Round 18 in NBL24 is one of the quieter rounds of the season with only six games set to be played across four days. First up is the Taipans and JackJumpers on Thursday night, and we have you covered with our best bet for that game plus all other Round 18 matchups here.
Also, we’re providing previews and expert betting tips for every game of the NBL24 season, so make sure to head over to our NBL Tips page regularly to keep up to date with all of our content.
NBL24 Round 18 Preview & Betting Tips
Cairns Taipans vs Tasmania JackJumpers
Thursday 7:30pm AEDT, February 1st, Cairns Convention Centre
Click here for our full game preview and best bet!
Adelaide 36ers vs Sydney Kings
Friday 7:30pm AEDT, February 2nd, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Click here for our full game preview and best bet!
Illawarra Hawks vs Brisbane Bullets
Saturday 5:30pm AEDT, February 3rd, WIN Entertainment Centre
What a juicy matchup this is to begin Saturday night NBL hoops. The Hawks rebounded from their three-game slide to win back-to-back games in Round 17 against quality opposition, which has kept their playoffs hopes alive. Meanwhile, the Bullets have won five of their last seven games and are also right in the mix. These teams have met twice so far this season, both of which were played in Brisbane, and the Bullets came away victorious on both occasions by a combined margin of eight points. Interestingly, the Bullets have now won five straight games in this matchup. Despite that, the Hawks have been priced as the clear favourites by the bookies, which doesn’t exactly make a whole lot of sense. As such, I’ll be taking the Bullets to at least keep this one close and cover the generous spread.
Brisbane Bullets +4.5
$1.88 (1.5 Units)
Melbourne United vs SE Melbourne Phoenix
Saturday 8pm AEDT, February 3rd, John Cain Arena
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Tasmania JackJumpers vs Adelaide 36ers
Sunday 2pm AEDT, February 4th, MyState Bank Arena
The JackJumpers have struggled for form in the second half of the season but there have been some positive signs over the past couple of rounds. They were able to get the better of the Taipans in their opening game of the Round 18 to make it two wins from their past three games. Meanwhile, the 36ers are humming along at the moment with four wins in a row and six from their past seven games to breath life into their season. They were able to take care of the Kings by seven points on Friday night and are now just one win outside the top six. The 36ers are playing with a lot of fight right now but the JackJumpers are a team that they just simply don’t match up well against. They’ve lost their past three games against the Jackies by 10+ points including a 35-point bloodbath last time out. I can’t see them completely rewriting the script on Sunday afternoon despite their great form of late.
Tasmania JackJumpers -5.5
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
Perth Wildcats vs New Zealand Breakers
Sunday 4pm AEDT, February 4th, RAC Arena
To close out the round we have a mouth-watering matchup between the Wildcats and the Breakers in Perth. The Wildcats have won seven of their past eight games and will be finishing in the top two alongside Melbourne United. Elsewhere, the Breakers have been making a late surge towards a playoff spot with wins in two of their past three, but still have it all to do if they’re to make the top six. However, the Breakers have finally gotten healthy and now boast one of the most talented rosters in the league, which will give themselves every chance to achieve their goal. These clubs faced each other just a couple of weeks ago and it was the Wildcats who narrowly came out on top (108-102). I’m expecting another tight battle this time around, with potentially the Breakers reversing the result.
New Zealand Breakers +5.5
$1.91 (1 Unit)
