No.6 St. John’s travels to Milwaukee to take on No.20 Marquette

We start with a top 25 matchup in the Big East, which is a rematch of a game earlier this season that St. John’s won 70-64 at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm come into this game on a five-game winning streak, although they did play three out of the four bottom teams in the conference during the win streak.

In the previous matchup between these two teams, Kadary Richmond was the standout player for the Red Storm, leading the team in scoring and assists with 18 points and 8 assists, while also having 11 rebounds.

Richmond is leading his team in both assists and steals this season, and has been a crucial part of this teams’ success all year. Rick Pitino has made this team one of the top defensive teams in the country, leading the Red Storm to the second ever outright Big East title in program history.

Many people believe Richmond and company are poised to make a run in the tournament.

Marquette is coming off a loss against UConn. The Golden Eagles look to bounce back at home in their last game of the regular season.

Marquette is led by star senior guard Kam Jones, who leads the team in scoring and assists with 18.5 points and 6.0 assists per game. He will be the key for the Golden Eagles if they look to end regular season on a high note.

This season Marquette is 14-2 at home, although that record is just 5-5 in the last 10 games.  St. John’s on the other hand is are 9-1 in its last 10 games, the only loss coming at Villanova.

If St. John’s improves to 18-2 in the Big East this season, it will be on the backs of leading scorer R.J. Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond.

Best Bet: St. John’s +1.5 (-105) on FanDuel

No.19 Kentucky takes on No.15 Missouri in Columbia

Missouri looks to bounce back after losing three of its last four games against Kentucky at home. ‘Mizzou’ has been one of the best, if not the best, team in the country at home this season.

The Tigers are 18-1 in home games this year, with the only loss coming Texas A&M. Missouri is led by senior guard Caleb Grill who is leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.4 points a game while shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc.

But the key player for the Tigers will be junior guard Mark Mitchell who has played extremely well in recent games, including a 31-point performance in the victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

If the Tigers are going end this two-game losing streak, both Grill and Mitchell have to have big games.

Kentucky has been hit with injury bug loosing both Kerr Kriisa and Jaxson Robinson for the remainder of the season. Robinson is a huge loss for the Wildcats, as he was averaging 13.0 points per game and shooting 43.2% from the beyond the 3-point line.

With the loss of Robinson’s three point shooting, Koby Brea needs to step up in this game and the remainder of the season as the Wildcats look to go deep in the tournament in Mark Pope’s first season.

Brea is averaging 11 points per game this season and shooting 43.5% from beyond the 3-point line He will be key as the Wildcats try to fill the void that is left with Robinson being out for the remainder of the year. 

Otega Oweh will also be crucial in this game, Kentucky’s leading scorer this season has came up big for the Wildcats this season and will need to do so again if they are win this game. 

Best Bet: Missouri -5.5 (-105) on FanDuel

No. 7 Alabama travels to Neville Arena to take on No. 1 Auburn

In a rematch of the No. 1 v. No. 2 matchup earlier this season in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide try to end their two-game losing streak against No. 1 Auburn, who is coming off a loss at No. 22 Texas A&M.

Over the last six games, the Tide are 2-4 and have given up 90 points in three of those six games, and in the loss against No. 5 Florida at home got out rebounded by the Gators 50-35.

The defense and rebounding have been major problems in the Tide’s recent games, despite lessening the turnovers on the offensive side of the ball. Mark Sears has been elite for the Crimson Tide over the course of the last five games going for 30-plus points in three of the last five games.

But the Crimson Tide are going to need someone else to step up on offense. Aden Holloway was nowhere to be found again Florida, going 1-4 from the beyond the 3-point line and only tallying 3 points, 3 assists and 1 assist agains the Gators.

If Alabama is going to beat Auburn, Holloway needs to step up greatly. The Tide also need to  drastically improving their performance on both the offensive and defensive glass.

Auburn dominated the first matchup between these two teams, and never trailed in its 9-point win in Tuscaloosa. That being said, The Tigers did play arguably had their worse game of the year in their loss to Texas A&M, in which Texas A&M lead the game wire to wire.

Johni Broome has not looked good these pass two games only scoring 9 points against No. 19 Kentucky and 8 points against No. 22 Texas A&M. Still, with the Tide’s defensive and rebounding issues one would expect him to have a bounce back game in a big way.

In the last game Denver Jones was a disruptive force on the defensive side of the ball, holding Sears to only 2-11 from three point range. He was also exceptional on the offensive side of the ball finishing with 16 points and shooting 3-5 from beyond the 3-point line. He comes into Saturday’s showdown banged up, which could be a good sign for Alabama.

Best Bet: Alabama +8.5 (-110), Alabama ML (+285) on FanDuel

Bonus Bets

Ole Miss @ No. 5 Florida

Florida -10.5 (-110) on FanDuel

No.2 Duke @ North Carolina

North Carolina +10.5 (-105), O 157.5 (-110) on FanDuel

No. 24 Arizona @ Kansas

Arizona ML (+108) on FanDuel

Northwestern @ No. 13 Maryland

Maryland -10.5 (-110) on FanDuel

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