The Saint Louis Billikens take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in St. Bonaventure, NY. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Saint Louis is favored by 8.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -450. The total is set at 157.5 points.
Here’s my Saint Louis vs. St. Bonaventure prediction and college basketball picks for January 23, 2026.
Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure Prediction
My Pick: Over 158.5 or Better
My Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure best bet is on the over. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Saint Louis vs. St. Bonaventure Odds
| Saint Louis Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -110 | 157.5 -110 / -110 | -450 |
| St. Bonaventure Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -110 | 157.5 -110 / -110 | +350 |
- Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure spread: Saint Louis -8.5
- Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure over/under: 157.5 points
- Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure moneyline: Saint Louis -450, St. Bonaventure +350
Saint Louis vs St. Bonaventure College Basketball Betting Preview
Saint Louis Basketball
Hey, remember Robbie Avila? The big white guy with goggles from Indiana State in 2024? Cream Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Blurred. Sure, you do.
Well, he's back. Never left, really. His coach at Indiana State — Josh Schertz — got the head gig at Saint Louis and in this era of portal hopping, Avila followed him. Last season, they established their footing in the Atlantic 10, finishing 19-15 on the season.
This season, Saint Louis is even better than the Indiana State team that put Schertz and Avila on the map. Those Sycamores lost five regular-season games, peaked at 32nd in KenPom and only beat three top-100 teams.
This Saint Louis team already has three top-100 wins, including at A-10 favorite VCU, a brutal place to steal a victory.
Saint Louis is 18-1. The lone loss came to Stanford on a neutral court, and the Billikens led that game by four in the final 30 seconds before stumbling to a loss.
Avila leads one of the country's most balanced and efficient offensive attacks. There are eight (!) Billikens averaging more than 8.1 points per game, with Avila leading the way at 12.8 points. The game plan isn't built to force any one player to score. Instead, it's built to find open and high-value shots.
Saint Louis has the lowest average distance of 2-point shots, per KenPom. That shows the emphasis on finding quality looks at the rim. The Billikens play fast, with Avila trailing the break before acting as a point-center at the nail or top of the key. He's doing a Nikola Jokic impression at the mid-major level.
Perhaps more impressively, Saint Louis isn't just winning games with its backdoor cuts and rim attacks. The Billikens' defense has proven to be one of the country's best, allowing the lowest effective field goal percentage in the country.
The math on a team shooting a top-15 percentage both inside and outside the arc (sixth on 2s, 13th on 3s) and allowing a bottom 15 percentage on both at the other end (third on 2s, sixth on 3s) is a surefire ticket to a meaningful March.
St. Bonaventure Basketball
The Bonnies were given a gift by the schedule-makers.
An 0-5 start to conference play was disastrous and unexpected for St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies were 11-2 in non-conference play, with the lone losses coming to UNC and in overtime to Ohio. Wins over Bradley and FAU aren't exactly front-page news, though they're quality victories over top-150 teams.
Add in wins over top-200 clubs like Siena, Robert Morris, Buffalo and Colgate, and the Bonnies had a nice start to the season.
Then A-10 play arrived and smacked this team in the mouth.
The Bonnies dropped five straight, losing those games by a combined 28 total points, including three straight four-point losses.
Then the gift from the schedule makers rolled in, a home date with Loyola Chicago.
The Ramblers are at rock bottom, ranked 309th by KenPom while easily being the worst team in the A-10. Despite that, the Bonnies flirted with disaster, trailing Loyola by 12 at the half. Eventually, St. Bonaventure woke up and outscored the Ramblers by 26 in the second half.
St. Bonaventure has some punch in its offense, led by big man Frank Mitchell. He's averaging a double-double, with multiple games this season where he notched more than 10 offensive rebounds. Against Ohio, he went for 27 points and 15 boards, playing 42 minutes in the overtime loss.
He's surrounded by a team of capable shooters (24th-best in the country in 3-point percentage), but the Bonnies shoot the 3 at the 338th rate in Division I.
The result is an offense built to go inside-out, without enough out to really scare teams out of doubling down on Mitchell.
Saint Louis vs. St. Bonaventure Betting Analysis
Avila versus Mitchell is the best matchup in college basketball Friday night.
We can all cross our fingers and toes that foul trouble doesn't get in the way of these two A-10 stars challenging each other with their wildly different styles of play.
This line is a tantalizing number, with the Billikens likely to get a win, but with a real challenge on a tough road court.
I'm more interested in the total, since I think both offenses will have a chance to score in this game.
My Pick: Over 158.5 or Better
