Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks Tips - Hawks to hand United fifth-straight defeat

Melbourne United will hoping they can regain top spot in the NBL Season Ladder when they take on the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday March 21. United led the league table for much of the season, but a run of four successive defeats allowed last season’s champions the Perth Wildcats to take over at the top this week.

Melbourne and Illawarra have already played each other twice this season, with results split at one win apiece. United defeated the Hawks in February 91-88, but Illawarra got their revenge earlier this week with a 77-69 victory. While Melbourne are currently on a four-match losing streak, Illawarra have won their last two games.

I’m backing the Illawarra Hawks  to hand Melbourne United a fifth-straight defeat on Sunday. Much as they did earlier in the week, the Illawarra Hawks will win this game by 10 points or less, in a match that will feature a combined total of less than 180 points.

Melbourne United and the Illawarra Hawks have played each other a total of 28 times in NBL regular-season and playoff games dating back to 2010. Currently Melbourne lead their head-to-head by 17-11. In their most recent nine games covering the last three seasons, Melbourne lead by 7-2. In their latest meeting in March of this year, the Hawks won 77-69.

Melbourne United are currently second in the NBL Season Ladder (league table), with 10 wins and five defeats. After topping the table for much of the season, Melbourne surrendered top spot to the Perth Wildcats this week following their upset defeat at the hands of the Sydney Kings (as predicted by us at Bets.com.au).

Perth are the reigning NBL champions, and they overcame a stuttering start to the season and gradually worked their way to the top of the table. Perth’s progress was aided by Melbourne United’s recent loss of form. 

Melbourne are currently suffering a four-match losing streak, losing to the Brisbane Bullets, the South East Melbourne Phoenix, the Illawarra Hawks, and on Thursday (March 19) the Sydney Kings. 

The Illawarra Hawks are among the best known teams in the NBL, having been part of the league’s inception back in 1979. They were known as the Wollolongong Hawks between 1998-2015, and were just “The Hawks” briefly recently, but they are back as the Illawarra Hawks once more. 

Despite their longevity, the Hawks have only won the NBL championship once, in 2001.  They have been runners up on three occasions (2005, 2010, 2017) and made the playoffs 20 times. Currently Illawarra are on course to make that 21, as they are third in the NBL Season Ladder, behind leaders the Perth Wildcats and second-placed Melbourne United. 

The Hawks are 9-6 after 15 games, and have won their last two matches, defeating the Sydney Kings 89-69, and most recently Melbourne United 77-69 on March 13.