Halftime Report
St. John’s is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Baylor 44-30.
St. John’s entered the game having won four straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it five, or will Baylor step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Baylor Bears @ St. John’s Red Storm
Current Records: Baylor 3-1, St. John’s 4-0
How To Watch
What to Know
St. John’s has played every game this season on their home court, but they’ll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will face off against the Baylor Bears at 7:00 p.m. ET at Baha Mar Convention Center. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
St. John’s will face Baylor after failing to hit the over/under the oddsmakers set for them on Sunday which, to be fair, was an imposing 163.5 points. St. John’s came out on top against New Mexico by a score of 85-71.
St. John’s victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was RJ Luis Jr., who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Luis Jr. a new career-high in assists (seven). Zuby Ejiofor was another key player, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Baylor won against Sam Houston last Tuesday with 104 points and they decided to stick to that point total again on Sunday. Baylor took their contest with ease, bagging a 104-41 win over Tarleton State. The match marked the Bears’ most dominant victory of the season so far.
Baylor’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jalen Celestine, who went 6 for 9 en route to 20 points plus two blocks. Another player making a difference was VJ Edgecombe, who had 17 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals.
Baylor was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tarleton State only posted 11.
St. John’s win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. As for Baylor, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 3-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. St. John’s hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 84.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Baylor struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 85.8. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
St. John’s is hoping to beat the odds on Thursday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. This will be their first time playing as the underdogs this season.
Odds
Baylor is a slight 2.5-point favorite against St. John’s, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bears as a 1.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 152.5 points.
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