The St. John's Red Storm will host Big East rivals Xavier on Monday, and the home team is just a slight favorite. The Red Storm are coming off a home win over Seton Hall on Saturday, and they trail Xavier by just a half game in the Big East standings. This looks like a good spot to back the home team at an affordable price.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Home Cookin' - St. John's boasts a home record of 12-3, while Xavier has just four wins in 10 games on the road so far. The Musketeers have failed to cover the spread in nine of their last 13 road games.

2. Sir'Dominic Pointer - The senior guard scored a career high 24 points in the win at Xavier on February 14, and he led all scorers with 22 points and 10 rebounds versus Seton Hall on Saturday.

3. X-Factor - The Red Storm held Xavier to just 42.2% shooting (27-of-64) in their most recent meeting.

Selection: This is a play on the St. John's Red Storm