Butler Bulldogs vs St. John’s Red Storm Pick & Prediction – 1/28/2026

Butler heads to midtown Manhattan to face a surging St. John’s team on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm have climbed back into the AP Top 25 and enter on a six-game winning streak, while the Bulldogs have won three straight games and are looking to pull off an upset in this contest. Before this game tips off from the world’s most famous arena, you will find my Butler vs St. John’s prediction below.

Our Butler vs St. John’s Pick

Pick:

Confidence: 3/5

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: Butler Bulldogs @ St. John’s Red Storm
• Date & Time: Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7:00 PM ET
• Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
• Broadcast: Peacock

Key Storylines

• St. John’s has re-entered the AP Top 25 at number 25 after stacking six straight wins, including a late-game rally against Seton Hall and an 88-83 victory over Xavier that doubled as Rick Pitino’s 900th career win.
• In the January 6 meeting between these programs at Hinkle Fieldhouse, St. John’s pulled away to win 84-70 behind a 42-28 second half. The Red Storm and Bulldogs were tied at halftime of that game and it will be interesting to see if this rematch looks like the first or second half of that initial matchup.
• Butler’s backcourt scoring, led by Finley Bizjack, gives the Bulldogs a puncher’s chance in most games they play. His 25 points at Seton Hall showcased the offensive ceiling of this Butler team. The continued absence of guard Jalen Jackson, however, trims down their depth to some extent.
• Butler’s Finley Bizjack leads his team with 17.5 PPG and Michael Ajayi leads them with 11.5 RPG. St. John’s star Zuby Ejiofor leads his team in points, rebounds, and assists. He is averaging 15.7 PPG and 7.5 RPG. Team-wise, SJU averages 85.1 PPG, while Butler posts 83.6 PPG with 47% shooting.
• St. John’s comes into this game in second place in the Big East standings, trailing only UConn in that department. The Red Storm will try to keep the pressure on the Huskies by getting a win in this game.

Head-to-Head & Betting Trends

• St. John’s is 17-11 all-time against Butler.
• Butler is 11-9 against the spread going into this contest.
• St. John’s comes into this game with a 10-8-1 record against the spread.
• Butler is 10-9-1 to the over going into this game.
• The under is 11-8 in St. John’s games going into Wednesday night.

Butler vs St. John’s 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.

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