Rick Pitino takes on the program he coached for eight years when the No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm face the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in the 2025 CBS Sports Classic. Pitino led Kentucky from 1989 to 1997, taking the Wildcats to six NCAA Tournaments and winning it all in 1996. This year, Kentucky is off to a slower 7-4 start, but is coming off a strong win over Indiana. St. John’s, meanwhile, is 7-3 overall and 1-2 against the SEC — losing to Auburn and Alabama, but beating Ole Miss.
Tipoff from State Farm Arena in Atlanta is set for 12:30 p.m. ET. The Red Storm are 2.5-point favorites, while the over/under is 155.5 in the latest Kentucky vs. St. John’s odds. Before making any St. John’s vs. Kentucky picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
Be sure to watch on CBS or stream on Paramount+, where you can get a free 7-day trial. Sign up here.
New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets if your $5+ bet wins:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times and it enters Week 7 on a sizzling 7-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has simulated Kentucky vs. St. John’s 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for St. John’s vs. Kentucky:
Kentucky vs. St. John’s spread:
St. John’s -2.5
Kentucky vs. St. John’s over/under:
155.5 points
Kentucky vs. St. John’s money line:
St. John’s -165, Kentucky +138
Kentucky vs. St. John’s picks:
See picks at SportsLine
Kentucky vs. St. John’s streaming:
Paramount+ (get a free 7-day trial)
New users can check out the latest bet365 bonus code to get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5 bet:
How to make St. John’s vs. Kentucky picks
After simulating this matchup 10,000 times, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (155.5 points). Both teams average well over 80 points per game with Kentucky averaging 84.3 and St. John’s averaging 87.9. Both teams shoot 48% from the field.
The model projects that St. John’s Bryce Hopkins, who began his career at Kentucky, leads the way in scoring for St. John’s with 12.5 points in the simulations. The Wildcats are paced by veteran Otega Oweh, who is projected to score 13.1 points. The teams combine for 159 points as the Over hits well over 50% of the time.
The model also says one side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins St. John’s vs. Kentucky, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times, and find out.
