This Week in Men’s Basketball...

After playing their last four games on the road, Upper Iowa returns home this weekend with a little revenge on their mind.  The Peacocks host the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul on Friday before welcoming the St. Cloud State University Huskies on Saturday, marking the second meetings of the season for UIU against this weekend’s opponents.  About a month ago, CU and SCSU came back from halftime deficits to take Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victories from UIU.

Both matchups are slated for 8 p.m. inside Dorman Gym.

Scouting the Golden Bears

The Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul enter Friday’s contest with an 11-8 overall record which includes a 8-7 mark in NSIC play and have dropped three of their last four games.

CU was swept last weekend at home by losing to Augustana, 83-69, last Friday and to Wayne State on Saturday, 70-62.

The Golden Bears have four players averaging double-figures this season and are paced by Minneapolis Community and Technical College-transfer Peter Olafeso’s 15.9 points per game.

Scouting the Huskies

The St. Cloud State University Huskies enter Friday’s game at Winona State with an 11-8 record and a 10-5 league mark.  Until their 89-87 lost last Saturday versus Augustana, the Huskies had been on a five-game winning streak.

SCSU is led by NSIC Preseason Player of the Year in senior guard Taylor Witt.  Witt is averaging 20.3 points per game, second-best individually in the NSIC, and is hitting 41.3% of his three-point attempts. 

St. Cloud State ranks among the league leaders in the NSIC in many statistical categories including assists (1st/15.47 per game), blocks (2nd/3.68 per game), free throw percentage (2nd/78.3%) and three-point percentage (3rd/38.5%).

Series History

Since transitioning to NCAA Division II before the 2005-06 season, the Peacocks are 3-6 when playing Concordia-St. Paul and 0-7 against St. Cloud State.

The Last Meeting

The Peacocks and Golden Bears last met on January 8 with CU winning a 82-73 contest in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The night before, Upper Iowa visited St. Cloud and was defeated, 76-68.

Live Stats and Web Cast

Live stats and a free webcast will be available for this weekend’s games.  Visit upperiowaathletics.com for further details.

Looking Ahead

The Peacocks get the short week of NSIC games next weekend when they host their travel partners, Winona State, inside Dorman Gym at 8 p.m.