St. John’s vs Kentucky: NCAAB Betting Tips

Rick Pitino won a national title as coach of Kentucky in 1996 and won more than 81 percent of his games during his 8-year run. Pitino brings his No. 22 St. John’s squad to face his former school as part of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.

Both programs bring a winning streak into the contest. The Johnnies have won three straight, including their Big East opener over DePaul on Tuesday. After a tumultuous start the Wildcats have settled down winning their last two contests.

St. John’s vs. Kentucky Preview

The St. John’s Red Storm and Kentucky Wildcats meet for the first time since the 2011 season on Saturday, December 20, 2025 in Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET from State Farm Arena with CBS televising the game.

Public Betting Odds Factors

Despite their 7-3 record the Johnnies are ranked among the top 25. All three defeats were administered by ranked foes at the time of the game, including a 1-point setback to current top 5 and undefeated Iowa State last month. St. John’s earned a payout in that game as a 2.5-point dog on the college basketball betting line.

After being supplanted as the starting point guard a few games ago, Dylan Darling came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points in SJU’s 79-66 win over DePaul on Tuesday night. Darling entered the game just 1 of 15 on 3-point attempts but drained 3 of his 5 tries against the Demons.

Ranked 15th in defensive efficiency by kenpom.com, SJU has been dialed in lately allowing 66 points or less in its last three games. The Johnnies cashed the UNDER in those games and in four straight overall.

The Wildcats are coming off their best win of the season taking down previously ranked Indiana 72-60 on Saturday night for their second straight triumph. That gives the squad a full week off to enjoy their season-high tying streak of the season.

According to coach Mark Pope there’s a chance draft prospect Jayden Quaintance makes his season debut on Saturday. At 6-10 the Arizona State transfer is an impactful player on both ends of the court and changes the entire dynamic of the UK season.

The Wildcats recently got Mouhamed Dioubate and Jaland Lowe back in the rotation after they missed time with injuries. Both were on the floor together for the first time in more than a month helping the Cats beat Indiana. Dioubate had 14 points and 12 boards with Lowe adding 13 points.

St. John’s vs. Kentucky Predictions

Kentucky is starting to look like the team most expected before the season started. Injuries have kept some of the top talent off the floor for long stretches and the imbalance showed in early season results. While it’s possible Quaintance plays on Saturday, in all likelihood he won’t. Still having Dioubate and Lowe back on the court makes this a dangerous club.

Scoring the basketball has been an inconsistent process for both sides. However, they’ve been relentless defensively and St. John’s has the ultimate rim protector in Zuby Ejiofor, who has 20 blocks in his last three games. Expect this to be a dog fight with points hard to come by.

St. John’s vs. Kentucky Betting Tips

The Johnnies won their last three games but they were closer than oddsmakers anticipated. A double digit favorite in college basketball odds in every contest, they failed to earn a payout and are 0-4 ATS in their last four outings.

St. John’s has yet to play a true road game, but they are 1-2 SU and 2-1 ATS in three neutral site contests. One of those losses was to undefeated Iowa State, 83-82, last month, in which they got the payout as a 2.5-point dog.

Kentucky cashed the UNDER against Indiana in its most recent game and the UNDER is 5-2 in the Cats’ last 7 contests.

The Wildcats covered the 3.5-point spread in their 72-60 win over the Hoosiers for their first payout in four games. Overall they are 5-6 ATS.

All four Kentucky losses were to teams nationally ranked at game time. Three of those setbacks were road/neutral site contests where the Cats went 0-3 ATS.

St. John’s vs. Kentucky Head to Head and Key Stats

11 of the 16 all-time meetings between the schools took place during the 1940s and 50s. They’ve played just twice this century with Kentucky getting a decisive 81-59 home win in the most recent matchup in 2011.