St. John's vs. Duke Opening Odds, Preview for March Madness Sweet 16

The Duke Blue Devils lost just two games all season en route to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the No. 16 seed Siena Saints gave them a run for their money in the Round of 64. Duke bounced back from that, beating TCU by a score of 81-58 in an impressive Round of 32 performance.

The Blue Devils have their work cut out for them in the Sweet 16 when they take on the St. John's Red Storm in the Round of 32. St. John's won both the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Big East, and followed that up with wins against Northern Iowa and Kansas.

Let's dive into the opening odds for Friday's Big East vs. ACC showdown.

St. John's vs. Duke Opening Odds for Sweet 16

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

St. John's +6.5 (-105)
Duke -6.5 (-115)

Moneyline

St. John's +245
Duke -310

Total

OVER 142.5 (-110)
UNDER 142.5 (-110)

Duke is the third-biggest favorite in the Sweet 16 behind Michigan (-580 against Alabama) and Arizona (-400 against Arkansas).

St. John's vs. Duke Preview

St. John's has an elite front court, and the Red Storm are one of the best defenses in the country, but their sub-par shooting has come back to haunt them at times, and almost cost them in the Round of 32 against Kansas. St. John's ranks just 197th in effective field goal percentage, far below Duke, which comes in at 13th in that metric.

The Blue Devils are able to not only match St. John's defensively but even surpass them. Duke enters the Sweet 16 leading the entire country in defensive efficiency.

The one argument against Duke is that it's clear the Blue Devils haven't peaked at the right time. Despite winning the ACC Tournament, they weren't winning games in impressive fashion, and almost losing to Siena in the opening round further cemented people's doubts about whether or not the Blue Devils have it in them to make a Final Four run.

Duke entered the NCAA Tournament as the betting favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, but after a baffling performance against Siena, Duke's odds have fallen to third on the list at +420. The Red Storm are 10th on the odds list at +3300 to win the National Championship.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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