USC Rip City will look to gain their first win of the season in the NBL1 North Competition in a livestreamed match

USC Rip City will look to gain their first win of the season as they make a push for playoff contention. Here is how to watch the game live online.

Rip City will be looking to experienced player Isaih Tueta to have a big game this weekend.

The USC Rip City basketball team is pushing for playoff contention as players head to Brisbane for this week's match in the NBL1 North competition.

They take on Southern District Spartans at the Rowland Cowan Stadium from 8pm on Saturday.

The match is included in News Corp's Game of the Week which will be livestreamed on the Daily's website.

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Rip City head coach Nathan Arousi said his players were ready to go.

"We've had a tough start to the year but every player is ready for this week's match hoping to put up a good performance," he said.

"It's been two weeks since we've played as we had the bye last week so we've had more than enough time to study their style and work on things to improve our game."

Rip City player Eric McAlister pulls down a rebound against the Toowoomba Mountaineers.

It will be Rip City's first road trip of the season.

Arousi said his players would need to do all they could to block out any distractions.

"It's our opposition's first home game of the year which will mean a lot of excitement and energy on their end," Arousi said.

"Our first quarter will be so critical to ensure we take control of the game and shut-out that noise early on.

"We know how important a good start is in order to help us get the win and if we can play well in the opening minutes, it will allow us build for the rest of the game."

Rip City went down by 42 points in their season opener against Sunshine Coast Phoenix and Arousi said the opening rounds would be tough.

"The reality is that we are shorthanded to start the season up until round four and five," he said.

"We're an extremely young side at the moment but we gain some experience and some NBL talent to our roster when players like Josh's (Tueta) suspension is finished and other players return from injury."

Rip City player Josh Tueta looks for support against Brisbane Capitals at the USC Sports Stadium.

Arousi said his team was looking to their key players to step up and perform during the first few rounds.

"We have two guys in Isaih Tueta and Eric McAlister who we're needing big games from," he said.

"There's no reason why they can't perform well for us and be contributing factors if we are to get the win."

Arousi said his team had put measures in place to perform well throughout the season and were sticking to their season goals.

"Our goal is to create players that will continue to grow each week and be ready to perform towards the back end of the year," he said.

"Our expectations are to put ourselves in a position to be in the playoffs and a win this week will help get the ball rolling."

Rip City will play their first home game of the season at the USC Sports Stadium on June 5 against the Rockhampton Rockets.

Originally published as USC Rip City will look to gain their first win of the season in the NBL1 North Competition in a livestreamed match