Basketball Game Preview: Elm Creek Buffaloes vs. Gibbon Buffaloes

The Elm Creek Buffaloes and the Gibbon Buffaloes will face off at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday without much rest having both just played. Elm Creek is coming into the contest hot, having won their last seven games.

Elm Creek saw some tournament action on Monday. They wrapped up 2024 with a 54-38 victory over Arcadia/Loup City. That 16 point margin sets a new team best for the Buffaloes this season.

Quin Oberg was his usual excellent self, going 7 of 17 on his way to 17 points in addition to seven rebounds and six steals. The matchup was his third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Blake Erickson, who went 6 for 11 on his way to 12 points and five steals.

Meanwhile, Gibbon earned a 57-48 win over Bertrand on Monday. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Buffaloes' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 202nd, while the Vikings are ranked 80th).

Gibbon has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a massive bump to their 3-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Elm Creek, they pushed their record up to 7-1 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.

Everything went Elm Creek's way against Gibbon when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as Elm Creek made off with a 64-40 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gibbon's Tyler Weismann, who went 8 of 13 on his way to 28 points in addition to eight rebounds and three steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Elm Creek still be able to contain Weismann? There's only one way to find out.