Gold Coast Blaze (10-8, 4th) @ Sydney Kings (8-12, 7th)
Friday 10 February - Sydney Entertainment Centre - 7:30 PM
TV: Broadcast on ONE from 10:30 PM (check local guides)
Live Stats: Click here
Tickets: Click here
The red-hot Gold Coast Blaze will visit The Kingdome on Friday to take on a Sydney Kings team desperate to get their run at a playoff berth back on track. The Blaze have won their past four straight games, with wins over Cairns, Wollongong and Melbourne (twice). Meanwhile the Kings have dropped their past three matches in a row, with losses to top-three sides Townsville, Peth and New Zealand.
The Kings and Blaze have played each other six times previously in NBL history, with the ledger evenly balanced at three wins apiece. Sydney have won two of their three meetings at the Sydney Entertainment Centre however including their one match-up so far this season with a six-point win in Round 14, 102-96.
In that game, Jerai Grant dominated with 23 points and 12 rebounds for Sydney, while Aaron Bruce had 21 points. Mark Worthington had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Blaze against his former side while Adam Gibson added 15 points.
The Blaze lost that match despite shooting a superior percentage to Sydney, largely because they had a season-high 23 turnovers. Coincidentally the Kings have so far had the two individual games this season which have recorded the highest number of turnovers of any club, with 26 against Wollongong on New Year’s Eve and 24 (=2nd highest) on 28 October against New Zealand. Sydney are equal with New Zealand as the NBL team leaders in turnovers per game at 15.5 per outing.
Gold Coast and Sydney are scheduled to meet once more this season, in Round 22 on the Gold Coast.
Sydney’s Julian Khazzouh is just 15 rebounds away from recording 1,000 for his NBL career. There are only 18 players active in the NBL that have achieved that milestone.
So far this season, Sydney are 4-6 at home, while the Blaze are 3-5 when playing on the road in 2011/12.
The Kings continue to lead the NBL in rebounding, and are averaging a league-high 40.6 per game. Gold Coast are averaging 37.4 boards per match, which ranks them fourth in the league. Sydney are also leading the NBL in blocked shots at 4.9 per game.
Perth Wildcats (14-6, 2nd) @ Cairns Taipans (11-9, 5th)
Friday 10 February - Cairns Convention Centre - 7:30 PM
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The Perth Wildcats will look to bounce back from their loss to New Zealand last week when they visit the Taipans in Cairns on Friday night. Their six-point loss to the Breakers last round snapped the Wildcats’ six-game win streak. The Taipans meanwhile last week won for the second time in three matches with a four-point victory at home over archrivals Townsville. The Taipans have won five of their last seven games.
Cairns are 6-3 when playing at home this season, while the Wildcats have the NBL’s best road record at 7-4.
This will be the second meeting of these two teams this season, with the Wildcats scoring a 70-64 victory over the Taipans in Cairns in Round Six. Perth import Kevin Lisch had 14 points to lead four players in double-figures in that match. Jamar Wilson was the best for Cairns with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Ian Crosswhite had 15 points and 11 boards.
Overall, Perth have won 23 of their 40 all-time games against the Taipans. Cairns have however won four of their past six games against the Wildcats overall and beaten Perth in 12 of their 20 previous encounters in Cairns.
Shawn Redhage needs just 11 more rebounds to record his 1,500th board for the Wildcats. Currently on 1489 career Wildcats rebounds, Redhage is ranked seventh on the club’s all-time list of carom catchers. Redhage is also approaching the 4,000-point milestone for the Wildcats, needing just 74 more points to become just the fifth player in Perth’s history to achieve that feat.
Earlier this week, the Wildcats celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first-ever NBL game. On 6 February 1982, the Wildcats took the floor for the first time ever in the national competition, facing off against the Geelong Supercats at the old Perry Lakes Stadium.
Unfortunately for Perth their introduction to the competition was one to forget, as the Wildcats suffered a 105-74 loss to Geelong. Billy Keys led the ‘Cats in their inaugural game with 16 points, while Dan Hickert and Tim Evans each added 14 points apiece. James Crawford and Cal Bruton, players that would ultimately become legends for the Wildcats, led Geelong in the role of spoilers, scoring 27 and 24 points respectively, with Crawford also adding 17 rebounds.
Including that match, the Wildcats have played 949 NBL games, with a record of 548 wins and 401 losses. That win total is the highest of any team in National Basketball League history, and has included an NBL record five championships.
New Zealand Breakers (15-5, 1st) @ Wollongong Hawks (5-14, 8th)
Saturday 11 February - Wollongong Entertainment Centre - 7:30 PM
TV: Broadcast on ONE from 10:30 PM (check local guides)
Radio: NBL Radio from 7:15 PM click here
Live Stats: Click here
Tickets: Click here
After moving clear of Perth to the top of the iiNet NBL Championship ladder following their Round 18 win over the Wildcats, the Breakers now travel to ‘The Sandpit’ to take on the eighth-ranked Hawks.
Wollongong’s venue has been anything but a happy hunting ground for the Breakers over the years. Since entering the league, New Zealand have faced the Hawks there on 14 occasions but have managed to win just three times, with Wollongong claiming the W in the other 11 matches. Overall, the Hawks lead the Breakers 18-10 in the all-time series.
Despite the disparity in their records this season, the Hawks have actually beaten New Zealand in 2011/12. In their last meeting on 11 November, Wollongong upset the defending NBL champions by recording an 81-63 victory in Auckland.
The season series is however tied at one game apiece, as the Breakers beat the Hawks 98-82 in Round One at ‘The Sandpit’.
Wollongong’s Rhys Martin evidently likes taking on the Breakers as he had 16 points and seven assists in their Round One clash and then 20 points in their second. That 20 points was a season and career high for Martin and the 16 points equalled his second-highest offensive output of 2011/12.
These two sides first met on 11 October 2003, with the Hawks winning their inaugural clash easily, 108-78. That started a string of seven straight Wollongong victories to start the rivalry, before New Zealand finally broke through for their first win over the Hawks on 9 October 2005.
This season the Hawks have gone just 2-8 at home thus far. They need to win at least once more from their remaining four games at home to avoid setting a club record for the least number of wins at home in a season. Their previous season low was three, set in 1983. The lowest number of home wins recorded by the Hawks in recent seasons was six in 2006/07.
The Breakers are currently 5-4 when playing on the road this season. If they manage to win all five of their remaining games away from home, they can equal their club record for most away wins in a regular season, set in 2010/11 with 10 victories.
Townsville Crocodiles (11-8, 3rd) @ Adelaide 36ers (5-15, last)
Sunday 12 January - Adelaide Arena - 4:00 PM
TV: Broadcast on ONE from 10:30 PM (check local guides)
Live Stats: Click here
Tickets: Click here
The Adelaide 36ers will look for a way to halt their six-game losing streak when they host the Townsville Crocodiles on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately for the 36ers, they will face a Crocs team that, despite its position in the four, has a less than stellar road record. The Crocs are just 3-6 when playing away from home this season, which is the worst road record of any of the top five teams and equals Wollongong as the second worst in the competition.
The bad news for the 36ers is that they are the holders of both the worst road record (3-8). Even more importantly for this match, they have the second worst home record in the competition with just two wins from nine matches. Those two Sixers home wins were also against sides currently outside the top five (Melbourne and Wollongong), with their last home victory being back on 16 December (Round 11 versus the Hawks).
If Adelaide fails to win at least one of their eight remaining games, they will set a new club record for regular season losses. The current record is 22, set in 2006/07. The 36ers also need to win four of those games to ensure they don’t set a new club record for the least number of wins in a regular season. The existing club record is nine wins, set last season.
Adelaide and Townsville have played each other 55 times in NBL history. Adelaide have won on 31 occasions and the Crocs have won 24 times. Of the 28 games between these sides played in Adelaide, the Sixers have won 19 and the Crocs nine.
This will be the third and final meeting between these sides this season. The Crocs have already clinched the season series after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. Townsville won 79-69 in Round 17 at home, and then 89-71 last week at the same venue.
The 36ers will need to find an answer to Townsville’s Eddie ‘The Thrill’ Gill if they hope to beat the Crocs this time round. Gill has averaged 16.5 points against Adelaide in the first two matches.
This is game number 50 of the NBL career of Ben Allen. All of those games have been with the Townsville Crocodiles. Last week Allen recorded a career-high eight rebounds in the Crocs’ win over the 36ers.
Team Season Stats – click here
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Player Milestones Upcoming – click here
