NBL26 Round 1

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Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL26 Round 1 Tips - Wildcats to keep home opener streak alive

Ryan Tucker

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Last updated: Fri 19 Sep 2025 16:03

Ryan Tucker 19 Sep 2025

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Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers expert predictions for Saturday’s Round 1 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 20:00 PM AEST at RAC Arena
Perth Wildcats expected to win home opener by 6+ points.
Tasmania struggled offensively in their opener; Perth’s offense favored.
Expert tips: bet Over on Game Total and Doolittle’s stats.

Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL26 Round 1 Tips

Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips

Perth have won 10 straight home openers and are tipped to continue that trend against the Tasmania JackJumpers who were inefficient in their opener on Thursday night against Melbourne United.

Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips
Head to Head
NBL25 Season Series
NBL25 Offensive & Defensive Rankings
Perth Wildcats Form & Team News
Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News
Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers Frequently Asked Questions

The Wildcats will kick off NBL26 in style with a big crowd expected to fill RAC Arena on Saturday night. For the first time in almost 10 years there will be no Bryce Cotton on the home roster. Perth fans are not worried though with Mason Jones stepping in to fill the void at guard and Jo Lual-Acuil added to support Doolittle and Windler down low.

Tasmania were locked in a tussle for momentum in their loss to Melbourne on Thursday night at home. Despite having an overall FG% of 43.8% Josh Bannan and Will Magnay combined for 5-18 and the team hit just 10 of 17 from the charity stripe. Defensively they kept Melbourne to just 37.7% shooting but without any scoreboard pressure themselves the writing was on the wall.

This game is expected to be another close one but Perth’s scoring ability will likely see them jump out of the gates and ultimately decide the outcome with Tasmania unable to keep pace offensively.

Take Perth to win by 6 or more points, with the Game Total going Over. Kristian Doolittle will excel in his new role and go Over his points/assist/rebounds total.

Tasmania has failed to cover in each of its last 5 Round 1 matchups.
9 of the last 12 games at RAC arena have gone Over the Total, 3 of the last 5 between these two teams have also gone Over.
Doolittle was elite to finish the season last year having 4+ assists in Perth’s final 6 home games.
Doolittle also scored 17+ in each of Perth’s last 4 games of the season as well as taking 9+ rebounds in the same span. Tasmania allowed 10 & 10 to Jesse Edwards on Thursday.

Head to Head

NBL25 Season Series

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
12/01/2025	TAS	PER 105-73	PER -2.0	U 190.0
07/11/2024	PER	PER 88-82	Push	O 168.5
06/10/2024	TAS	TAS 84-79	TAS -4.0	U 174.0

NBL25 Offensive & Defensive Rankings

PER Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	TAS Def
100.1	2	PPG	1	88
41.8	3	RPG	8	42.7
46.3%	5	FG%	6	46.0%
37.2%	2	3P%	1	30.5%
11.1	4	TOV	4	12.1

PER Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	TAS Off
96.9	9	PPG	10	84
39.9	3	RPG	7	40
47.9%	9	FG%	10	42.7%
36.5%	8	3P%	7	34.1%
12.6	1	TOV	7	12.3

Perth Wildcats Form & Team News

Perth come into NBL26 off the back of one of the more interesting off-season’s to date. A club wide re-brand, the shock loss of multiple MVP Bryce Cotton, little to no news around new imports just weeks out from the season and then massive news around new imports signed just before the season.

Fans would be forgiven for being annoyed but when all is said and done the team has done relatively well to get in shape for a push for NBL26 glory.

In the pre-season the Wildcats took care of the Shibuya Sunrockers and Ryukyu Golden Kings before going 1-1 in the Blitz with a win against United and a loss to the Hawks. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Mason Jones are expected to fill the scoring hole left by Cotton.

Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News

The Jackies opened their NBL26 campaign with a heartbreaking loss at home to Melbourne United on Thursday night. The score finished 88-84 in a game that swung back and forth until the final moments. Unfortunately for Tassie it was former Championship winner Milton Doyle who put the icing on the cake for his new team, sinking the Jackies in their first hit out.

New import Bryce Hamilton top scored with 24 points while David Johnson added 22. Josh Bannan had just 9 pts on 3-10 shooting but collected 6 boards while Will Magnay also was inefficient scoring 6 points on 2-8 shooting.

The defence stood up as it normally does for Tassie but with Melbourne not having Chris Goulding on the court, the expectation was that they would have been able to control the tempo and opposition scoring a little more.

Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers start?

Tip-off between Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers is at 20:00 PM AEST, Saturday 20th September

What channel is Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers on?

You can watch Perth Wildcats vs Tasmania JackJumpers on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

Perth Wildcats v Tasmania JackJumpers

Take Perth to win by 6 or more points, with the Game Total going Over. Kristian Doolittle will excel in his new role and go Over his points/assist/rebounds total.

Perth 6+ pts

Winning Margin

$1.95 - 2 Units

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Game Total

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