Basketball Game Preview: Bellevue East Chieftains vs. Burke Bulldogs

The Bellevue East Chieftains will square off against the Burke Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Bellevue East is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 60.1 points per game this season.

Bellevue East will bounce into Tuesday's matchup after beating Lincoln East, who they had gone 0-6 against in their six prior meetings. Bellevue East breezed by Lincoln East to the tune of 64-37 on Thursday. Given the Chieftains' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 17th, while the Spartans are ranked 139th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Bellevue East found their leader in sophomore Tniyah Wilson-Smith, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 11 boards. Wilson-Smith also set a new season-high mark in steals with four. Another player making a difference was Brani Jackson, who went 5 of 12 en route to 15 points along with six rebounds and four steals.

Bellevue East smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Burke was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They were beaten by Lincoln Northeast 77-37. The Bulldogs were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 42-21.

Burke's defeat dropped their record down to 1-13. As for Bellevue East, their win bumped their record up to 11-3.

Everything came up roses for Bellevue East against Burke when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as the team secured an 81-39 victory. Will Bellevue East repeat their success, or does Burke have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.