This Week in Upper Iowa Men’s Basketball... After earning their seventh win against an NSIC-North opponent and sweeping both opponents this past weekend, the Upper Iowa men's basketball team will return home for their final 2012-13 regular-season home games. Scheduled first is a December rematch as the Peacocks host the No. 8 Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato (19-3, 15-3 NSIC) on Friday night. Then, the Peacocks will face the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul (7-15, 5-13 NSIC) on Saturday night. Both games will begin at 8 p.m. inside Dorman Gymnasium. Click here to get your tickets.

The Series… Before December 8th, 2012, the Peacocks were 0-12 against MSU in Division-II play. Senior guard Jake Hughes broke that trend as he drained a last-second layup to steal a 61-60 victory in Mankato and stick a dagger in the, then-ranked - No. 20 Mavericks.
One night earlier, the Peacocks broke another streak. UIU defeated Concordia for the first time in five matchups with a 77-71 victory in St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite that win, the Golden Bears hold an 11-7 advantage in the series which spans back to the 2007-08 season.

Leading the No. 8 Mavericks… Jarvis Williams (14.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 51% FG) || Assem Marei (13.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 55% FG, 1.5 bpg) || Zach Monaghan (12.0 ppg, 5.7 apg, 40% FG, 30% 3FG, 2.5 spg) || Gage Wooten (8.8 ppg, 5 rpg, 50% FG)

Leading the Golden Bears… Terez VanPelt (19.2 ppg, 4.4 apg, 48% FG, 33% 3FG) || Cole Olstad (15.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 47% FG, 41% 3FG) || Isaiah Thomas (11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 47% FG, 40% 3FG) || Nick Mabbutt (7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 47% FG)

Playoff-Bound... With just four games remaining in the season, it looks as if the Peacocks will secure a home playoff game inside Dorman Gym. Right now, UIU sits in fourth place in the NSIC-South behind Minnesota State, Winona State and Augustana. The Peacocks will play the Mavericks this Friday night and the Vikings of Augustana next Friday.  With the rule-change in the offseason, every NSIC team will make the playoffs, but only the top four teams in each division will earn a home game in the opening round, which is on Wednesday, Feb. 27th. After facing the Mavericks and the Golden Bears, the Peacocks will finish the regular season with a trip to Sioux Falls, S.D. to face Augie before traveling to Wayne, Neb. to play Wayne State. Click here to view the Peacocks remaining schedule.

"Tuck" Dynasty…Senior Tucker Wentzien has been red-hot to start 2013. The 6-foot-8 post is averaging nearly 16 points per game over the last 11 games and he scored a season-best 23 points in the Peacocks one-point upset over St. Cloud State last weekend. That scoring mark was just three points shy of his career-high. Wentzien - a Solon, Iowa native - is currently 17th with his 1,137 career-point mark. Click here to view the full list of all-time leading scorers at UIU.

Senior Day 2013… Speaking of Wentzien, the seniors for the Upper Iowa men's basketball team will be honored for their services before the Peacocks' matchup with Concordia on Saturday night. Sam Elgin, Jake Hughes, Jake Shonka, Cedric Collins and Tucker Wentzien will all play in their final regular-season home game in the Peacocks uniform come Saturday. Together, they have amassed 2,975 points, 1,369 rebounds, 491 assists, 250 steals and 47 total victories.

Disturbingly Dominant Defense... The Peacocks have relied on their defense time and again this season, and the same held true this past weekend. With 59 seconds remaining in Duluth and 8 seconds remaining in Saint Cloud, the Peacocks led by one and needed a stop from their defense. Both times the UIU defense held and the Peacocks pulled out a win. At 63.7 points per game allowed, UIU boasts the third-best defense in the conference. Opponents are shooting just over 42-percent from the floor, which is also a top-five mark.  Furthermore, UIU has allowed only five teams all season to reach 71 points or more and only two teams have shot 50% or better against UIU this season.

NSIC Rankings... As mentioned above, the dominant defense UIU has played is becoming a mainstay for the Peacocks this year. In turn, that aggressive play has helped them climb the ranks in the NSIC, and not just on defense. Not only is UIU's defense ranked third in scoring (63 ppg), but the team, as a whole, is fifth in scoring margin (+5.5), third in free-throw percentage (75%), eigth in field-goal percentage (45%), fourth in field-goal percentage defense (42%), second in three-point field goal defense (32%) and the Peacocks have the fourth best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.09). UIU is also listed in the top-10 in rebounding margin (+1.6), rebounding defense (31.3), assists per game (12.5), steals per game (6.4) and turnover margin (+0.92).

Speaking of Rankings... Three of the five seniors being honored on Saturday are ranked in at least one category in the NSIC this season. Tucker Wentzien and Sam Elgin are both ranked in the top-25 in scoring. Wentzien sits in 14th thanks to his 13.8 points per game average, while Elgin falls in at 23rd with 11.9 points per game. Jake Hughes sits atop the NSIC with his 59.2 field-goal percentage, while Wentzien ranks 15th in field-goal percentage (51.4) and 17th in rebounding (5.5 per game). Elgin is also third in the conference with an 88.6 free-throw percentage.

Tune In... Don't forget to click on the live option links above to follow all of the Peacock action as it happens live! Follow along with the live stats links, or listen to the UIU broadcasters by clicking on the listen live or watch live links. The Peacock Athletic Fund Pregame Show will begin roughly 15 minutes before the scheduled tip-off. Click here to listen or watch all the action live.