St. John's Red Storm vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. John's Red Storm vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Villanova Wildcats (14-3) will try to beat the St. John's Red Storm (12-5) at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.

The St. John's Red Storm faced Marquette and notched a win by a score of 92-68 in their last contest. St. John's wrapped up the contest having earned a 50.8% field goal percentage (33 out of 65) and knocked down 5 of their 19 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Red Storm knocked down 21 of their 24 tries for a percentage of 87.5%. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they earned 36 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 20 assists for this game while forcing 19 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In regard to defense, St. John's allowed 46.9% from the field on 23 of 49 shooting. Marquette totaled 10 assists and had 7 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Marquette had 22 rebounds (5 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Marquette finished the contest at 63.0% from the charity stripe by converting 17 of 27 tries. They also knocked down 5 of 15 shots from beyond the perimeter. Regarding fouls, the Red Storm ended up with 18 while Marquette finished the game with 17 fouls.

Oziyah Sellers is one player who was a factor for the contest. He shot 56.3% from the floor and also earned 2 assists. He played 35 mins and also snagged 2 boards. He ended up finishing with 24 points on 9 out of 16 shooting.

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St. John's will enter this contest with a record of 12-5 so far this year. They are losing possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a group they are committing 18.4 fouls every game. As a unit, St. John's is collecting 38.8 rebounds per game and has tallied 279 assists this season, which is 82nd in college in terms of passing. The Red Storm are shooting 35.8% from downtown (139 of 388) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 86.0 pts per game (36th in the country) while going 46.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Red Storm are able to force 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.5 personal fouls. They are surrendering 31.7% on shots from distance and they are 151st in the nation in PPG from their opponents (72.4). The Red Storm defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 42.3% (437 of 1,034) and they relinquish 34.5 boards per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 60th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 200 conceded this season.

For their last game, the Villanova Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 88-82 when they played Providence. Regarding rebounding, Villanova allowed Providence to pull down 25 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They went 32.0% from 3-point land by going 8 of 25 and ended up shooting 12 of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). The Wildcats permitted Providence to make 31 out of 56 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.4% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Wildcats shot 32 for 64 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.0%. Regarding shots from beyond the arc, Villanova made 10 of 28 tries (35.7%). They were able to knock down 14 of them for a clip of 77.8%. Providence was called for 19 fouls for the matchup which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 18 shots. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 7 steals for this game. The Wildcats were able to pull down 19 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 30 in this matchup.

Devin Askew ended up being important for the Wildcats in the matchup. He racked up 20 points in his 27 mins on the court and had 7 dimes in this contest. He buried 6 out of 12 in this matchup for a rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 2 rebounds.

Villanova has a mark of 14-3 for the season. When it comes to offense, the Wildcats are shooting 47.0% from the floor, which is 104th in the country. Villanova has totaled 1,336 pts on the season (78.6 per game) and they grab 36.0 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 15.4 times per contest (117th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.2 times per contest. The Wildcats commit 15.9 fouls per contest and they shoot 70.3% from the free throw line.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 67th in college in points per game surrendered with 68.6. They are forcing 12.4 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the field (223rd in college). The Villanova defense surrenders 35.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (129 of 369) and their opponents are making 67.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 12.9 assists and 33.1 boards per contest, which ranks them 146th and 100th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. John's

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