College basketball picks: UConn vs. St. John's odds, predictions, best bets for Friday, Feb. 6

It's a battle at the top of the Big East on Friday night when the third-ranked Connecticut Huskies visit Madison Square Garden to face the 22nd-ranked St. John's Red Storm. UConn (22-1) is the top dog at 12-0 in the Big East, but the Red Storm (17-5) are right behind, with one loss in 11 conference games. St. John's won both meetings last season, but the Huskies had won four in a row before that. The Red Storm have won eight consecutive games, while UConn has won 18 straight since losing to current No. 1 Arizona way back on Nov. 19.

Friday's game in New York City tips off at 8 p.m. ET. The Huskies are 2.5-point road favorites in the latest consensus UConn vs. St. John's odds, and the Over/Under for total points is set at 144.5. UConn is the -152 favorite on the money line, with the Red Storm priced as +127 underdogs.

Before you lock in any college basketball bets on St. John's vs. Connecticut, you really need to see the predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. The model simulates every game 10,000 times and entered this week on a sizzling 10-1 run on its top-rated Over/Under college basketball picks dating back to last season and on an 8-1 run on top-rated CBB spread picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at the top sportsbooks could have seen some strong profits.

Bet on UConn vs. St. John's at BetMGM, where new users get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if their first bet loses:

Here are the model's best bets for Friday night's Big East UConn vs. St. John's showdown. Visit SportsLine to get even more college basketball picks from the SportsLine Projection Model and college hoops experts.

Connecticut vs. St. John's model picks for Friday

UConn -2.5

The Huskies have won seven of their past 12 games by double digits, and all but one of those was won by at least five points. They were taken to overtime twice, by Providence and Villanova, but won those by a combined 13 points. UConn has been favored by double digits in 16 of its 23 games and covered the spread in four of the other seven. The Huskies are 4-3 against the spread in road games while St. John's is 5-7 ATS at home. The Huskies haven't fared well against the spread when facing the Red Storm, going 2-9 ATS in the past 11 meetings, but with this line, essentially all they need to do is win. The SportsLine Projection Model has them covering in 54% of its simulations.     

UConn money line

UConn has beaten all comers, aside from the best team in the nation, and the loss to Arizona was by four points, 71-67. It also came four days after another tough game, when the Huskies beat then-No. 7 BYU 86-84. They have beaten four ranked teams since then -- Illinois, Kansas, Florida and Seton Hall. St. John's has lost to every ranked team it has played -- Alabama, Iowa State and Auburn -- as well as Kentucky and Providence. Two of the losses were at home and three were on neutral courts. The Huskies have won six of the past nine meetings, and the SportsLine model has them winning in 59% of simulations.

Over 144.5

UConn averages fewer than 80 points per game but has topped 85 in its past three. SJU averages almost 85 and gives up close to 72, ranking 129th in the nation. The Huskies defense is one of the bet in the nation, tied for ninth in allowing 63.8 points, but nine of the past 13 games between these teams has gone of the total points line. Four of Connecticut's past five have gone Over and it is 7-5 to the Over in Big East games this season. St. John's is 6-5 on the Over in its conference matchups. The SportsLine model has Over 144.5 hitting in 58.4% of its simulations.