St. John's Red Storm vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 3/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. John's Red Storm vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: St. John's (-3)

Viejas Arena is where the Kansas Jayhawks (24-10) will compete against the St. John's Red Storm (29-6) on Sunday in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. St. John's opens this contest as 3-point favorites. The total has been set at 144.

The St. John's Red Storm took the court against UNI and notched a win by a score of 79-53 in their last contest. St. John's walked away from the contest having earned a 47.4% FG percentage (27 out of 57) and knocked down 10 out of their 29 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Red Storm knocked down 15 of 22 tries for a percentage of 68.2%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 42 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 13 assists for the matchup while forcing 6 turnovers and earning 3 steals. In terms of defense, St. John's allowed their opponent to shoot 38.6% from the floor on 22 out of 57 shooting. UNI totaled 8 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. Additionally, UNI had 25 rebounds (4 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UNI finished the game shooting 50.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 6 of their 12 shots. They also buried 3 of their 14 shots from beyond the arc. With respect to personal fouls, the Red Storm finished with 12 while UNI accounted for 18 personal fouls.

Zuby Ejiofor is one guy who played a role in the game. He accumulated 14 points on 4 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes and also snagged 11 boards. He went 40.0% from the field and also recorded 2 dimes.

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St. John's will play this contest with a win-loss record of 29-6 for the campaign. They have an average of 81.5 pts per game (57th in college hoops) while shooting 45.4% from the field. The Red Storm are shooting 33.3% on shots from distance (245 of 736) and 72.6% from the free throw line. As a team, St. John's is pulling in 38.8 rebounds per game and is sitting with 566 assists on the season, which is 36th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.4 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.1 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Red Storm are able to force 13.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.3 personal fouls. They concede 31.1% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 62nd in the country in points per game allowed (69.5). The Red Storm defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.0% (874 of 2,082) and they relinquish 34.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are 110th in college in allowing assists with 410 surrendered this season.

When they last played, the Kansas Jayhawks got the victory with a final of 68-60 against California Baptist. The Jayhawks pulled down 27 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 37 in the matchup. They turned it over 8 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. California Baptist was called for 12 personal fouls in this game which took the Jayhawks to the free throw line for a total of 14 shots. They were able to make 12 of the free throws for a clip of 85.7%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Kansas made 4 of 19 tries (21.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Jayhawks shot 26 for 65 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.0%. The Jayhawks permitted California Baptist to make 23 of 64 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 35.9% for this contest. They went 23.5% from 3-point land by going 4 of 17 and ended up going 10 out of 19 at the free throw line (52.6%). In regard to rebounding, Kansas permitted California Baptist to pull down 38 in total (10 offensive).

Darryn Peterson ended up being a major contributor for the Jayhawks for this game. He made 11 of 24 for this contest giving him a rate of 45.8%, and accumulated 1 rebound. He accumulated 28 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 1 assist in this game.

Kansas has a record of 24-10 this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Jayhawks are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 178th in the nation. Kansas has totaled 2,564 points for the year (75.4 per contest) and they pull in 38.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.1 times per contest (160th in the nation) and they are turning it over 10.6 times per game. The Jayhawks commit 14.4 fouls per contest while shooting 76.9% from the free throw line.

The Jayhawks on the defensive end are ranked 56th in D-1 in points given up per game with 69.1. They are able to force 9.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 38.7% from the floor (3rd in college). The Kansas defense concedes 30.5% on shots from distance (273 of 894) and their opponents are knocking down 68.8% of their foul shots. They concede 11.6 assists and 36.8 boards per game, which is ranked 45th and 312th in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take St. John's (-3)

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