Crocodiles vs. Wildcats. Saturday, December 19, 7:35pm. The Swamp.
THE 13-5 Perth Wildcats continue their road trip as they face the enigmatic Townsville Crocodiles this Saturday at The Swamp.
The Crocs have had a season they’d wish to forget, but they still find themselves with a slight chance to make the playoffs. They are 6-12 and only two wins out of the top four, which makes this upcoming game against the Wildcats extremely important.
After sacking American import Brian Conklin, the Crocs have mproved on the offensive end and that will be needed against Perth, which is coming off a come-from-behind win against the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night.
Bookmakers have the Wildcats as firm favourites, which gives underdog punters a good price for the home team who will be hungry to defend their home turf this Saturday night.
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Crocs vs. Wildcats odds and tips
The Wildcats are generally the favoured team with bookmakers and that’s no exception here. Perth are currently at $1.40 with most bookmakers which makes betting them on the head-to-head market a tough proposition.
Wildcats – $1.40 (-5.5)
Crocs – $2.95 (+5.5)
Loyal followers of the Crocs are used to taking underdog odds this season and they have been able to pull off the odd upset, especially against Perth.
Townsville have won two from three against Perth this season, including a 66-63 win in Perth last October. They returned home and won again 89-77 before Perth dished out an eight-point win at home last month.
Perth are currently on a four-game winning streak which includes wins over Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns. The win against fellow top four team Melbourne was especially impressive, destroying the formerly unbeaten side by 113-83.
Punters of Townsville should be buoyed by their solid home record. They have won three from their last five with one loss coming by three points to Melbourne and the other coming against the Breakers, in which they had a chance to win late in the game.
Townsville have also won the last three from four at home against Perth and their only loss came in overtime last season. They are a tough team to beat at home and if their outside shooters can fire up early, the $2.90 won’t last long in live betting.
Crocs vs. Wildcats team lineups
Townsville Crocs:
Nicholas Kay (C)
Mitchell Young (PF)
Clint Steindl (SF)
Jordair Jett (SG)
Mitch Norton (PG)
Bench: Omar Samhan, Leon Henry, Mirko Djeric, Corey Maynard.
The Crocs have a solid lineup which relies upon the three-point shooting of Clint Steindl and offensive inputs from their bench. Jordair Jett has molded into one of the league’s most aggressive point guards and his aggression will need to be high to counter Perth’s quality offence.
Perth Wildcats:
Nate Jawai (C)
Matthew Knight (PF)
Casey Prather (SF)
Jermaine Beal (SG)
Damian Martin (PG)
Bench: Tom Jervis, Jesse Wagstaff, Shawn Redhage, Greg Hire, Jarrod Kenny
There are no weaknesses in the Perth lineup. Starting with NBL big man Nate Jawai who is a force to be reckoned with in the paint, the Wildcats have offensive scoring threats in Jermaine Beal and the vastly-improving Casey Prather.
With defensive leader Damian Martin back in full health, Perth haven’t allowed much in the way of points and that could be a problem for Townsville. If one player isn’t cutting the slack, there’s always a team mate which can pick it up.
This makes Perth tough to beat, but the statistics favour Townsville at home and the price is right.
OUR TIP: Crocs $2.90 at Sportsbet.com.au.
