Round 16 Game Preview Tasmania JackJumpers v Melbourne United

GAME PREVIEW –

Round 16 – Tasmania JackJumpers v Melbourne United

Pride Round  

Friday 19 January, 5.30pm tip-off

MyState Bank Arena

Watch LIVE on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

Form Guide

Tasmania
107-108 loss to Illawarra
77-80 loss to Brisbane
103-86 win over Cairns

Melbourne
82-81 win over New Zealand
96-100 loss to Adelaide
101-85 win over Sydney

State of Play

Scott Roth has signed a contract extension with the JackJumpers until the end of the 2026/27 season. The former NBL Coach of the Year has won a total of 48 of the 88 games in which he has taken charge of Tasmania.

Liam Santamaria has given Milton Doyle “a huge pass” for his recent dip in form after a challenging time personally, and said he tips his hat to the star import any time he performs like he did in the second half against Illawarra.

Tasmania has lost six of its last eight games, however those defeats have come by an average of just over four points.

Shea Ili (concussion) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (personal) will remain sidelined for Round 16, following their absences last round.

Dean Vickerman said a key focal point of Melbourne’s offence is attempting to give Chris Goulding more quality shots from behind the three-point line.

Fun Facts

Tasmania is the only team with a winning record against Melbourne across the last three seasons. The JackJumpers have won seven of the 11 games the teams have contested since the start of NBL22.

Last time they met
HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 5

Melbourne United 90 def Tasmania JackJumpers 82

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 82 (McVeigh 22, Crawford 16, Doyle 12)

MELBOURNE UNITED 90 (Clark 19,  Bowen 17, Lual-Acuil Jnr 17)

Melbourne United came from behind to beat the JackJumpers on the road to win in Coach Dean Vickerman’s 300^th game.

Missing Matt Dellavedova, who remained in Melbourne as he continued to recover from a concussion, United started slowly and the JackJumpers got out to an early 13-point lead.

Consecutive stops and a noticeable improvement down the defensive end allowed United to claw their way back into the game, drawing level by the first break.

Thanks to a 30-15 third quarter by United, the top-of-the-table clash went to the final break with Melbourne leading 73-57.

Tasmania jumped out of the blocks with the home crowd at their backs, picking up the first 5 points of the quarter.

In traditional JackJumper fashion the home team surged toward the end of the game, and had Melbourne fans on the edge of their seats. But this time, United managed to hold on, defeating Tasmania 90-82.

SRT Logistics Coaches’ take

Assistant Coach Jack Fleming said “we’ll have to defend their two high scoring guards Goulding and Clark closely.. they’ve been the best defensive team in the league and obviously the clear leaders of the competition for a while now. We’ll look to clean up our rebounding and defend the perimeter”.

Ins & outs 

Tasmania JackJumpers: Majok Deng will miss with an ankle injury

Melbourne United: Jo Lual-Acuil (Personal Reasons) and Shea Ili (Concussion Symptoms) will both miss the game

Opponents on the Radar

Matthew Dellavedova
After a stuttering start to the season largely caused by injury, Matthew Dellavedova looks to have settled back into life at Melbourne United perfectly as the NBL24 Finals continue to rapidly approach.

Key absences early in the season meant the star Boomers guard took on a brunt of the scoring load, and consistent, and while injury-enforced changes to the guard rotation had prevented him from finding his niche within United’s offence, ‘Delly’ has been rolling in Melbourne’s recent run.

He inspired the team to a nail-biting one-point win against New Zealand with a 14-point, 10 assist double-double in Round 15, and finished United’s Round 15 double-header with a total of 18 assists.