Colgate Raiders vs St. John's Red Storm Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Andrew Alekseyenko leads Colgate in scoring, assists, and rebounding at once, with 12.5 boards a game, and St. John's is scoring 91.0 a game behind Quinn Ellis at 9.0 assists a night. A total of 156.5 prices a fast night at Carnesecca Arena.

The Matchup

Colgate visits St. John's on Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, on Peacock, with St. John's a 28.5-point favorite and a total of 156.5. The moneyline is off the board for both teams. The tip is at 6:00 PM CT. Nobody prices a game like this on whether the ranked home team wins; the whole argument is about the last ten minutes and whether a heavy favorite keeps its foot down.

Colgate is 0-2 in the Patriot League, scoring 75.0 points a game and allowing 83.5 in the 2026-27 season. Andrew Alekseyenko leads the Raiders at 22.5 points, 4.0 assists, and 12.5 rebounds a game, leading his team in scoring, creating, and rebounding at the same time, a one-man profile with no close second act on the roster. St. John's is 2-0 in the Big East Conference, scoring 91.0 points a game and allowing 64.0. Keyshawn Hall leads the Red Storm at 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game, and Quinn Ellis leads them at 9.0 assists a game, a creator whose passing drives the highest-scoring offense in this matchup.

St. John's is better than its own strong history right now, and that is the honest frame for a line this large. The Red Storm went 30-7 in 2025-26, scored 80.9 points a game, and allowed 69.6, a thirty-win team that was already elite.

Scoring 91.0 and allowing 64.0 through two games this season is a step beyond even that standard, and early numbers at that level tend to describe the opponents as much as the team. Colgate's own last season was respectable: the Raiders went 18-15, scored 76.4, and allowed 74.6, a winning team whose 83.5 allowed through two games this season is the number Alekseyenko's supporting cast has to drag back toward last season's level for the points to matter.

Key Factors

Ellis against Alekseyenko is the creative battle, and it explains both sides of this spread. Ellis at 9.0 assists a game runs a deep, balanced offense that scores 91.0 a night without leaning on one finisher, while Alekseyenko at 4.0 assists a game is Colgate's creator because he is also its scorer and its rebounder. A favorite built on depth wears an underdog down in waves; an underdog built on one great player stays dangerous for exactly as long as that player stays on the floor and out of foul trouble.

The rebounding number is Colgate's quiet lifeline. Alekseyenko at 12.5 rebounds a game nearly doubles Hall at 6.5, the Red Storm's leader, and extra possessions are how a big underdog bleeds the clock and keeps a blowout from compounding. St. John's allowing 64.0 points a game is the counterweight: if the home defense turns Colgate's secondary options away possession after possession, Alekseyenko's line fills up in a game that still drifts past the spread.

The honest counterpoint is that this Colgate team has not defended anyone yet. The Raiders are winless and allowing 83.5 points a game, and they walk into a building where the home team scores 91.0 a night behind the best creator in the game. If Ellis pushes the pace early, Hall finishes in bunches, and Alekseyenko picks up fouls chasing the game, St. John's covers this in the first half and the back door never opens. The points only work if Colgate's one star plays like it for the full night.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.