NBL round 8: seven games, one group chat
6 November 2026 · 10 min read
Tonight’s NBL game is the Tasmania JackJumpers against the New Zealand Breakers at the Silverdome in Launceston, tip-off 7:30pm AEDT. The short answer first: Tasmania look the likelier winner. They were on top of the ladder after six rounds, and they beat the Breakers 98–92 in Hobart on 18 October.
The longer answer is the rest of this page, because one game is never the whole round. Round 8 has seven games between Thursday 5 and Wednesday 11 November, and in a tipping competition the whole round is what your group ends up arguing about. 🏀
If you have never tipped before: everyone in the group picks who they think will win each game, the app keeps score, and whoever gets the most right wins. What follows is the same read you would give a footy round: who is in form, who is hurt, who is tired and who is a long way from home.
Round 8 at a glance: seven games, Thursday to Wednesday
All times are AEDT. In TippingMates each game locks five minutes before tip-off, for everyone at once.
| Day | Game | Venue | Tip-off | Tips lock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 5 Nov | Cairns Taipans v Illawarra Hawks | Cairns Convention Centre | 7:30pm | 7:25pm |
| Fri 6 Nov | Tasmania JackJumpers v New Zealand Breakers | Silverdome | 7:30pm | 7:25pm |
| Sat 7 Nov | Adelaide 36ers v Illawarra Hawks | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | 5:30pm | 5:25pm |
| Sat 7 Nov | Melbourne United v Brisbane Bullets | John Cain Arena | 7:30pm | 7:25pm |
| Sun 8 Nov | Sydney Kings v South East Melbourne Phoenix | Qudos Bank Arena | 3:00pm | 2:55pm |
| Sun 8 Nov | Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans | RAC Arena | 5:00pm | 4:55pm |
| Wed 11 Nov | South East Melbourne Phoenix v Illawarra Hawks | State Basketball Centre | 7:30pm | 7:25pm |
Three things to notice first.
The Hawks are in three of the seven games. Thursday in Cairns, Saturday in Adelaide, Wednesday against the Phoenix in Melbourne. All on the road, and part of a run of five straight away games that started in Perth on 31 October. Whatever you think of Illawarra, you are going to think it three times.
Cairns play on Thursday at home and on Sunday in Perth. That is a flight across the whole country between two games, which matters more than it sounds in a league where most rounds are decided by a few possessions.
Thursday’s game has already gone. By the time you read this, Taipans v Hawks has been played. It is in the table because it is in your round, and it is the best guide you have to Saturday and Wednesday.
The ladder after six rounds, from ESPN: Tasmania 6–2, Perth 5–2, Sydney 5–3, Cairns 5–4, Brisbane 4–4, then the Phoenix, United, the Breakers and the 36ers all on 4–5, and Illawarra 2–8. The NBL’s own preview of round 7 put it plainly: only one win separates more than half the ladder.
The ones that look easy
Every round has a couple of games most of the group picks in about four seconds. Round 8 has two, and both deserve a second look.
Tasmania JackJumpers v New Zealand Breakers (Friday, 7:30pm)
Form. Tasmania have been the benchmark of the season so far. Their win over Brisbane on 21 October was a 106–85 rout with all five starters in double figures, and it moved them to 6–2 and top of the ladder. Taran Armstrong and Will Magnay have been at the centre of it; coach Scott Roth called the MVP talk around them “just white noise”.
New Zealand were 4–5 after six rounds and had lost two in a row.
The storyline. These two met three weeks ago in Hobart. Armstrong scored a career-high 32, and the JackJumpers won by six. The number that decided it was at the free-throw line: Tasmania made 25 of 33, New Zealand 10 of 18. In Cairns a week later the Breakers missed 11 of their 23 free throws and lost by two. The Breakers have a free-throw problem, and they keep losing close games because of it.
Why it is harder than it looks. Sam Mennenga scored 36 and took 11 rebounds against Tasmania last time, and the game was level with seven minutes to go. They now have Parker Jackson-Cartwright back after he missed three games. And this one is in Launceston, not Hobart. If someone in your group picks New Zealand, they are not mad. They are trusting the Breakers to make their free throws, and so far this season that has been a lot to ask.
South East Melbourne Phoenix v Illawarra Hawks (Wednesday 11 November, 7:30pm)
Form. The Phoenix were 4–5 after six rounds but finished the sixth with two wins in a row. Against Adelaide on 24 October they made 10 of 12 threes in the first quarter and led by 29 at half-time. Coach Josh King’s verdict was simple: “It’s always fun when you’re making shots.” Before that, they had spent the early weeks of the season struggling to make them.
Illawarra were 2–8 and had the league’s worst defensive rating. After losing 98–81 to Brisbane, Sam Froling said, “I think we’re feeling sorry for ourselves.” Coach Justin Tatum called the road trip ahead a test that would “really make us or break us”.
The storyline. The Phoenix beat the Hawks 113–96 on 4 October, with Nathan Sobey scoring 24. This one comes at the end of Illawarra’s week: their third game in seven days, and their fourth road game in a row.
Why it is harder than it looks. The Hawks can score: in round 3 they put 114 on Adelaide. And a road trip can make a team as easily as it breaks one, which is exactly what Tatum said. It is also the last game of the round, and whoever is two points behind on Wednesday will be looking for a reason to pick against the crowd.
The ones that split the group
Four games where your group chat will genuinely disagree, each with a decent case either way.
Adelaide 36ers v Illawarra Hawks (Saturday, 5:30pm)
Adelaide were last season’s runners-up, beaten 3–2 by Sydney in the Championship Series. This season they were ninth after round 6 at 4–5, and coach Trevor Gleeson has said his team’s depth is struggling. Bryce Cotton is still Bryce Cotton: 37 points and eight assists in 40 minutes against the Phoenix. As of 25 October, Flynn Cameron (ankle), Matt Kenyon (back) and Bul Kuol (ACL) were on the injury list.
The case for Illawarra is round 3. The Hawks beat Adelaide 114–92 in Wollongong, led by 30 at half-time, and Gleeson said afterwards that it “looked like a men’s team playing against a kids’ team out there”.
Why it splits the group. The home side looks more settled, and the away side has already beaten them by 22. One half of your group will tip the logic, the other half will tip the memory. Also: this is Illawarra’s second game in three days.
Melbourne United v Brisbane Bullets (Saturday, 7:30pm)
United were 4–5 after six rounds, but the record undersells them. Joe Ingles pointed out that three of their five losses had been by one or two points, including 103–102 in Perth on Brandon Knight’s jumper with eight seconds left. Two nights later they beat Sydney 105–95, with Cole Anthony scoring 30 and Josh Oduro 27 off the bench.
Brisbane were 4–4, playing hard and badly short of bodies. Arnas Velička was out until rounds 11–12, and Jacob Holt and Sam McDaniel until round 10. Raul Neto has come in to cover. The Bullets then beat the Hawks by 17, out-rebounding them 53–31, and coach Will Weaver said his group “played their arses off”.
Why it splits the group. United at home look the likelier winner on talent. But a team that keeps losing by a point or two keeps finding ways to lose, and Brisbane do not seem to care who is missing.
Sydney Kings v South East Melbourne Phoenix (Sunday, 3:00pm)
Sydney are the champions. They beat Adelaide in a five-game Championship Series in April, winning the decider 113–101 in overtime, with Kendric Davis named Championship Series MVP. They were 5–3 after round 6, which brought their first real road game, a 105–95 loss in Melbourne, and the start of a stretch through Perth and Tasmania. The NBL’s own analysis said they had arguably had the easiest schedule so far. Matthew Dellavedova (calf) and Keli Leaupepe (ACL) were both on the injury list.
The Phoenix are the side that was not making its shots and now cannot miss. That kind of turnaround is either the start of something or the luckiest fortnight of the season.
Why it splits the group. Champions at home against the hottest shooting team in the league. Whoever your group’s Sydney person is, they are tipping Sydney. Everyone else gets to have an opinion.
Perth Wildcats v Cairns Taipans (Sunday, 5:00pm)
Two top-four sides after six rounds. Perth were 5–2 and beat United with eight seconds left. Kristian Doolittle had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first game back from a foot injury. They were still without Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (calf, round 11) and Blake Nielsen (ACL, season).
Cairns were 5–4, above .500 after nine games for the first time since NBL23. Jaylin Galloway, back from shoulder surgery, scored 18 against the Breakers, and coach Adam Forde said Cairns “did everything in our power to try and lose it” and won anyway. Sunday Dech (hamstring) was listed to return around round 8.
Why it splits the group. It’s 2pm in Perth, it’s Cairns’ second game of the round, and they’ve flown across the country to play it. Perth at home look the likelier winner. Cairns have the better story. Your group will split down the middle.
A round that runs Thursday to Wednesday
NBL rounds don’t run like footy rounds. The league’s official round 8 actually started on Wednesday 4 November, with Brisbane v Perth, and finishes on Sunday. In a TippingMates competition an NBL round runs Thursday to Wednesday, as it has since the opening week, so that Wednesday game closed out round 7 in the app. Next Wednesday’s Phoenix v Hawks game, which the league counts as the first game of its round 9, closes round 8 for your group. If someone in the chat swears there are only six games in round 8, this is why.
Round 8 shows why the NBL is a different shape of season from footy, and it changes how you tip.
Tip in pieces. Each game locks on its own, five minutes before tip-off. You can pick tonight’s game now, think about Saturday tomorrow and leave Wednesday’s game until Tuesday night, when you know whether the Hawks came back from Adelaide in one piece.
One team, three picks. Illawarra are in three games this round. If you think the road trip is going to break them, you probably pick against them three times. If it turns, you are wrong three times.
The ladder after Sunday isn’t the ladder after the round. Six of the seven games are done by Sunday evening; then come two quiet days and one more game on Wednesday night. Someone will lead after Sunday and spend Monday and Tuesday reminding everyone. Someone will be one pick behind with one game left. Wednesday night in round 8 is that person’s game.
Nobody gets a draw. Basketball goes to overtime when the scores are level (the championship decider in April went that way), so every game in the round gives 2 points for a correct pick and nothing for a miss.
Who gets round 8 right
Here is the round in one line each. Tasmania tonight, unless the Breakers suddenly make their free throws. The Phoenix on Wednesday, unless the road trip is the making of the Hawks. United and Perth at home, probably. Adelaide or Illawarra, Sydney or the Phoenix: genuinely open.
That is the preview. The interesting part is that you are not the only one reading it. Somewhere in your group is the person who has tipped the Hawks all season out of stubbornness. The one who picks Perth because they lived there for two years. The one who reads half a preview, picks the opposite of it and is right more often than seems fair. A pick made in your own head costs nothing when it is wrong. A pick on a ladder your mates can see is one you stand behind on Monday morning.
That is what a tipping competition is for. Same seven games, a group of people who each have to commit before tip-off, and a ladder that settles it. The app is free on iOS and Android, a competition can start from any round, including this one, and earlier rounds can be imported. It is a scoreboard, not a bookmaker: no odds and no betting, just your group, the games and the ladder.
The NBL 2026-27 tournament page has the full fixture. Every NBL result so far is in one place, for settling arguments about round 3. And every competition you can start today is listed together, from the NBL to the summer’s cricket.
Tip-off in Launceston is 7:30pm tonight. Picks lock at 7:25pm, and the arguing starts about two hours later.