The Harvard Crimson take on the St. John's Red Storm in Queens, NY. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
St. John's is favored by -25.5 points on the spread with a price of 99 cents to win and the total set at 145.5 points on Fanatics Markets.
Here’s my Harvard vs. St. John's predictions and college basketball picks for December 23, 2025.
Harvard vs St. John's Prediction
My Pick: St. John's -25.5 (Play to -27)
My Harvard vs St. John's best bet is on the Red Storm to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Harvard vs. St. John's Odds
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Harvard vs St. John's College Basketball Betting Preview
Harvard Basketball
Harvard is facing a real jump in competition. The previous highest-rated opponent it faced was Penn State, which sits at No. 128 in KenPom.
Cut-and-dry, this matchup could get ugly for Harvard.
From a pace standpoint, the Crimson want a slow, half-court game. They just won't have the ability to run with St. John's for 40 minutes, which is what the Johnnies want. Harvard sits 332nd in adjusted tempo.
Offensively, Harvard is best at attacking the hoop and picking and popping with versatile "center" Thomas Batties II.
Harvard is a bit limited in the shooting department. Although the Crimson connect at a 35% clip, the Crimson don't have a lot of shooters. Robert Hinton (16 PPG) is Harvard's best player, but he shoots just 23% from 3.
Veteran wing Chandler Pigge is a rugged defender, but he shoots 30% from deep. Plus, Ben Eisendrath, a 6-foot-2 guard, attempts fewer than one 3-pointer per game.
So, overall, Tommy Amaker's squad has no shooting outside of Batties, Austin Hunt and Tey Barbour.
The unfortunate part of that for Harvard? I can't see it having success driving on the bigger Red Storm. That'll likely force a bunch of poor shooters to have to launch it.
However, I'd rather see Harvard shoot 3s — even if it's not the strength of the offense instead of turning the ball over. And that's an all too common sight for Harvard, which gives the ball away 18% of the time.
If the Crimson turn the ball over that often, this game will be a total blowout in favor of St. John's.
St. John's Basketball
St. John's is one of the premier mid-major slayers in America. The Red Storm have faced four mid-major teams and beat each by 27+ points. That includes wins over William & Mary, Quinnipiac and Iona — all teams rated higher in KenPom than Harvard.
The Johnnies' length is a major issue for mid-major teams. All five Red Storm starters are 6-foot-5 or taller, and they want to pound the paint with physical bigs Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins.
Hopkins and Ejiofor are the top two scorers for St. John's, as both are averaging just shy of 14 points per game.
Moreover, St. John's grabs offensive rebounds at a 37% clip. That'll be a huge boost in the half-court.
The Red Storm could use all the extra possessions it can get in the half-court with all their point guard problems. Rick Pitino is just shuffling pieces left and right as he hopes to find the best ball-handling option.
I don't think it'll affect the Johnnies in this matchup, but it will against better teams, as we saw against Kentucky.
Defensively, St. John's will look to pressure and turn defense into offense via turnovers (21% turnover rate). The Red Storm are also eyeing a frenetic pace, as they sit 52nd in adjusted tempo.
Additionally, St. John's ranks top-50 in effective field goal defense, as well as 2-point and 3-point defense.
There won't be many avenues for Harvard to score.
Harvard vs. St. John's Betting Analysis
I'm laying the points with St. John's here. I feel better about the Johnnies forcing a faster tempo than Harvard slowing the game down, and this matchup will be a drubbing if it's a faster-paced affair.
Not only is Harvard not used to fast-tempo games, but I also don't think it can compete in them.
Harvard is much smaller, turns the ball over too much and won't be able to score on this St. John's defense.
My Pick: St. John's -25.5 (Play to -27)
