Mitchell Layton/Getty Images. Pictured: Ike Obiagu
College Basketball Odds: St. John’s vs. Seton Hall
| St. John’s Odds | +4.5 |
| Seton Hall Odds | -4.5 |
| Over/Under | 149.5 |
| Time | 4:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | CBSSN |
Ask a college basketball bettor which side they’re taking in this afternoon’s St. John’s-Seton Hall matchup and chances are you’ll hear the former. In fact, as of 11 a.m. ET, two-thirds of bets on this spread have landed on St. John’s — a 4.5-point underdog.
But that certainly doesn’t tell the whole story of how sportsbooks have taken action on this game, nor how they’ve settled on that point spread (for the time being, at least).
Our public betting percentages paint the full picture below.
College Basketball Betting Report: St. John’s vs. Seton Hall
Seton Hall’s 4.5-point edge in this matchup wasn’t always so slim. In fact, the Pirates opened as 6.5-point favorites — even as high as -7.5 at some shops — and have come down as a result of the ridiculous distribution of money on this spread (to be fair, these percentages can certainly regress over the next few hours as tipoff approaches).
The 66% backing of St. John’s has generated almost all of the money — 96% as of writing — on the spread, which is obviously going to catch sportsbooks’ attention simply as a monetary liability. But the discrepancy between bets and money serves another purpose as well.
Since big bets are more likely to come from sharper bettors, a 30-percentage-point discrepancy can be used as a hint toward the side attracting the sharps — in this case, St. John’s.
And the same story is unfolding on the over/under.
A 62% backing of the under has driven 90% of money on the total, and sportsbooks have dropped this line by 3-4 points as a result.
You can follow along as these percentages and lines change in real time here.