This Week in Men’s Basketball...

The Peacocks open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference season this weekend when they travel to Winona, Minn. to play the #4-ranked Warriors of Winona State University.  Tipoff for Saturday’s matchup inside McCown Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.

Scouting the #4 Warriors

The #4-ranked Warriors of Winona State enter Saturday’s matchup with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating Clarke University 111-66 on Monday.

The Warriors pace the NSIC in scoring by averaging 91.2 points per game and boast the NSIC individual scoring leader in University of Iowa-transfer Anthony Tucker who averages 21.5 points per contest.

The Warriors are the preseason favorites to win the NSIC title as they grabbed 10 of the 13 possible first-place votes  (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team).

Series History

Since transitioning to NCAA Division II, Winona State has dominated the series history against Upper Iowa.  WSU is 11-0 against the Peacocks since the 2005-06 season.

The last time Upper Iowa put a notch in the win column against Winona State was on December 7, 1983.

The Last Meeting

The two squads last met on February 24, 2010 in Winona with the Peacocks dropping the contest 66-58.  In that matchup, Matt Lesan surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his career by scoring seven points in the losing effort.

Live Stats and Web Cast

Live stats and a Web Cast will be available for Saturday’s contest.  Visit upperiowaathletics.com for further details.

Looking Ahead

Upper Iowa travels for the final time of the 2010 calendar year next weekend when they visit the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Beavers of Bemidji State on Saturday. 

Tip off for Friday’s game is set for 8 p.m. while Saturday’s action is slated for a 6 p.m. start.