McCarron: 'We have to go to Tassie to win'

Adelaide 36ers captain Mitch McCarron said his side needs to move on and focus on Saturday night’s crucial clash against Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.

The 36ers travelled to Hobart on Friday morning after Thursday night’s 96-83 loss to New Zealand Breakers in Christchurch and McCarron said his side must look forward.

“Flush it, we got to go to Tasmania to get a win,” McCarron said.

“There is no point moping about, we will watch video and we will talk about what we need to do better, but we are playing a new team, we have to get back up and win that game.”

McCarron hailed the bench after Adelaide fell behind by 20 points early in the defeat to New Zealand as Adelaide once again showed fight to get back into the contest.

“We had a lot of guys come in and make good contributions in the fourth quarter, but the first quarter is the issue we need to fix,” McCarron said.

“Teams are too good, it’s too tiring to come back when you’re down my so much early, you put all that energy into that, then you got to make shots later in the game to win, so we need better starts.”

Alex Starling was a real spark for the 36ers, especially in the second half when Adelaide had multiple chances to reduce the margin to a two-possession game.

“I think he (Starling) has been great; he is extremely athletic and he plays really hard and he is physical, he has brought a great energy off the bench for us, he’s got to be commended for that,” McCarron said.

Tasmania are well-rested and haven’t played a game since November 16 and assistant coach Mark Radford said the JackJumpers are ready to fire.

“We’ve had a good break, the groups healthy and moving well. And to be back on our home floor at MyState is huge, the crowd in there is really important to create that fortress environment so looking forward to getting that buzz from the home floor again,” Radford said.

“(Adelaide) are a talented side, their record might not tell that story just at the moment but they’re finding their rhythm and they look dangerous for much longer periods now.”

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TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS vs ADELAIDE 36ERS
MyState Bank Arena, Saturday 7.30pm ACDT

LIKELY STARTERS
Tasmania:  Jordon Crawford, Anthony Drmic, Milton Doyle, Jack McVeigh, Marcus Lee.
Adelaide: Mitch McCarron, DJ Vasiljevic, Trey Kell, Jacob Wiley, Isaac Humphries.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Played 7, Adelaide 2, Tasmania 5

LAST FIVE MATCHES
November 11, 2023 -  Tasmania 82 def Adelaide 72 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
January 12, 2023 – Tasmania 98 def Adelaide 82 at MyState Bank Arena
December 19, 2022 – Adelaide 93 def Tasmania 82 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
November 13, 2022 – Tasmania 97 def Adelaide 72 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
April 1, 2022 – Tasmania 80 def Adelaide 72 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre

STATS THAT MATTER
- Sunday Dech - 100th game for Adelaide
- Tasmania has won five of its past six games against Adelaide.
- Mitch McCarron has a career average of 4.5 assists per game against Tasmania - most against any opponent.
- Tasmania has won the fourth quarter in each of its last nine games at MyState Bank Arena.
- Adelaide ranks 1st in the league for free throws made per game this season (19.0).
- Tasmania has won seven of its last eight night games at MyState Bank Arena after trailing at quarter-time.