College Hoops Picks: Connecticut Huskies @ St. John's Red Storm

Connecticut has been on the top of everyone's radar all season—they started the season ranked second in the nation, fell to fifth after being upset by Georgetown in the season opener, and have climbed back to fourth.

St. John's, on the other hand, was on no one's radar until they upset Notre Dame in New York. They subsequently fell off everyone's screen when they lost to Pitt by 23. Was the loss to Pittsburgh just a bad game, or was the Notre Dame upset just a fluke? These questions and more will be answered Friday as these two Big East schools face off at Madison Square Garden.

	Connecticut	St. John's
Record:	14-1	10-5
BE Record:	3-1	1-2
PF:	79.7	70.8
PA:	61.9	65.2
FG %	.498	.447
FT %	.699	.638
3P %	.379	.283
RPG	40.3	39.0
SPG	6.4	7.1
TO	12.1	14.3

The biggest difference between these two teams is their scoring margins—the Huskies outscore their opponents by an average of 18 points, while the Red Storm average only one-third of that.

There is a lot more to this difference then meets the eye, though. The quality of opponents differs greatly between these two teams, too. Before the beginning of conference play, Connecticut faced three ranked teams (Miami FL, Wisconsin and Gonzaga), while St. John's faced only one (Miami FL).

Connecticut Key Players

Jerome Dyson (Junior, Guard)

Dyson has been fantastic for the Huskies this season. He is averaging 14.1 points per game and is shooting .326 from beyond the arc (this season and for his career). He has had two off games—first against Buffalo when he scored six and later against Georgetown when he scored four—and when he struggles, so does Connecticut (they defeated Buffalo by four and lost their only game of the season to Georgetown).

Hasheem Thabeet (Junior, Center)

Thabeet is yet another fantastic big man to be featured in the Big East. He is averaging a double-double on the season (13.5 PPG and 10.2 RPG), while also picking up 3.6 blocks per game. He is very dangerous under the basket, both offensively and defensively.

St. John's Key Players

D.J. Kennedy (Sophomore, Guard/Forward)

Without senior forward Anthony Mason, Jr. (who is out for the rest of the season with a torn tendon in his foot—he only played three games this season), Kennedy has had to step up his game. He is averaging 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. His play quality of play varies game-to-game—he has scored as many as 23 points and as few as two. Hopefully he can step up against tough competition for the home crowd.

Paris Horne (Sophomore, Guard/Forward)

Horne has stepped up his game this year—his average minutes, points, assists, steals, and blocks have all at least doubled from his freshman season. He is the second-highest scorer for the Red Storm (third if you count Mason) with 12.4 points and 1.6 steals per game.

Prediction

Current Line: Connecticut -12.0

Connecticut ATS: 6-4, 4-4 when favored.
St. John's ATS: 5-4, 1-4 when underdog.

As I said earlier, this is one of the best teams in the Big East facing off with one of the mediocre ones. St. John's managed to muster up a win over Notre Dame, but the Irish do not have the depth that Connecticut has (they showed this when they were blown out in overtime against Louisville).

Aside from their loss to Georgetown, Connecticut has been successful in conference play (defeating Rutgers by 31, West Virginia by six, and Cincinnati by nine). West Virginia and Cincinnati are more dangerous than St. John's is, especially without Mason this season.

I like Connecticut -12.0.

Curious about the other teams in the Top 25 for Jan. 15? See my Top 25 Quick Picks for Jan. 15.

This article is also featured at CFBPlace