St. John's Red Storm vs. Marquette Golden Eagles: Big East Tournament Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/9/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Wednesday, Mar 08, 2023
Big East Tournament Quarterfinals

Time: Noon ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Where to watch: FS1

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Marquette -6.5
FanDuel: Marquette -6.5
BetMGM: Marquette -6.5
Caesars: Marquette -6.5

Season record
St. John's: 18-14
No. 6 Marquette: 25-6

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St. John's - Marquette preview, prediction and analysis


I am not one to call a trap game for the top seed in the Big East tournament. Because I feel like that would be sacrilegious to the point where it would put so much pressure on the underdog that it would give false hope in what is to come for said top seed. But it almost seems hilarious that not that long ago the St. John's red storm and the Marquette Golden Eagles were playing in New York and the Storm were one basket away from pulling off one of their biggest upsets of the season.
 
So now here we go again with the rematch for the second time in as many days, with Marquette taking on a St. John's team that knocked off Butler in the first round in order to get to the quarterfinals to take on the top team in the conference. And I don't know how much faith I should be giving St. John's because they've been a pesky team all year long but it hasn't been to the effect of where they should be winning two or three more games.
 
But the one thing that you do take into account here is that St. John's took Marquette to the very limit when Marquette was still fighting for the regular season big E championship. And I'm never going to downplay the fact that not only was it just a close game in that Marquette survived in that game, but I'm also not going to take into account that this team, on its home court, got the best possible punch from the road team.
 
And now as we enter the Big East tournament, which is taking place in Madison Square Garden, why am I concerned that the homecourt advantage, or the impromptu homecourt advantage for St. John's will not play a factor? Because I'm having a very tough time believing that this tournament does not favor St. John's in any other way other than the fact that the home court advantage in playing in the building where it used to play a majority of their games is happening and they just so happen to be taking on the number six team in the entire country in a quarterfinal game with much more at stake going into this one.
 
The only reason I would say Marquette has the slightest edge in this one is because they understand how close last game was. They understand that that game should not have happened and it should not have been as close as it was. Technically this is a neutral site game. And in a neutral site game I will always favor the team that should be the best team on any given day. And while the Big East has been about as much of a bloodbath as one could possibly endure this year, the fact that they have been able to be the ones at the very top with 17-3 as the conference record in a conference where five teams have been ranked this entire season, says a lot about the mental will and the mental capacity of how good this team is. And if I have any thought about going against them at this time of year, the opponent better be really good. And that's not a slight at St. John's, but ultimately they are not there yet.
 
Prediction
 
Marquette 85, St. John’s 75

Projected starting lineup

St. John's:
PG: Posh Alexander
SG: Dylan Addae-Wusu
SF: A.J. Storr
PF: O'Mar Stanley
C: Joel Soriano

Marquette:
PG: Stevie Mitchell
SG: Tyler Kolek
SF: Kam Jones
PF: Oliver Maxence-Prosper
C: Oso Ighodaro

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this preview, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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