Match Preview: Adelaide out to break John Cain hoodoo

The Adelaide 36ers will be pushing to return to the top of the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 ladder on Saturday night when they come up against Melbourne United.

Mike Wells’ side lost top spot to South East Melbourne after a heartbreaking one-point loss to Illawarra on Thursday night.

The Sixers have had to move on quickly with less than 48 hours between games.

The last time the sides faced off, the Sixers were on a six-game winning run while United had dropped consecutive games to slip off the top of the ladder.

That was back in December when the Sixers appeared in control of the contest before United sprung a 28-14 final quarter to push the game to overtime. Despite being one of three Sixers to foul out of the game, Bryce Cotton was the difference that night with 33 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.

This time around, the stakes are high with just three games remaining to decide which sides get the top two ladder positions and direct passage to a semi final.

The teams have split their games 3-3 over the last six meetings with the home sides coming out on top on each occasion. United has won the last five at John Cain Arena.

United is coming into the game on the back of a tough two-point loss to New Zealand after three straight wins before that but will be refreshed after over a week’s rest and being back home at John Cain Arena for the first time since December 23.

The venue had been off limits to accommodate the Australian Tennis Open.

Nick Rakocevic returned for the Sixers on Thursday night and was among the side’s best, finishing with 14 points to go with nine rebounds and two assists.

He said the side has had to put that result behind it and get ready for United, who he respects highly.

“They’re definitely a stacked team and they’re really well coached,” Rakocevic said on teammate DJ Vasiljevic’s Straight Shooter podcast.

“I think we just need to go back to playing the Adelaide 36er basketball. All the things that made us successful in the beginning of the season, we just kind of have to go back to that and stick with the work we’ve been doing.

“They’re a very talented group or team and I think we need to make it hard for them.

“We need to be aggressive defensively, which can lead to some easy points offensively and I think making sure that even though we’ve lost some games in this stretch that we stay confident, still playing with that mojo that we had at the beginning of the season.”

United has won ten of the past 11 games against the Sixers at John Cain, including another heart stopping one-point result back in Round 6.

Tough defender Shea Ili returned for United from a hamstring injury in its last game in New Zealand, finishing with 11 points and three assists in 15 minutes of game time and he will likely get the job guarding Cotton on Saturday night.

The game gets underway at 7:30pm ACDT.

MELBOURNE UNITED vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
John Cain Arena, Saturday 7 February, 7:30pm ACDT / 8:00pm AEDT
Live on ESPN via Kayo Sports or Disney+

OVERALL
Played 46, Adelaide 15, Melbourne 31

At John Cain Arena
Played 22, Adelaide 3, Melbourne 19

LAST FIVE MATCHES
Dec 12, 2025 – 36ers 114 def United 105 at AEC
Oct 26, 2025 – United 81 def 36ers 80 at John Cain Arena
Jan 4, 2025 – 36ers 100 def United 81 at AEC
Nov 17, 2024 – United 113 def 36ers 93 at John Cain Arena
Oct 13, 2024 – United 106 def 36ers 79 at John Cain Arena

KEY STATS

·       The home team has won each of the last seven games between Melbourne and Adelaide.

·       Melbourne has won each of its last seven games when making 12+ three-pointers.

·       Melbourne has won each of its last 15 games against Adelaide after leading at half-time.

·       Melbourne has won each of its last five games against Adelaide at John Cain Arena.

·       Zylan Cheatham - 50th game

·       Bryce Cotton recorded an equal-career-high 13 assists in his last outing against Melbourne in Round 12.

·       Zylan Cheatham has a career average of 17.6 points per game against Melbourne - most against any opponent.