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Rick Pitino will become the first coach in NCAA history to bring six different schools to the NCAA Tournament when the No. 2 seed St. John's Red Storm (30-5) battle the No. 15 seed Omaha Mavericks (22-12) on Thursday on CBS and Paramount+. Pitino, in his second year at St. John's, has the school in its first Round of 64 NCAA Tournament game since 2015 after St. John's won its first Big East Championship since 2000. Omaha defeated St. Thomas-Minnesota, 85-75, in the Summit League Championship to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. 

The game from Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I., tips off at 9:45 p.m. ET.  The Red Storm are 19.5-point favorites in the latest St. John's vs. Omaha odds from the SportsLine Consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 150.5. Before making any Omaha vs. St. John's picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 228-166 roll (+2025) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. This model has also produced brackets that have beaten over 91% of CBS Sports entries in four of the last six tournaments and nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on St. John's vs. Omaha and just locked in its March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Omaha vs. St. John's:

  • St. John's vs. Omaha spread: St. John's -19.5
  • St. John's vs. Omaha over/under: 150.5 points 
  • St. John's vs. Omaha money line: St. John's -2941, Omaha +1276
  • SJ: The Red Storm are 6-2 against the spread (ATS) over their last eight games
  • OMAHA: The Mavericks have covered the spread in six straight games
  • St. John's vs. Omaha picks: See picks at SportsLine

Why St. John's can cover

Pitino's Red Storm have been built in his intense style and played with that tenacity all season. St. John's is 26th in the nation in scoring defense (65.9 points per game) despite a challenging conference and non-conference schedule. Pitino, who has won two national championships and reached seven Final Fours, is 54-21 for a .720 win percentage in the NCAA Tournament over his career.

St. John's is led on the court by junior guard RJ Luis Jr., the Big East Player of the Year. The 6-foot-7 versatile guard averages 18.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and he starred in the Big East Championship Game with 29 points and 10 rebounds over just 29 minutes. The Red Storm defeated Creighton, 82-66, in the Big East final and won all three conference tournament games by at least 16 points. St. John's has the 10th-best average scoring margin (+12.8) in the nation this year. See which team to pick here.

Why Omaha can cover 

Omaha made the transition from a Division II school to a Division I program beginning in the 2011-12 season and in just the 10th year of being postseason eligible, the Mavericks are dancing in March. Omaha won the Summit League regular-season and conference tournament to earn its first automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament as head coach Chris Crutchfield has quickly turned the program around. Omaha had five wins the year before Crutchfield took over and has made steady improvements over his three years, going from nine wins to 15 to 22 this year. 

The Mavericks largely built from within with each of their top-three scorers being three-year players for Crutchfield at Omaha. Senior 6-8 forward Marquel Sutton leads Omaha with 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, including a dominant 22 points and 18 rebounds in the Summit League final. Sutton is averaging 25 points and 11.6 rebounds over his last five games. See which team to pick here.

How to make St. John's vs. Omaha picks

SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 151 combined points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that hits in over 50% of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.

So who wins Omaha vs. St. John's, and which side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the St. John's vs. Omaha spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,000 on its top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.