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South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans NBL26 Round 18 Tips - Another brutal beating for Cairns

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Fri 23 Jan 2026 12:06

Jeremy Darke 23 Jan 2026

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South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans expert predictions for Saturday’s Round 18 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 5:30 PM AEDT at State Basketball Centre
Phoenix expected to secure another big win over Taipans.
SEM's offence averages over 100 points per game.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans NBL26 Round 18 Tips

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans NBL25 Round 18 Expert Tips

It is going to be another lopsided result for Cairns as South East Melbourne are set for another big win against the Taipans.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans NBL25 Round 18 Expert Tips
Head to Head
South East Melbourne Phoenix Form & Team News
Cairns Taipans Form & Team News
South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans Frequently Asked Questions

All three games this season have resulted in double-digit wins to the Phoenix over the Taipans and with Cairns' latest 6 losses all being by 15 points or more including a 40-point beating by the Wildcats on Thursday, there is nothing saying that this trend isn’t going to continue.

The danger in this match is props bets for the starters for S.E Melbourne who will likely get rested in the fourth quarter. I am going to put my faith in Angus Glover off the bench, changing his fortunes against a favourable opponent who he has had 2 big scores against this season.

For Cairns I am going back to the assists-well for Andrew Andrews. The Phoenix don’t play much defence when they are averaging over 100 points per game so I expect the Taipans import to find some dimes and go over his assists total once again.

Take the Phoenix to cover the big line and score over their team total.

S.E.M have beaten Cairns by 11 points or more in all three matches in 2025.
S.E.M have scored 100+ points in their last 4 games against Cairns
Angus Glover has scored 18 points or more in 2 of three games against the Taipans
Andrew Andrews has had 8+ assists in 3 of his last 4 games.

Head to Head

Last 5 Match Results

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
31/12/2025	CAI	SEM 111-96	SEM -9.5	O 183.5
14/11/2025	CAI	SEM 101-90	SEM -10.0	O 185.0
20/09/2025	SEM	SEM 114-77	SEM -6.0	O 187.0
14/01/2025	CAI	SEM 113-102	SEM -7.0	O 192.5
07/12/2024	SEM	SEM 99-94	CAI +5.5	O 174.5

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

SEM Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	CNS Def
100.1	1	PPG	9	96.3
41.4	8	RPG	10	42.8
44.2%	10	FG%	8	46.9%
34.6%	2	3P%	2	31.0%
10.1	2	TOV	10	7.7

SEM Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	CNS Off
92.2	7	PPG	10	82.3
42.5	8	RPG	10	37.5
47.6%	10	FG%	9	44.4%
34.6%	9	3P%	4	34.1%
17.2	1	TOV	8	13.5

South East Melbourne Phoenix Form & Team News

The Phoenix 123-116 victory over the Breakers in the Ignite Cup on Wednesday looked better for NZ than it really was with S.E.M leading 20 at the half and coasting the rest of the way on defence.

The Phoenix offence is becoming almost unstoppable, putting up over 120 points in 3 of their last 5 games and now has them averaging over 100 points per game this season, just under 5 points more than any other team in the NBL.

It is no secret how they are playing offence, taking 6.5 more attempts from three than any team in the NBL and sinking an average of 12.5 per game, 2.5 more than anyone else.

In his 12th season in the NBL Nathan Sobey is having a career-best year averaging 22.6 points per game, ranked third in the NBL.

Cairns Taipans Form & Team News

It is getting ugly for Cairns who are waiving the white flag now after going down heavily again on Thursday to the Wildcats in Perth. The result ended in a 40-point loss going down 106-69 with Perth playing the whole bench for the final 8 minutes of the match.

The positive was another top-class performance from Jack McVeigh, who shot 13-26 from the field with 8 threes and 34 points. But that is it.

The Wildcats sunk the three-ball at 55.56% and the Taipans had no answer besides McVeigh with Cairns shooting at 37.68% from the field.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans Frequently Asked Questions

What time does South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans start?

Tip-off between South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans is at 5:30 PM AEDT, Saturday, January 24

What channel is South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans on?

You can watch South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Cairns Taipans on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

South East Melbourne Phoenix v Cairns Taipans

S.E Melbourne will cover the hug 15.5 point line along with their 102.5 Team total. Bench players will see time so back Angus Glover for a big game while Andrew Andrews will have his assists for Cairns.

S.E Melbourne -15.5

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