St. John’s Red Storm vs Kentucky Wildcats Preview & Pick – 12/20/2025

The college basketball matchup between the St. John’s Red Storm and Kentucky Wildcats will take place on Saturday in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic. Both teams enter with seven wins so far this season and will look to add to that total with conference play looming. Here, I have broken this game down from all possible angles and you can find my St. John’s vs Kentucky prediction before tip-off from Atlanta.

Our St. John’s vs Kentucky Pick

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: St. John’s Red Storm vs Kentucky Wildcats
• Date & Time: Saturday, December 20, 2025, 12:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
• Broadcast: CBS

Key Storylines

St. John’s enters this neutral-site showdown with a 7-3 record and a three-game winning streak, including a decisive 79-66 win over DePaul to open Big East play. Zuby Ejiofor has been a force on the interior, leading the team in rebounds and blocks while averaging nearly 14 points per game. Joson Sanon has provided both perimeter shooting and defensive energy. Coach Rick Pitino has challenged Bryce Hopkins to reaffirm his role as a primary offensive option before this matchup with the Wildcats.

Kentucky enters this game at 7-4 and has dealt with inconsistency in its non-conference slate. Kentucky is relying heavily on Otega Oweh’s scoring and Malachi Moreno’s rebounding, while Jaland Lowe continues to progress from a shoulder issue that limited much of his season. The Wildcats’ ability to control the boards and push transition scoring could help them break down the St. John’s defense, but their three-point shooting remains an area of concern.

Both of these teams enter this game on winning streaks. St. John’s has won three games in a row coming into this contest, while Kentucky has won two straight games. But only one of these teams will keep its winning streak alive after this contest.

Head-to-Head & Betting Trends

• Kentucky is 11-5 all-time against St. John’s.
• This is the first time that these programs have played against each other since December of 2011.
• Kentucky is 5-6 against the spread so far this season.
• St. John’s has covered the spread in five of its first nine outings this year.
• The under has hit in six of the nine games involving St. John’s so far this year.
• The Wildcats have stayed under the total in six of their 11 games.

St. John’s vs Kentucky Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.