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Upper Iowa Peacocks
Jake Shonka

Men's Basketball Steven Wilson – Graduate Assistant, Sports Information

UIU Set To Host Beavers In Opening Round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament

The Peacocks and Beavers have squared off only two other times in the history of both programs, but UIU has never lost to MISU

MISU vs. UIU
 
NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament - Opening Round
Game 29 || Minot State
Fayette, IA || 7 p.m.

Live Options:
Live Stats || Live Mobile Stats
Live Video || Live Audio

NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Bracket

UIU Game Notes || NSIC Weekly Release
NSIC Forecast (MP3) || MISU Game Notes 

This Week in Upper Iowa Men’s Basketball... The Peacocks finished the regular season with their best record ever in division II play (18-10, 14-8). Thanks to a split at Augustana and Wayne State, UIU wrapped up the fourth spot in the NSIC-South division and an opening round home playoff game on Wednesday night. The Peacocks will host the fifth-seed in the NSIC-North Minot State (10-16, 9-13 NSIC) inside Dorman Gym at 7 p.m.
 
The Series... Officially a new member of the NSIC this season, the Peacocks and Beavers have met only two times in division II play. UIU owns a 2-0 series record against Minot State, including a big 84-56 victory on the road earlier this year.

WHITEOUT... The Peacocks encourage fans to wear white on Wednesday night in support of the Whiteout throughout Dorman Gym. The first 150 UIU students will enter free of charge thanks to a ticket-donation from Interim President Richard Patrick. All other tickets must be paid for. Adults are $10, seniors are $8 and UIU and K-12 students are $2.
 
Home Sweet Home?... UIU has posted an impressive 9-2 conference record away from home this year, but the Peacocks are just a .500 team at home. UIU owns a 6-6 overall record inside Dorman Gym, but the Peacocks have a losing record against the NSIC this year at home (5-6). Wednesday night will be the Peacocks first division II playoff game at home. UIU is 0-2 in NSIC playoff games since the 2006-07 season.
  
Leading the Beavers... E.J. Williams (11.5 ppg, 47% FG, 36% 3FG, 3 rpg, 1.5 apg) || Josh Johnson (10.3 ppg, 41% FG, 5.5 rpg, 13 blocks) || Dominique McDonald (9.6 ppg, 37% FG, 32% 3FG, 3.3 apg, 1.2 spg) || Anthony Enriquez (8.4 ppg, 37% FG, 2.1 rpg) || Thomas Korf (6.5 ppg, 36% FG, 37% 3FG, 1.9 rpg)

Wentzien Named NSIC POW... The Northern Sun Conference named Tucker Wentzien as the NSIC Player of the Week this week. This is the twelfth award for Upper Iowa this year and the first time a UIU basketball player has been honored by the NSIC. Wentzien - who also won the same award once last season en route to a Second-Team All-NSIC Honor - averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds over the weekend to help the Peacocks earn a split on the road. Wentzien registered a career-high 31 points Friday night in an 11-point upset over Augustana, before scoring 21 points  on Saturday against Wayne State. Click here to see the full release.

Do or Die Time... The 2012-13 NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament is set to kick-off on Wednesday night, with Upper Iowa hosting one of eight games happening around the conference. Every team will have to win to move on to the next round and if the Peacocks advance to the quarterfinals, they would play the winner of St. Cloud State and Concordia University on Saturday, March 2nd. Click here to view the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament Bracket.

This Defense is Worth Every Cent... The Peacocks boast the second-best defense in the conference this season and the 39th best defense in the country in terms of points allowed per game (64). Last Friday night, UIU held Augustana to a season-low 21 points in the first half thanks to its strong defense and rebounding. Opponents are shooting just over 43 percent from the floor, which is fourth-best in the conference.  Furthermore, UIU has allowed only five teams all season to reach 71 points or more and only three teams have shot 50% or better against UIU this season.

NSIC Rankings... As mentioned above, the disturbingly dominant defense UIU has been playing this season is becoming a mainstay for the Peacocks and its helped UIU earn its best regular-season record since moving up to division II. In turn, that aggressive defense has helped the Peacocks climb the ranks in the NSIC. Not only is UIU's defense ranked second in scoring (64 ppg), but the team, as a whole, is sixth in scoring margin (+4.5), third in free throw percentage (75%), eigth in field-goal percentage (45%), fifth in field goal percentage defense (43%), second in three-point field goal defense (32%) and the Peacocks have the seventh best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.04). UIU is also listed in the top 10 in rebounding margin (+1.7), rebounding defense (31.2), steals per game (6.6) and turnover margin (+0.75).

Speaking of Rankings... Tucker Wentzien, Sam Elgin and Jake Hughes are all ranked in the NSIC this season. Both Wentzien and Elgin are ranked in the top 25 in scoring. After scoring 52 total points last weekend, Wentzien moved up two spots to 12th in the conference with 14.4 points per game average, while Elgin falls in at 24th with 11.9 points per game. Wentzien also pulled in 20 rebounds in his last two games and is now 12th in the NSIC with 5.8 rebounds per game.  Jake Hughes sits in third place in the NSIC with his 58.7 field goal percentage, while Wentzien isn't far behind (14th) with his 51.9 field-goal percentage. Elgin rounds up the rankings for the Peacocks with the 7th spot in the conference and 41st spot in the nation with an 85.7 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 above. The Peacock Athletic Fund Pregame Show will begin roughly 15 minutes before the scheduled tip off. Click here to watch or listen to all the action live.
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