First place in the Big East is on the line tonight in Hartford when No. 15 St. John’s (22-5, 15-1) takes the court against No. 6 UConn (25-3, 15-2). The Red Storm have won 13 straight and sits atop the conference standings (a half-game ahead of UConn).
While not quite living up to the expectations of their Top 5 preseason ranking, the Rick Pitino’s Red Storm are playing their best basketball of the season. The Johnnies lost four games in the non-conference slate, all Quad 1 games (Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn, Kentucky), but they have dominated in the Big East. Their NET Rank is 23. St. John’s 13-game winning streak is their longest since the 1984-85 season, a campaign that ended in a Final Four appearance.
At #10 in the NET rankings, Danny Hurley and the Huskies won 18 straight overall and opened Big East play with 12 straight wins before losing at St. John’s, 81-72, on February 6. They suffered a second conference loss three games later at home to Creighton, 91-84. UConn is 4-1 in non-conference Quad 1 games with wins over BYU (in Boston), Illinois (in NYC), Kansas (at Allen Fieldhouse) and Florida (in NYC). They have 8 Quad 1 wins in total.
St. John’s improved to 20-2 at Madison Square Garden over the last two seasons with an 81-52 stomping of Creighton this past Saturday. The 29-point victory was the program’s most lopsided win in conference play since downing Butler by 34 points on Feb. 18, 2022, at Carnesecca Arena.
UConn last played Saturday as well. They won at Villanova, 73-63. Six different players scored eight or more points for the Huskies who shot 54.9 percent from the floor. UConn’s reserves had a monster day, outscoring their Wildcat counterparts 22-8.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch Live: No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn
- Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
- Time: 7PM EST
- Site: PeoplesBank Arena
- City: Hartford, CT
- Network/Streaming: Peacock
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Game Odds: No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: St. John’s Red Storm (OFF), UConn Huskies (OFF)
- Spread: UConn -5.5
- Total: 147.5 points
This game opened UConn -5.5 with the Total set at 144.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn
St. John’s Red Storm
- G Oziyah Sellers
- G Joson Sanon
- F Bryce Hopkins
- F Dillon Mitchell
- F Zuby Ejiofor
UConn Huskies
- G Solo Ball
- G Silas Demary Jr.
- G Braylon Mullins
- F Alex Karaban
- C Tarris Reed Jr.
Injury Report: No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn
St. John’s Red Storm
- Kelvin Odih (leg) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Casper Pohto (hip) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
- Imran Suljanovic (knee) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game
UConn Huskies
- No Injuries to Report
Important stats, trends and insights: No. 15 St. John’s at No. 6 UConn
- UConn is 13-2 at home this season
- St. John’s is 8-0 on the road this season
- St. John’s is 14-13 ATS overall this season / 6-2 ATS on the road
- UConn is 10-18 ATS overall this season / 3-12 ATS at home
- The OVER has cashed in 14 of UConn’s 28 games this season (14-14)
- The OVER has cashed in 12 of St. John’s 27 games this season (12-15)
- St. John’s has won the last 3 games against UConn and covered in the last 4
- Solo Ball is 10th in the Big East in scoring (14.2PPG), 3rd in FT% (84.9%), 7th in 3’s/G (2.1)
- Tarris Reed Jr. has six double-doubles this season
- Zuby Ejiofor ranks 6th in the Big East in scoring (15.9PPG), 8th in reb/gm (7.2), 11th in ast/gm (3.4), 4th in blk/gm (1.9)
- Ejiofor leads the conference with 214 FT attempts
- Ejiofor’s line from the win over UConn on February 6 - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists
Rotoworld Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports): 1st Half Total UNDER 69.5
“St. John’s walks into my backyard of Hartford on a 13-game winning streak, yet they are underdogs against UConn for a second time this season! The Huskies are laying 5.5 points with the Game Total set at 146.5 at DraftKings. UConn was a small favorite at Madison Square Garden earlier this month and lost by 9 points, but what caught my eye was the shooting of both teams.
UConn went 9-of-19 from 3 and shot close to 60% from 2-point range, while St. John’s had 31 free-throw attempts and shot 63% from 2-point range. Those numbers will be difficult to repeat in a Big East game of this magnitude tonight.
So, I expect more defense from the opening tip and think the best bet is going under the first-half total of 69.5 points. They combined for 78 first-half points at MSG, but let’s be honest, it’s exciting being in New York City and playing at Madison Square Garden! Not many people will say the same about being in Hartford. UNDER 69.5 points in the first half is the play.”
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between St. John’s and UConn:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on UConn on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on St. John’s +5.5 ATS
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 147.5.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
