2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Arkansas vs. St. John's

Head coach John Calipari led the 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks to a victory over Bill Self and the 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the men's college basketball tournament. Following an impressive win against an experienced coach in the tournament, Calipari will need to prepare his Razorbacks squad to face Rick Pitino and the 2 seed St. John's Red Storm on Saturday.

The Red Storm took care of business in the first round of the tourney, defeating the 15 seed Omaha Mavericks by the score of 83-53. Who will emerge victorious in the next Calipari-Pitino showdown?

To see thoughts on other games, check out our full men's college basketball tournament predictions page. But for Arkansas vs. St. John's, here are my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds.

Betting Picks for Arkansas vs. St. John's

Over 143.5 (-115)

At first glance, this is a battle between two stout defensive teams, with Arkansas and St. John's both ranking 20th or better in adjusted defensive rating, per BartTorvik. But with both programs sitting at 67th or better in adjusted tempo, there's a path for the over to connect in this contest.

Along with the Razorbacks scoring 79-plus points in four of their last five contests, three of those instances came against teams ranked 50th or better in adjusted defensive rating, so they're capable of producing points against the top-tier defenses. Additionally, Arkansas is 91st in effective field-goal percentage (52.6%) and 61st in two-point field goal percentage (54.3%).

As for St. John's, they can create quick baskets on steals with a 21.6% defensive turnover rate (16th) and generate second-chance points with a 37.4% offensive rebound rate (9th). The Razorbacks are 5-2 to the over in games played at a neutral site, and the Red Storm are 7-5 to the over in their 12 contests against non-conference opponents.

RJ Luis 2+ Made Threes (-114)

RJ Luis is one of three players on the Red Storm who averages 12-plus points per game, and he leads the team with 18.5 PPG. Even though Luis isn't known as a sharpshooter from deep, his volume and efficiency from beyond the arc in recent contests is enough to show some value in him making multiple threes on Saturday.

After posting two-plus threes in only 7 of his first 26 games -- and averaging 1.0 made threes and 3.6 three-point attempts per game during that span -- Luis has knocked down two-plus threes in seven of his last eight outings, including five in the win over Omaha in the first round. Over his last eight appearances, Luis is also logging 2.6 made threes and 5.0 three-point attempts per game.

While the Razorbacks are 84th in three-point percentage allowed (32.2%), they are 196th in three-point rate allowed (39.2%). With St. John's giving Luis the green light to take more shots from deep, he should have enough chances from beyond the three-point line to hit multiple threes against Arkansas.

You can also download our FREE college basketball printable bracket.

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Which bets stand out to you for today's games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest men's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.