St. John's vs. Omaha Prediction, Odds & Preview Tonight: Best Picks for NCAA Tournament First Round
Among the March Madness odds contenders, the No. 2 seed St. John’s Red Storm (30-4) are flying entering their NCAA Tournament first-round game against the No. 15 Omaha Mavericks (22-12).
Tonight's game at the Amica Mutual Pavilion Bank Arena in Providence, R.I., (9:45 p.m. ET, CBS) has the Red Storm as the 19.5-point betting favorite to advance in the West Region of the March Madness bracket.
Our St. John’s vs. Omaha prediction, odds, and preview, part of the March Madness predictions series, expects the Red Storm to put on a show.
🏀 St. John's vs. Omaha prediction & picks today
Here are my best St. John's vs. Omaha predictions for the first round of the NCAA Tournament; use our parlay calculator to get the best odds for any same-game parlay:
✅ Against the spread pick: St. John’s -18.5 (-110 via FanDuel) vs. Omaha ⭐⭐⭐
🔥 Best player prop bet: Kadary Richmond under 15.5 points (-113 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎯 Exact score prediction: St. John’s 85, Omaha 62 (+20000 via DraftKings)
👉 Want more picks? Check out our latest college basketball picks and the rest of our March Madness first-round predictions.
🤖 See our March Madness AI bracket predictions for every game through Monday, April 7
🔢 St. John's vs. Omaha updated betting action
- 71% of bets are on St. John's to cover (-19.5)
- 58% of bets are on the Over (150.5)
- St. John's opened as 18.5-point betting favorites, which has since decreased to 19.5
🏆 Best St. John's vs. Omaha pick, player prop bet & score prediction
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✅ St. John’s to cover the spread: -18.5 ⭐⭐⭐
Among all the Cinderella hype, it’s easy to forget that sometimes March Madness games devolve into blowouts. That could be just what happens in this two-versus-fifteen seed matchup.
To be clear, I don’t love the prospect of backing St. John’s to cover a whopping 18.5-point spread, but it’s the much sounder side of this market.
St. John’s leads the country in adjusted defensive rating since February 1, which helps them rank 19th overall in T-Rank. Their offense is shaky, but their fast pace and prowess on the offensive glass help them score enough. Meanwhile, Omaha is 93rd overall in T-Rank through that span, and, importantly, they play at an average pace.
The problem is that Omaha hasn’t seen anything like St. John’s. They lost their only Quad 1 contest, dropping a road game to Iowa State by 32. While the incentives are different in a regular-season game than in a tournament matchup, if you’re betting on the spread in this one, you’re better off expecting a blowout than a competitive game.
📊 Best odds: -110 via FanDuel ($10 to win $9.09)
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🔥 Kadary Richmond under 15.5 points ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Omaha and St. John’s have one dramatic similarity: Both teams force their opponents to take a boatload of 3-pointers. Since February 1, St. John’s ranks 340th in opposing 3-point rate (45.9%), while Omaha ranks 332nd (45.2%). While St. John’s offense is notorious for not taking 3-pointers—and, generally, for missing the ones they do take—that could be an issue in this spot.
If St. John’s takes a higher share of 3-pointers than usual, that’s a huge red flag for Kadary Richmond, who is shooting an atrocious 18.4% from deep on 1.1 attempts per contest. Richmond is still averaging 12.7 points per game due to his contributions inside, but I’m willing to fade him at this price and hope that St. John’s runs in another direction offensively.
Further, the blowout risk could lead to extra rest for Richmond and their starters. Of our best sportsbooks, Caesars provides the best price.
📊 Best odds: -113 via Caesars ($10 to win $8.85)
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🎯 Score prediction: St. John’s 85, Omaha 62
With the total for this game at 147.5 and the spread at 18.5, we’re playing the final score close to our best sports betting sites' numbers. This final would mean 147 points, ever so slightly under the total, while St. John’s gets their run started after covering by an extra 4.5 points.
While some 15 seeds are exciting (remember Dunk City?), I can’t get excited about a 22-12 Summit League team that showed little life against its lone big-name opponent this year. This game is also in Providence, so look for St. John’s to draw a massive home crowd en route to a big win.
📊 Best odds: +20000 via DraftKings ($10 to win $2,000)
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🤖 St. John's vs. Omaha AI prediction
For entertainment purposes, we asked ChatGPT to analyze historical trends and live NCAA Tournament stats before predicting the winner and exact score for St. John's vs. Omaha. Our AI prediction projects a final score of St. John's 83, Omaha 66.
🖥️ AI score prediction: St. John's 83, Omaha 66
- St. John's boasts an elite defense, ranking first nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, which could stifle Omaha's offense that has thrived against less formidable defenses.
- Omaha's lack of experience against top-tier teams, with a 32-point loss to Iowa State earlier in the season, suggests potential struggles against a powerhouse like St. John's.
- The Red Storm's offensive rebounding strength, led by Zuby Ejiofor's 8.0 rebounds per game, may exploit Omaha's defensive vulnerabilities, leading to second-chance points.
🤔 Betting takeaway: ChatGPT's AI prediction would mean Omaha covering the spread (+18.5) and a total of 149 points, slightly exceeding the over/under line of 148.5. ChatGPT is not a dedicated sports betting model, but it can identify data that March Madness bettors might overlook.
📊 Live St. John's vs. Omaha odds
Follow the latest live March Madness college basketball odds and real-time NCAA Tournament scores for the first round.
Latest St. John's vs. Omaha odds
Our updated St. John's vs. Omaha odds are via BetMGM.
Spread
St. John's is the 19.5-point betting favorite, juiced to -105. Odds are -115 for +19.5 Omaha.
Total
The total opened at 147.5 and has since increased to 150.5. The odds are -110 on either side of the Over/Under.
Moneyline
St. John's is the -5000 moneyline favorite, while Omaha's odds of an upset sit at +1200. Those odds carry an implied probability of 98.04% and 7.69%, respectively.
🔢 St. John's vs. Omaha opening odds
- Spread: St. John’s -17.5 (-120) | Omaha +17.5 (-102)
- Moneyline: St. John’s -3200 | Omaha +1354
- Over/Under: 146.5 (-115) | Under 146.5 (-105)
📅 Check out the full March Madness first-round schedule and opening odds.
🔮 West Region expert picks
- West Region betting preview
- Florida vs. Norfolk State prediction
- UConn vs. Oklahoma prediction
- Memphis vs. Colorado State prediction
- Maryland prediction Grand Canyon prediction
- Drake vs. Missouri prediction
- Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington prediction
- Kansas vs. Arkansas prediction
- St. John's vs. Omaha prediction
📺 How to watch St. John's vs. Omaha Seed: NCAA Tournament first round
📅 Date: Thursday, March 20
🕗 Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion (Providence, R.I.)
📺 TV: CBS
💻 Streaming: March Madness Live
💰 March Madness betting odds pages
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