Jays' starters can shoot it from deep. The leaders of that starting group are Josh Dix, who adds 12 points per game, and Nik Graves, who contributes 10 points a night. Dix is shooting just 32% from deep, but he attempts over 10 shots per game.
The key will likely be Austin Swartz, a sniper who thrives on hitting tough 3s, shooting 39% from downtown, and a multi-faceted wing, Blake Harper, who scored 12 points in eight minutes versus UConn.
Also, forwards Jasen Green and Isaac Traudt each shoot close to 40% from deep. Greene is a low-volume shooter, but enough of a threat that you have to cover him.
On the defensive end, Creighton really struggles, ranking 116th in defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Opponents shoot a blistering 35% from deep against the Jays (271st) and 50% from inside the arc (109).
None of the guards are strong defenders, which is an area St. John’s could look to exploit. In the first meeting, Creighton allowed a shaky shooting Johnnies team to rattle in 12-of-22 from 3 in a 17-point beatdown at MSG.
To me, the larger concern is Creighton’s bigs. Nobody in Creighton’s rotation can block shots. The top shot blocker on the team is Owen Freeman with 0.9 blocks a night, and he’s out of the rotation now.
St. John's Basketball
St. John’s is one of the hottest teams in the country, snagging wins in 12 straight games. The Red Storm are 21-5 overall and 14-1 in the Big East, with just one loss since the calendar turned to 2026.
The Johnnies play a very different style compared to Creighton. For one, they’ll aim to make this game a frenetic-paced, full-court contest, as they rank 17th in adjusted tempo. Expect a steady diet of full-court pressure after making a shot, and for the pressure to spark their offense.
Rick Pitino relies heavily on his two stellar bigs: Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins. Ejiofor will likely win the Big East Player of the Year award. He leads the team with 16 points and 7.3 rebounds, and he even adds 3.5 assists per game. Hopkins has been on a tear of late, scoring 14+ points in four of his last five games.
Dominating the offensive glass will be a huge factor in whether St. John’s can cover this double-digit spread. The Red Storm collect 36.8% of their missed shots and have really boosted their rebounding efforts since inserting Dillon Mitchell into the lineup.
The guard play and shooting issues are the only things holding St. John’s back from being a surefire top-10 team. Over their last five contests, the Johnnies are shooting a woeful 29% from downtown.
None of the bigs are reliable shooters, so Pitino has really sold out for rebounding and defense. If Oziyah Sellers and Dylan Darling can be consistent shot-makers, that gives St. John’s the perfect blueprint to another blowout win over Creighton. Ian Jackson would be put in that bunch, too, but he's going to miss the game with an ankle injury.
Creighton vs. St. John's Betting Analysis
I’m looking at a couple of angles here, and both are favorable for St. John’s.
The first one is the actual matchup. Creighton has some really lousy interior play, as I touched on. The Bluejays have a tendency to struggle on the glass, and the trio of Mitchell, Ejiofor and Hopkins could make life tough for Traudt and Green.
The second is that Creighton is likely a bit overrated heading into this one, presenting a nice opportunity to fade it after stunning a UConn team that had flirted with fire for a month.
Creighton is no stranger to losing in ugly fashion. It took a 24-point loss to Marquette three weeks ago, a 27-point loss to UConn after that and an 11-point loss to Nova last week.
On top of that, the losses to UConn and Villanova came in Omaha, and now the Jays have to prove their worth on the road in New York.
Side with the better team at home.
My Pick: St. John's -13.5
