St. John's vs. Northern Iowa Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - First Round

The No. 5 St. John's Red Storm (28-6) and the No. 12 Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12) are ready to tip off their first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, starting at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. St. John's is a 9.5-point favorite in this matchup. Here's everything you need to know about this East Region matchup as you fill out your brackets. The point total is set at 131.5 for the matchup.

St. John's is coming off of a 72-52 win against UConn in its most recent outing on Saturday. Zuby Ejiofor recorded 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists for St. John's. Northern Iowa is coming off of an 84-69 victory over UIC in its most recent outing on Sunday. Trey Campbell totaled 23 points, four rebounds and four assists for Northern Iowa.

St. John's vs. Northern Iowa Odds and Game Time

• When: Friday, March 20, 2026 at 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where: Viejas Arena in San Diego, California
• Spread favorite: St. John's -9.5
• Moneyline favorite: St. John's -549
• Moneyline underdog: Northern Iowa +383
• Over/Under: 131.5 points

How to watch St. John's vs. Northern Iowa

• TV Channel: CBS
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: St. John's vs. Northern Iowa

• This season, 29 of St. John's 34 games have gone over Friday's total of 131.5 points.
• This season, 15 games Northern Iowa has played finished with a combined score higher than 131.5 points.
• Together, the two teams combine for 151.5 points per game, 20.0 points more than the total of 131.5 for this game.
• These two teams give up a combined 131.3 points per game, 0.2 points less than this contest's over/under.
• On average, St. John's has seen a 151.5-point over/under in its games this season, 20.0 more points than the over/under in this matchup.
• The over/under for this contest is 0.3 points higher than the average over/under in Northern Iowa's games this season of 131.2.

Betting the Spread: St. John's vs. Northern Iowa

• Against the spread, St. John's is 20-14-0 this year.
• The Red Storm have an ATS record of 8-8 in their 16 games when favored by 9.5 points or more so far this season.
• Northern Iowa is 17-16-0 against the spread this year.
• At home this year, St. John's is 8-9 against the spread and 15-2 overall.
• At home, as a 9.5-point favorite or greater, St. John's is 6-8 ATS.
• Northern Iowa is 7-4 against the spread, and 6-5 overall, in away games.

Betting the Moneyline: St. John's vs. Northern Iowa

• This season, St. John's has won 26 out of the 29 games, or 89.7%, in which it has been the moneyline favorite.
• The Red Storm have entered 15 games this season favored by -549 or more and are 14-1 in those contests.
• The bookmakers' moneyline implies a 84.6% chance of a victory for St. John's.
• Northern Iowa has won in three of the six contests it has been named as the moneyline underdog this year.
• The Panthers have yet to play a game this season with longer moneyline odds than +383.
• Northern Iowa has an implied victory probability of 20.7% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.