Current Ladder Positions:
Cairns – 4th (15-12), Townsville – 2nd (17-10)
Cairns’ Last Five Games:
Round 24 – defeated Perth (90-87)
Round 23 – defeated Wollongong (68-67)
Round 22 – defeated Melbourne (79-63)
Round 21 – lost to Perth (83-60)
Round 20 – lost to Sydney (76-75)
Townsville’s Last Five Games:
Round 24 – defeated Melbourne (82-72)
Round 23 – defeated Perth (72-71)
Round 22 – defeated New Zealand (100-92)
Round 21 – lost to Wollongong (87-77)
Round 21 – lost to New Zealand (66-65)
Head-To-Head Encounters in 2011:
Round 1 – Townsville defeated Cairns (79-70)
Round 10 – Cairns defeated Townsville (56-51)
Round 18 – Townsville defeated Cairns (81-74)
Key Players:
Ronald Dorsey has been one of Cairns’ most consistent scorers throughout the 2010/11 NBL season. The 27-year-old from Detroit has averaged 13.1 points a game and has also shown his passing skills with an average of 4.7 assists per game. Dorsey’s 20-point effort against the Wildcats last weekend was particularly noteworthy and he will be looking for a similar sort of output tonight in front of his home crowd.
Crocs fans would’ve been thrilled with the game of Michael Cedar against the Tigers last weekend. The shooting guard was on fire, scoring 14 points, including 12 from beyond the arc. Born and raised in Townsville, the 24-year-old is one of most accurate three-point shooters when in form. If the Taipans want any chance of winning this match, Daniel Dillon must play tight perimeter defense on Cedar, otherwise this one could get away quickly.
Cairns’ Possible Starting Five:
PG – Ayinde Ubaka
SG – Daniel Dillon
SF – Ronald Dorsey
PF – Alex Loughton
C – Ian Crosswhite
Townsville’s Possible Starting Five:
PG – Will Blalock
SG – Michael Cedar
SF – Peter Crawford
PF – Russell Hinder
C – Luke Schenscher
Who Wins?
Out of all the games between these two fierce North Queensland rivals in NBL history, this match is perhaps the biggest – especially for Cairns.
The stakes are massive for the Taipans. Win this game and they jump over Perth to third on the ladder and set-up a rematch with the Crocs next week as the playoffs get underway. Lose this one and they stay in fourth spot and will then have to travel across the Tasman to take on the top-of-the-table Breakers.
Cairns players should be full of confidence after they willed themselves over the line against the Wildcats at home last weekend. Self-belief is massive for any sporting team in a finals series and surely last weekend’s victory has given the Taipans the self-belief that they can match it with the big boys.
No matter what happens in this game, Townsville is stuck in second spot and is guaranteed a home final. It’s a great reward for such a consistent season, led by a solid starting five which includes centre Luke Schenscher and point guard Will Blalock.
The question for the Crocs is who do they want to play in the first week of the playoffs? Do they want to play the Wildcats – a team they lost to three times during the home-and-away season? Or do they want to play local rivals Cairns in what is sure to be a feisty and competitive encounter? The answer seems obvious.
However the general feeling is the Crocs might play a little conservatively tonight, mainly because they don’t want to get any injuries to their key men. With this in mind, back the Taipans to win a close one and setup a re-match with the Crocs next week.
Best Head-To-Head Bet:
Cairns by 1-10 ($2.60 – Sportsbet)