The top seed in the East Region and in fact, the entire NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils face the fifth seed in the East Region, the Red Storm of St. John’s tonight in Washington, D.C. in what promises to be a good old-fashioned rock fight.
Duke arrives in our nation’s capital riding a 13-game winning streak. Most recently, the Blue Devils dominated TCU in the second half and an 81-58 victory over TCU. Cameron Boozer continues to make his case for the Naismith Award as the best player in college basketball. The freshman carried the Blue Devils to their surprisingly hard-fought win over Siena and picked up a double-double in that win over TCU.
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St. John’s is in the Sweet 16 for the first time this century following Dylan Darling’s last second heroics in the Red Storm’s thrilling 67-65 win over Kansas last weekend. The Big East champs have won 21 of their last 22 games. Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor’s value to St. John’s is immeasurable. His presence on the court for the Johnnies is of even greater importance than Boozer’s is to the Blue Devils.
Both these teams win with their defense. Each owns the paint practically every night. As big and physical as St. John’s is, the Blue Devils are bigger now that Patrick Ngongba III is back in the lineup. Assuming neither team controls the painted area, the next key will be pressure around the perimeter and on the ball. This has been St. John’s calling card and with Caleb Foster (foot) still sidelined, Duke’s ability to handle this pressure is certainly something to watch.
Neither team has shot the ball particularly well thus far. Isaiah Evans has gone 6-14 from the field and 2-8 from deep in each of Duke’s two tournament games. Ian Jackson is 7-17 and 3-9 from beyond the arc for the Johnnies. One of those two players needs to be more efficient on the offensive end for their team to survive and advance.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
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We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game Details and How to Watch Live: Duke vs. St. John’s
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Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
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Game Odds: Duke Blue Devils vs. St. John’s Red Storm
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
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Moneyline: Duke Blue Devils (-285), St. John’s Red Storm (+230)
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This game opened Duke -6.5 with the Total set at 141.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Duke vs. St. John’s
Duke Blue Devils
St. John’s Red Storm
Important stats, trends and insights: Duke vs. St. John’s
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Both of these teams are 20-16 ATS this season
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The OVER has cashed in 13 of each team’s 36 games this season (13-23)
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Micah Robinson was 4-6 from 3-point range in Round 1 against Ohio State
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Cayden Boozer is averaging 14 points per game in the NCAA Tournament
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Patrick Ngongba II (undisclosed) returned to the Duke lineup last game scoring 4 points and pulling down 4 rebounds in 13 minutes
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Bryce Hopkins was 6-9 from deep against Kansas
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Dillon Mitchell was 4-8 from the field and scored 8 points against Kansas
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between Duke and St. John’s:
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Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on St. John’s on the Moneyline
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Spread: Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on St. John’s +6.5
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Total: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 141.5
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
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Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
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Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
