NCAA Free Picks and Tips: St. John's Red Storm at Duke Blue Devils

Saturday, January 28, 2012

by Joe Rodriguez

Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler - NCAA Free Picks and Tips: St. John's Red Storm at Duke Blue Devils

The 2011-12 edition of St. Johns Red Storm is nothing like the team that thrashed then-No. 3 Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden last season.

This year's team does not have any of the eight players that saw the court for the Red Storm in that win, and went on to beat six ranked teams en route to an NCAA Tournament berth. St. John's, which started five freshmen in a win over West Virginia on Wednesday, has lost to each of the seven ranked teams it has faced so far in 2011-12.

The Red Storm will take on their eighth ranked team when they visit the sixth-ranked Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Duke will be playing at home for the first time since last Saturday, when it dropped a 76-73 decision to Florida State. That marked the end of a 45-game winning streak at home and was the Blue Devils' first home loss to an unranked opponent in 65 games.

- St. Johns Red Storm @ Duke Blue Devils
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 28, 2012
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
TV: 12 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN3
Check Live NCAA Basketball Odds on Justbet Sportsbook .

Justbet Sportsbook currently have the Blue Devils listed as 19½-point favorites versus the Red Storm.

St. John's Red Storm (9-11): The Red Storm went with the all-freshman starting five for the first time on Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first all-freshman starting lineup for the program since 1927-28. It worked, as St. John's snapped a four-game losing streak with a dominating 78-62 victory. One of the big differences was in distribution, with the Red Storm finishing with 17 assists on 31 field goals. Overall, St. John's ranks 301st nationally with an average of 11.0 assists.

Duke Blue Devils (17-3): One streak that remains intact is a 93-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. The Blue Devils' last loss at home to a non-conference team came to St. John's, 83-82, on Feb. 26, 2000. Duke is much different from the team that lost to St. John's last year. In that game, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler combined for 52 points. Those two are now gone, replaced as top scorers by Austin Rivers (14.2) and Ryan Kelly (12.5) in a more balanced, efficient attack. The Blue Devils rank 11th nationally in scoring (80.2) and 12th in field goal percentage (49.2).

1. Duke is 14-6 all-time against St. John’s (5-1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium).

2. Moe Harkness posted his seventh double-double for St. John’s on Wednesday.

3. The two schools have a combined 62 NCAA Tournament appearances.

BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Blue Devils 79, Red Storm 64.

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austin rivers - cameron indoor stadium - duke blue devils - kyle singler - moe harkness - ncaa tournament - nolan smith - st. johns red storm