Tip-off: Sunday, February 12, 4pm (local), Adelaide Arena

TV: ONE, 10.30pm (check local guides)

Last time they met: Townsville 89 (Schenscher 22, Gill 16, C Cedar 11, M Cedar 11, Mims 11) d Adelaide 71 (Creek 19, Weigh 13, Simpson 10), Round 18, 2011/12, Townsville Entertainment Centre

So, we meet again?
With these teams having met twice in the past two weeks, a number of fascinating match-ups have evolved with benefits for both teams if exploited correctly.

Diamon had it rough
Adelaide went with 201cm Diamon Simpson against towering Crocs centre Luke Schenscher and were exposed badly.

Not only did Schenscher shoot over Simpson for easy baskets, he also forced the Sixers’ second-leading scorer into foul trouble and restricted him to 15 minutes.

Sixers centre Daniel Johnson matched-up with 201cm Jacob Holmes. While DJ had an 11cm height advantage, he lost the edge in mobility he enjoys against centres, limiting his driving game.

Posting Johnson up was also difficult because Simpson and Wade Helliwell’s lack of range meant Schenscher could help without fear of punishment.

Fast moving Creek
The 36ers prefer the game at a fast pace but struggle to make that happen with two traditional bigs on the floor at most times.

They peeled off a 16-8 first-quarter run with Johnson at centre and Stephen Weigh – who nailed two triples in that spurt – at power forward.

That duo’s shooting ability opened up the floor for Mitch Creek as he scored nine points in a 10-minute stretch bridging quarter-time.

The Johnson-Weigh-Creek frontline combination was only used for another 4min 44secs for the remainder of the game and is a match-up Adelaide should look to exploit more this week.

Keep it PC?
Defensively Creek was used on shooting guard Peter Crawford, but could be even more effective harassing Eddie Gill, whose struggles on the road have mirrored the Crocs’.

Last week against Melbourne, Creek kept import Myron Allen to just three points and two assists in the 16 minutes they were on court together.

His athleticism and height could trouble the 184cm Gill, but Adelaide must then figure out who their own pint-sized point guard Chris Warren will defend.

Warren struggled with Gill’s physical strength and coach Marty Clarke may be better off giving Everard Bartlett a starting role and using Warren as a spark plug off the bench.

The injection of his lightning pace against either of the Cedar brothers could be a significant boost for the Sixers, who have been fast starters but fallen away when the bench enters the game.

Roadhouse blues or Crocodile rock?
The Crocs are a team with swagger on their home floor, shooting with confidence in transition and racking up big scores, but have only beaten Wollongong, Sydney and Melbourne away from The Swamp.

Townsville average 84.7 points at home compared to 78.7 on the road, where they have lacked a Plan B when their perimeter shots aren’t falling.

At home the Crocs are extremely safe with the ball, coughing up just 11.9 turnovers a game compared to 13.7 on the road. Gill’s miscues rise from 2.4 a game in Townsville to 3.6 away.

Capitalising on Townsville errors and controlling the boards will open this game up for Adelaide, the problem is they only force 12.6 turnovers a game and were smashed by 13 on the boards by last Sunday.

Unless they fix those two areas, and make the game’s mismatches work better for them, the 36ers will suffer their seventh straight loss.

Prediction: Crocs by 5