Who's Playing

Butler @ St. John's

Regular Season Records: Butler 14-17; St. John's 17-14

What to Know

The Butler Bulldogs and the St. John's Red Storm are set to clash at 3 p.m. ET March 8 at Madison Square Garden in the first round of the Big East Conference Tourney. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W.'

This past Saturday, Butler lost to the Xavier Musketeers on the road by a decisive 78-66 margin. One thing holding the Bulldogs back was the mediocre play of guard Simas Lukosius, who did not have his best game: he finished with only nine points on 3-for-12 shooting in his 40 minutes on the court.

Meanwhile, St. John's was close but no cigar this past Saturday as they fell 96-94 to the Marquette Golden Eagles. Guard Dylan Addae-Wusu put forth a good effort for the losing side as he had 25 points and five assists along with six rebounds. Addae-Wusu's performance made up for a slower contest against the Connecticut Huskies two weeks ago. Addae-Wusu's points were the most he has had all season.

The Bulldogs are expected to lose this next one by 6.5. Those betting on them against the spread shouldn't have high expectations for them since the team is 4-11 ATS when expected to lose.

Two stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Butler is 19th worst in college basketball in points per game, with only 65.3 on average. St. John's has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the matchup with the 24th most points allowed per game in college basketball, having given up 75.7 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

How To Watch

  • When: Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET
  • Where: Madison Square Garden -- New York, New York
  • TV: Fox Sports 1
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The Red Storm are a solid 6.5-point favorite against the Bulldogs, 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 Red Storm as a 5.5-point favorite.

Over/Under: -111

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Series History

Butler have won nine out of their last 16 games against St. John's.

  • Feb 07, 2023 - Butler 68 vs. St. John's 66
  • Jan 10, 2023 - St. John's 77 vs. Butler 61
  • Feb 18, 2022 - St. John's 91 vs. Butler 57
  • Feb 05, 2022 - St. John's 75 vs. Butler 72
  • Feb 09, 2021 - Butler 76 vs. St. John's 73
  • Jan 12, 2021 - St. John's 69 vs. Butler 57
  • Mar 04, 2020 - Butler 77 vs. St. John's 55
  • Dec 31, 2019 - Butler 60 vs. St. John's 58
  • Feb 12, 2019 - St. John's 77 vs. Butler 73
  • Jan 19, 2019 - Butler 80 vs. St. John's 71
  • Feb 28, 2018 - St. John's 75 vs. Butler 68
  • Jan 27, 2018 - Butler 70 vs. St. John's 45
  • Feb 15, 2017 - Butler 110 vs. St. John's 86
  • Dec 29, 2016 - St. John's 76 vs. Butler 73
  • Feb 06, 2016 - Butler 89 vs. St. John's 56
  • Jan 16, 2016 - Butler 78 vs. St. John's 58