St. John's vs. Seton Hall prediction: Big East Tournament odds, pick

Seton Hall swept St. John’s in the regular season, but the Red Storm are two-possession favorites in the third matchup. 

That’s because the Johnnies are on fire, winners of five straight entering the conference tournament. 

However, Seton Hall has been similarly hot, winning five of seven entering this Big East Tournament quarterfinal matchup Thursday afternoon at the Garden. 

I can’t figure out who wins, but with these teams playing similarly it should be a lower-scoring affair. 

The Pirates and Johnnies both employ downhill-driving, ball-screen offenses that utilize cutters while crashing the offensive boards relentlessly. 

Additionally, they both have switch-everything defenses, although Seton Hall plays an aggressive man-to-man while St. John’s utilizes a matchup zone. 

That said, I like betting Unders between teams that operate the same offenses, as these defenses know how to defend the other’s actions, practicing against the sets daily. 

Somewhat predictably, both regular-season head-to-head matchups stayed under the closing total. I think this matchup favors a lower-scoring outcome.

And early-tip tournament games favor lower-scoring outcomes.

Unders are 52-33-1 (61 percent) across the past 10 Big East Tournaments, including a 14-6 (70 percent) mark when the game starts before 3 p.m. 

With this game tipping off at 2:30 p.m. ET, look for a third consecutive Hall-Johnnies game to stay under the closing line. 

The play: St. John’s-Seton Hall Under 143 (-108, DraftKings). 

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