College Hoops Picks 1/28/09: St. John's Red Storm @ West Virginia Mountaineers

St. John's Red Storm @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Wednesday, Jan. 28—7:00 PM EST

Preview

St. John's (2-5, 11-8) stopped a four-game slide on Saturday as they defeated Rutgers by 11. Some of those losses came at the hands of the best in the Big East, including Pitt and Connecticut, although they also came from Villanova, Providence, and Cincinnati. Their other Big East win came in a surprise upset of the Irish, though.

West Virginia (3-3, 14-5) has had a bunch of high notes and a few low ones this season. They went 10-2 in non-conference play and wound up being ranked at the end of it. After a hard-fought loss to Connecticut (where they only lost by six points) they were blown out of the water and Top 25 by Marquette. Many thought that they stood a chance to be ranked again after they destroyed Georgetown on the road 75-58, but their subsequent 12-point loss to Pitt quickly quieted pollsters.

The Mountaineers have two key players who have allowed them to be successful this season—junior forward Da'Sean Butler (17.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, .411 3P%) and senior guard Alex Ruoff (16.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, .357 3P%).

One of the huge problems facing the Red Storm is the lack of senior Anthony Mason, Jr.—who is out for the year but will be eligible to play next season after only playing three games this year. St. John's has struggled without him, but sophomore guard-forwards Paris Horne (14.0 PPG, .378 3P%) and D.J. Kennedy (13.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG) have stepped up in his absence.

Stats

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
St. John's	11-8	2-5	7-6	131	79	68.6	65.8
West Virginia	14-5	3-3	7-8	16	14	73.1	59.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG
St. John's	44.6	42.6	30.6	34.4	63.4	41.7	7.2	12.8	15.1
West Virginia	43.4	40.8	32.8	26.8	65.9	42.4	7.6	14.7	12.3

Prediction

Current Line: West Virginia -16.0

St. John's ATS: 7-6, 2-5 when underdog
West Virginia ATS: 7-8, 5-7 when favored

St. John's has been all over the place this season—they went 9-1 to start conference play before losing their last two non-conference games. Since the 9-1 start, they have gone 2-7. They upset Notre Dame, lost to Connecticut by 12, and Cincinnati by 9. But in that process, they lost to Providence by 21, Pittsburgh by 23, and Villanova by 19.

West Virginia has also had some inconsistency this season, defeating opponents like Georgetown by 17 and only losing by six to Connecticut, but losing to Marquette by 22. They have won, but not always won big (defeated South Florida by three and Marshall by 11).

West Virginia is going to pull off the win, but St. John's is going to keep it within the spread.

Pick: St. John's +16.0

*All statistics for this article have come from StatSheet.com*

*This article is also featured on CFBPlace.com—and soon to be featured on CBBPlace.com*