Northern Iowa vs. St. John's Prediction, Odds, Best Prop Bet for NCAA Tournament 1st Round

The St. John's Red Storm won the Big East regular season and tournament titles for the second-straight season, and will now head into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed.

That means they face Northern Iowa, a 12 seed from the Missouri Valley Conference. A 12 v 5 matchup is a popular upset spot, but do the Panthers have the game to compete with St. John's? That's the question I'm here to answer.

Northern Iowa vs. St. John's Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

Northern Iowa +9.5 (-104)
St. John's -9.5 (-118)

Moneyline

Northern Iowa +390
St. John's -530

Total

OVER 131.5 (-110)
UNDER 131.5 (-110)

Northern Iowa vs. St. John's How to Watch

Date: Friday, March 20
Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
Venue: Viejas Arena
How to Watch (TV): CBS
Northern Iowa Record: 23-12
St. John's Record: 28-6

Northern Iowa vs. St. John's Betting Trends

Northern Iowa is 4-1 ATS in its last five games
Northern Iowa has lost five straight games against Big East opponents
St. John's is 5-1 ATS in its last six games
The UNDER is 9-1 in St. John's last 10 games

Northern Iowa vs. St. John's Best Prop Bet

Zuby Ejiofor 8+ Rebounds (+102)

If there's one area of the game that St. John's has a chance to dominate in, it's on the glass. Northern Iowa ranks just 249th in the country in rebounding rate, grabbing 48.8% of available boards. That could lead to a big day for St. John's top rebounder, Zuby Ejiofor. He's averaging 7.1 rebounds per game this season.

Northern Iowa vs. St. John's Prediction and Pick

In the Round of 64 edition of the Road to the Final Four, I broke down why I'm taking the points with Northern Iowa:

Northern Iowa plays more of a St. John's style of basketball than Saint John's does. The Panthers rank last in adjusted tempo amongst all tournament teams, and their top 10-ranking in defensive efficiency is going to give the Red Storm some headaches.

On top of that, Saint John's has experienced some shooting issues at times this season and currently rank 193rd in effective field goal percentage. That's well below Northern Iowa, which ranks 64th.

A low-paced defensive game is going to make it tough for St. John's to cover a double-digit spread

Pick: Northern Iowa +9.5 (-104)

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