Round 12 of NBL22 gets underway on Thursday night with the Throwdown between Melbourne United and South-East Melbourne Phoenix. We bring you our best bet for that game and all other Round 12 matchups right here!
NBL Round 12 Betting Tips
Melbourne United vs S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, John Cain Arena.
Melbourne were very slow starters against Perth in Round 11 and looked likely to suffer their third loss in a row, however, they hit their straps in the middle to quarters where they outscored the Wildcats 63-32 en route to a six-point win. Overall, United have been the most consistent team this season and are deserving of top spot in the standings with a 9-4 record.
South-East Melbourne have been a hard team to catch this season as they continue to mix good performances with bad ones. Most recently they were able negotiate a 12-point win against what was an in-form JackJumpers outfit, which made it three wins from their last five games. As a result, the Phoenix enter Round 12 with an 8-4 record and are sitting in third spot on the ladder.
The Phoenix took the honours in the first Throwdown of NBL22 when defeating United by eight points in Round 2 in a see-sawing affair. That loss sparked United into action as they went onto win each of their next eight games and surge to the top of the standings. It’s pretty fair to say that the defending champions are the deserving favourites on the back of their recent form and should be able to level the season series at 1-1 providing they play somewhere close to their best.
Melbourne United -2.5
$1.90
Illawarra Hawks at Cairns Taipans
Friday 7:30pm AEDT, WIN Entertainment Centre
Since starting the season 3-0 and on top of the ladder, the Hawks are yet to win back-to-back games. They’ve gone 4-5 in their last nine outings, but have the opportunity to string together consecutive wins over the Taipans after beating them by six points last weekend. Irrespective of their indifferent results of late, the Hawks remain inside the top four as we enter Round 12.
The Taipans welcomed back superstar Scott Machado in Round 11 and while the All-NBL guard was influential in his return, he’s been limited by a very heavy minutes restriction. His Snakes certainly need him back to full flight sooner rather than later however, as they enter this clash having lost five of their last six games, which has seen them drop to second last on the ladder.
These teams have already faced each other twice this season and it’s the Hawks who have been the beneficiary of this matchup, defeating the Taipans by 19 points first up and by six points in their most recent clash. We’ve seen little to suggest the Taipans have the ability to turn things around and as a result, we’ll be backing in the Hawks to get the chocolates rather comfortably once again.
Illawarra Hawks -5.5
$1.85
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix vs Brisbane Bullets
Saturday 5:30pm AEDT, John Cain Arena
Looking to bounce back from their loss against Melbourne United in the opening game of Round 12, the Phoenix will play hosts to the Bullets on Saturday night. This will be their fourth straight game at John Cain Arena, but they haven’t been able to capitalise with just one win against two losses. Regardless, the Phoenix are in a relatively strong position through the first third of the season, with eight wins from 13 games.
The Bullets started the season in strong fashion with four wins from their first seven games and looked as though they’ll be contending for a top four position. However, an injury to superstar Nathan Sobey a few weeks ago has left a huge void that his teammates haven’t been able to fill. The Bullets enter Round 12 having lost five of their last six games, three of which have been on their home deck.
Neither team would be happy with the performances they’ve produced in recent weeks, but the Phoenix have been the more competitive of the two. Now on the road and without their best player, we expect the Bullets to struggle to put up a winning score in this one, resulting in a pretty comfortable win for the Phoenix.
S.E. Melbourne Phoenix -6.5
$1.90
Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers
Sunday 5:30pm AEDT, WIN Entertainment Centre
The Hawks were far too good for the Taipans in their first game in Round 12, defeating them by 25-points to record back-to-back wins for the first time since Round 3. Surprisingly, defence has been where the Hawks have struggled this season, but they were locked in against the Snakes to hold them to just 54 points. The Hawks are now 8-6 on the season and are back inside the top four.
The JackJumpers had their win streak snapped at four when they fell to the Phoenix by 12 points last start. They ran out of gas in the second half in what was their third game on the road from their last four. Regardless, it’s been a fantastic couple of weeks for the NBL’s newest franchise who are now 6-7 on the season and sit in sixth spot in the standings.
These teams are yet to face each other in the NBL, which makes it tough to find a good reference. Both teams enter this clash in good winning form, but it will be the Hawks who start as the clear favourites on their home deck. Instead of playing the H2H market, we like the look of the ‘unders’ in the total points market, which looks around 5-10 points too high. Both teams have tightened the screws on defence in recent weeks and we believe this has the makings of a low-scoring game.
Total Points Under 162.5
$1.90
