Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL26 Round 15 Tips - JackJumpers to Extend Road Win Streak

Ryan Tucker

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Last updated: Tue 30 Dec 2025 12:00

Ryan Tucker 30 Dec 2025

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Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers expert predictions for Wednesday’s Round 15 NBL Ignite Cup matchup
Tip-off is at 5:30 PM AEDT at WIN Entertainment Centre on New Years Eve
Tasmania JackJumpers are slight underdogs, focusing on defense.
Illawarra Hawks struggle despite Sam Froling's return.
Betting tips favor Tasmania win and game total under 176.5 points.

Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL26 Round 15 Tips

Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL25 Round 15 Expert Tips

The Ignite Cup continues on New Years Eve with Tasmania the slight underdog despite a strong win in their last outing. Illawarra have Sam Froling back on deck but there is still no word on Tyler Harvey who missed the loss against Sydney on Christmas.

Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL25 Round 15 Expert Tips
Head to Head
Last 5 Match Results
Offensive & Defensive Rankings
Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News
Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News
Illawarra Hawks vs Tasmania JackJumpers Frequently Asked Questions

Tasmania sit 4th in the standings of the Ignite Cup with 2 wins from 3 games, a +13 point differential and 12.5 competition points. Illawarra are 6th with 1 win from 3 games, a -27 points differential and 8 competition points.

The Hawks were smashed off the court by Sydney on Christmas Day, a poor effort in a game that should have meant more. Sam Froling’s return went smoothly and he finished with a double double in 24 minutes of play. The question will now be how Justin Tatum uses his big men to ensure both Froling and Javale McGee see enough ball.

Tasmania did a great job containing the high flying SE Melbourne Phoenix on Monday. The JackJumpers have now proven over their last couple of games that they can restrict opponent scoring and turn games into grinds.

These two teams met all the way back in Round 2 at WIN with Tassie winning 91-86. The expectation is much the same here with a low scoring and tight affair the likely outcome.

Take Tasmania to win on the Moneyline and the Game Total to go Under 176.5 pts. Take Josh Bannan to score 15+ points.

Tasmania are the number 1 ranked scoring defence in the NBL, allowing just 85.5 pts per game to opponents.
3 of the last 5 games between these teams have gone Under, both teams have had more games finish Under this season than Over.
Josh Bannan is averaging 14.8 pts per game this season and has hit 15+ in 2 of his last 3 matchups against Illawarra.
Josh Bannan has scored in double digits in 19 of his last 20 games.

Head to Head

Last 5 Match Results

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
27/09/2025	ILL	TAS 91-86	TAS +4.0	O 176.0
30/01/2025	TAS	ILL 102-78	ILL -9.0	U 188.0
07/01/2025	ILL	ILL 89-84	TAS +8.0	U 194.0
12/10/2024	ILL	ILL 109-76	ILL -5.5	O 176.0
28/02/2024	TAS	TAS 92-76	TAS -5.5	U 175.5

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

ILL Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	TAS Def
88.5	5	PPG	1	85.5
45.1	1	RPG	1	40.8
45.4%	4	FG%	2	43.8%
31.2%	8	3P%	6	32.4%
14.7	9	TOV	6	10.9

ILL Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	TAS Off
96.8	10	PPG	9	85.7
42.9	7	RPG	6	42.3
43.8%	3	FG%	6	44.5%
34.2%	9	3P%	5	32.2%
10.2	9	TOV	5	11.4

Illawarra Hawks Form & Team News

Illawarra’s most recent matchup was a pitiful Christmas Day performance against the Sydney Kings where they lost 108-84. Many experts expected the Hawks to rally for arguably the most watched game on the NBL calendar but poor defensive structures and poor free throw shooting made it difficult for the defending champs.

Javale McGee top scored for Illawarra with 20 pts and 6 boards while rumours swirl of Q.J. Peterson being on the outer due to his lack of application, especially in defence.

Sam Froling returned following a long lay off with an achilles injury. He scored 13 pts and had 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of play.

Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News

Tassie pulled off a thrilling upset in front of their home crowd on Monday, beating the SE Melbourne Phoenix 87-84 in what was literally a game of two halves.

The Jackies got out to a 23-15 lead in the first before extending to 49-33 at the half. Tassie were well on their way to snapping a 2 game home losing streak but the defence around the perimeter disappeared and SEM fought their way back across the next two quarters.

Majok Deng was electric off the bench with 21 pts and 7 boards for Tasmania and the difference as the 2nd unit outscored their opponents 39-16 in the game.