Game Information
Saint Louis Billikens (6-0) vs Stanford Cardinal (5-1)
Time: 6pm CT Friday
How to watch: truTV
DraftKings Odds
Spread: SLU -3.5
Total: 161.5
KenPom Projection
SLU 81, Stanford 76
Billikens Look To Keep Momentum
After last night’s dramatic win over Santa Clara, the Saint Louis University Billikens are right back at it tonight against the Stanford Cardinal in Palm Desert, California.
The Billikens remain undefeated thanks to Kellen Thames’ late bucket that sealed a 71-70 victory over the Broncos yesterday.
SLU Strong In Second Half
The Bills were down 4 at the break last night and trailed by as many as 9 in the second half, but they were able to rally back to claim the victory. Strong second halves have been a theme in SLU games this season. The Billikens’ first half scoring margin is +56, but the margin in the second half rises to +80.
SLU aims to have a better shooting night from distance in this one. The Billikens shot just 25.9% from 3 against Santa Clara, but they’re still a strong 37.1% from deep this season. They are facing a Stanford defense that starts the day 317th in the country in 3-point field goal percentage allowed.
Stanford Struggles From 3
Stanford had a second half comeback last night as well, as the Cardinal knocked off Minnesota 72-68 to earn the right to face SLU. Stanford was led by 25 points from Ebuka Okorie. The freshman is averaging 24 points per game this season.
The Cardinal have struggled shooting from distance this year. They rank 251st in the nation from 3-point range (30.9%), and SLU defends the 3 well (12th in the country at 24.6% allowed).
My Lean
The Billikens didn’t bring their “A” game last night and were also facing a very good team in Santa Clara, but they were able to scratch and claw and find a way to win.
This line for the Stanford game started as SLU -4.5 and has since dropped to 3.5, which is a bit alarming.
But I expect SLU to have a much better shooting performance tonight. Stanford doesn’t defend the 3 nearly as well as Santa Clara, so I think the Bills will be able to score enough to pull away late and cover this number.
Lean: SLU -3.5 at -115 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer