NBL26 Round 1

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Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United NBL26 Round 1 Tips - Tassie draw first blood in NBL26

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Tue 16 Sep 2025 13:25

Jeremy Darke 16 Sep 2025

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Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United expert predictions for Thursday’s Round 1 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 19:30 PM AEST at MyState Bank Arena
Tassie is favored at home with new offensive imports, including Tyger Campbell.
Experts predict a high-scoring game, JackJumpers to cover, and Campbell to register 8+ assists.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips

The NBL26 season will kick off in Tasmania with an NBL24 Finals rematch between the JackJumpers and Melbourne United. Both teams look very different and with the bookies unable to split them we are giving the advantage to the home team.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United NBL25 Round 1 Expert Tips
Head to Head
Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News
Melbourne United Form & Team News
Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United Frequently Asked Questions

It is very grey ground early in the NBL season when having a punt with every team making plenty of changes heading into NBL26 with preseason form the only way to put weight on teams. But we don’t shy away from and look for the slight edges and it is definitely that Tassie is playing in Tassie against United.

The JackJumpers have also loaded up in the offseason with some flashy new offensive weapons and I expect them to shine, just as they did in the preseason NBL Blitz. The front court battle will also be a highlight with Finn Delany and new Melbourne import Jesse Edwards going up against Josh Bannan and Will Magnay.

I expect points pushing what is normally a low total between these two defensive-minded teams to the over. Tasmanian import Tyger Campbell showed that he will be running the offence and will rack up the dimes.

Tasmania have won 3 of the last 4 games against Melbourne as the home team.
The last 2 games between Tasmania and Melbourne have hit over 175.5 points.
Only one game in Round 1 last season had less than 175 points.
Tyger Campbell averaged 8 assists at the NBL Blitz.

Head to Head

NBL25 Season Series

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
01/02/2025	MEL	MEL 94-92	TAS +11.5	O 181.5
23/12/2024	MEL	TAS 97-91	TAS +8.0	O 183.0
28/09/2024	TAS	TAS 81-72	TAS +1.5	U 173.0
19/09/2024	MEL	MEL 88-79	MEL -7.5	U 173.0

NBL25 Offensive & Defensive Rankings

TAS Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	MEL Def
84	10	PPG	4	91.4
40	7	RPG	4	40.2
42.7%	10	FG%	3	45.1%
34.1%	7	3P%	4	34.5%
12.3	7	TOV	6	11.5

TAS Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	MEL Off
88	1	PPG	4	95.6
42.7	8	RPG	2	43.3
46.0%	6	FG%	7	46.1%
30.5%	1	3P%	5	35.0%
12.1	4	TOV	6	11.6

Tasmania JackJumpers Form & Team News

The JackJumpers NBL24 title defence did not go to plan, missing out on the finals in NBL25 after suffering injuries all through the year and never getting a settled starting 5 together.

Tasmania were very active in the offseason, losing the Finals heroes Milton Doyle and Jordan Crawford to free agency and taking a massive preseason hit with Sean MacDonald busting his ACL while playing for the Boomers.

Replacements needed to be found and Tassie look as though they have hit a couple of imports that are likely to turn their more defensive style of game into a more offensive play scheme. Bryce Hamilton, Tyger Campbell and David Johnson are offensive players that have proven themselves in the Blitz by averaging 12 points or more per game while also contributing on the defensive side of the ball.

The JackJumpers also picked up Josh Bannan who along with Will Magnay give Tasmania one of the strongest front courts in the NBL.

Melbourne United Form & Team News

Melbourne let a 2-1 lead in the Finals Series against the Illawarra Hawks slip away to be the runners-up for the second consecutive year in the NBL finishing the year in heartbreak once again, clinching at what could have been.

The offseason has been active for United with the biggest departure being their fearless leader Matthew Dellevadova who has gone upstate to the Sydney Kings. The Melbourne front office has taken a 'if you can’t beat em’ buy em’ approach, picking up both Milton Doyle and Fabian Krslovic from the JackJumpers who beat them in the NBL24 final.

They have also lashed out in the import market bringing in a key big in Jesse Edwards who looks to be the goods, averaging 13.5 points and 10 rebounds in the NBL Blitz.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United Frequently Asked Questions

What time does Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United start?

Tip-off between Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United is at 19:30 PM AEST, Thursday, September 18.

What channel is Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United on?

You can watch Tasmania JackJumpers vs Melbourne United on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.

Verdict

Tasmania JackJumpers v Melbourne United

Tasmania will cover the 1.5 points as the favourite at home in a high-scoring game that goes over the game total. Tyger Campbell will register 8+ assists in his first NBL game.

Tasmania -1.5

Handicap/Line

$2.02 - 3 Units

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Game Total

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Tyger Campbell

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