The Cairns Taipans will be looking to create an upset win at home when they host the Perth Wildcats on Wednesday night. Join The Roar for live scores from the game starting at 6:30pm local time, 7:30pm AEDT.
The Taipans are coming into this match after seeing their finals hopes soar then crash in the previous round, starting out with an excellent upset win over the New Zealand Breakers, only to be followed up by a loss to the bottom-of-the-table Sydney Kings.
Those results leave the Taipans sixth on the ladder with a 7-11 record for the season and only ten games left in the season in which to make up ground – simply put, it’s looking very unlikely that they can make the finals from here, especially if they lose tonight.
The Perth Wildcats on the other hand are in a great position, on top of the table, boasting a 13-7 record from 20 games played so far. That’s equal with Melbourne United’s record and they’re currently leading the competition only on percentage, so they’ll also be looking to make sure this is a win, even if the stakes aren’t quite as high for them.
These teams have met twice this season with Perth the victors on both occasions but what Cairns will go in knowing is that they have pushed the Wildcats very closely in both matches. They lost to them by just a single point when they played in Perth earlier this year, and by just three points when they met in Cairns two weeks ago.
The Taipans have been a solid defensive unit when on their home court this year, restricting even some of their tougher opponents to low scores, but haven’t always been able to get the job done going the other way.
Prediction: As much as the Taipans would love an upset, the Wildcats keep finding ways to win and should do so again tonight. Wildcats by 2.
Join The Roar for live scores from the game starting at 6:30pm local time, 7:30pm AEDT.