NBL26 Round 20

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Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers NBL26 Round 20 Tips - Value on the Underdog

Ryan Tucker

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Last updated: Fri 06 Feb 2026 16:05

Ryan Tucker 06 Feb 2026

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Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers expert predictions for Saturday’s Round 20 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 8:00 PM AEDT at John Cain Arena
Adelaide tipped to win despite recent form issues.
Game Total expected to go over 183.5 points.
Zylan Cheatham likely to score over 11.5 points.

Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers NBL26 Round 20

Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers NBL25 Round 20 Expert Tips

A game with top 2 and top 4 implications and two teams that are struggling for form at the wrong end of the season. Adelaide are tipped to win, but the road is far from easy.

Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers NBL25 Round 20 Expert Tips
Head to Head
Last 5 Match Results
Offensive & Defensive Rankings
Melbourne United Form & Team News
Adelaide 36ers Form & Team News
Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers Frequently Asked Questions

The 36ers were outpaced by Illawarra on Thursday, they allowed their opponent to have 6 more possessions and lost on a tip-in with just seconds left on the clock. The scoring was still good, they exceeded their predicted total and had passable percentages both inside and outside.

The problem for Adelaide is that they should never have been in the position to allow Illawarra to win it at the death. A championship team needs to be able to counteract their opponents strengths, not try to beat them at it. In game adjustments need to be better at this time of the season where wins and losses can be decided on coaching calls.

Melbourne are themselves in a similar situation, being surprised by the Breakers in their last start, their form has been up and down over the past 2 months of basketball but there are definite signs of progress and the pedigree of the club is hard to ignore.

United’s confidence won’t be as high as Adelaide’s, the fear of falling further down the standings and not being able to chase from behind, a conversion rate of only 18.2% when trailing at the half, will give the 36ers enough to get on top and take the game.

Take Adelaide on the moneyline and the Game Total going Over 183.5 with Adelaide setting the pace. Zylan Cheatham has had a bit of a lull scoring of late but against Melbourne the matchup works and the number is low, take him over 11.5 pts.

Adelaide’s recent losses have come from not being able to adjust on the fly. They are still in very good form, especially offensively.
The last 3 Adelaide victories over Melbourne have all seen the Game Total go Over this number.
Zylan Cheatham had 13pts and 21pts in his two previous games this season v Melbourne and averages 17.6 over his career against them.
Melbourne have won just 18.2% of games when they trail at half time.

Head to Head

Last 5 Match Results

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
12/12/2025	ADE	ADE 114-105	ADE -3.0	O 184.5
26/10/2025	MEL	MEL 81-80	ADE +5.5	U 184.5
04/01/2025	ADE	ADE 100-81	ADE +4.0	U 202.0
17/11/2024	MEL	MEL 113-93	MEL -4.0	O 181.0
13/10/2024	MEL	MEL 106-79	MEL -5.0	O 184.0

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

MEL Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	ADE Def
92.8	4	PPG	5	88
43	2	RPG	1	40.3
44.7%	6	FG%	4	44.7%
32.2%	8	3P%	1	31.3%
11.9	6	TOV	7	10.6

MEL Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	ADE Off
87.7	4	PPG	3	93
40.4	2	RPG	8	41.3
44.8%	5	FG%	3	46.9%
35.5%	10	3P%	1	36.8%
13.2	2	TOV	4	11

Melbourne United Form & Team News

Melbourne had a 3 game win streak snapped on Friday, losing 97-95 on the road to the New Zealand Breakers. United were slow to start the game and had difficulty slowing down Karim Lopez on the defensive end.

Jesse Edwards had an opportunity to steal the game late but turned the ball over after scoring 23 pts and grabbing 14 rebounds in the match. Despite his top effort, Melbourne could have used him more in the final few minutes with such a significant mismatch under the rim.

Melbourne have retained 4th spot on the ladder by the slimmest of margins but 2 of their final 4 games are against top 3 opponents.

Adelaide 36ers Form & Team News

Adelaide have lost 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4. They have fallen to 2nd on the ladder and while there are no major sirens sounding right now, it isn’t the type of momentum you want to have heading into a long finals series.

Their most recent game was a 100-99 loss on the road to Illawarra, just their 4th loss away from home this season. The game was bookended by a poor opening and poor closing quarter where they allowed their opponents to outscore them by 6 and 10 pts respectively. The 36ers also had 14 turnovers in the match.

Bryce Cotton is still as reliable as ever and there are enough pieces in this short rotation to score and trouble any team in the league, but they have some stuff to work out, especially around in-game adjustments.

Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers start?

Tip-off between Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers is at 8:00 PM AEDT, Saturday, February 7

What channel is Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers on?

You can watch Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Where can i livestream Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers?

If you are outside of Australia, the NBL allows you to stream live on YouTube via the official NBL channel

Verdict

Melbourne United v Adelaide 36ers

Adelaide 36ers

Moneyline

$2.10 - 3 Units

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Game Total

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Z Cheatham over 11.5

Points

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