GAME THIRTYVS MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEADSANFORD PENTAGON
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015 || 12:00 PM LIVE STATS || LIVE VIDEO || LIVE AUDIO
WEEKLY NOTES
UPPER IOWA || MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD || NORTHERN SUN || NSIC Tournament Central
THIS WEEKEND IN MEN'S BASKETBALL The Peacocks (17-12, 12-10 NSIC) finished the regular season in the fourth spot in the Northern Sun South Division and seventh overall in the conference. After beating Minot State 97-85 in the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament, UIU will play the top-seeded Dragons of Minnesota State Moorhead in the quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. This is the second straight year the Peacocks have met the Dragons in the quarterfinals. MSUM is currently ranked #5 in the NABC National Division II Poll and finished the regular season 29-2.
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER 1 NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Peacocks have a 4-4 overall record in the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament, but have been 4-2 over the last two seasons. Last year, the Dragons ended UIU's season in the Sanford Pentagon, beating the Peacocks 79-68.
2 BOOST OFF THE BENCH: Upper Iowa ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 84.0 points, with nearly 44% of those points coming from off the bench. The Peacocks outscored Minot State 39-26 in bench scoring, helping stretch the Peacocks bench scoring margin for the season to nearly 300 points, 1069-722, averaging 36.9 bench points per game compared to 24.9 for their opponents.
3 SUPERB SOPHOMORES: UIU has gotten a late-season lift from a trio of sophomores. Luke Lenhart led the Peacocks with 23 points in their win over Wayne State, while Jimmy Roth poured in 20 points against the Wildcats. The duo averaged a team-high 18 points per game each over the weekend. The third of the sophomore musketeers was Josh Weeber, as he scored in double digits against both Wayne State and Augustana, averaging 10.5 points per game. 4 EARLIER THIS SEASON AGAINST MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD: For the first time this season, a Peacock opponent hit the century mark as Upper Iowa lost to the then-#14 Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons, 106-81. The Dragons shot a season-high 69 percent (40-of-58) from the field and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from beyond the arc, scoring 106 points for the second time in three games.
Jordan Hay led the Peacocks with 19 points, while
Jernell Hughes added 12 and
Bo Pagel,
Josh Weeber and
Jimmy Roth chipped in 10 each. Roth added a team high 6 rebounds.
THE SERIES...VS MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD: (7-5, since 2007) - The Dragons have gotten the last two in the series, once this season in Moorhead, Minn., and last season in the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT... MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MOORHEAD: The Dragons finished the season at 29-2 this season, ranking 5th nationally and taking home a share of the NSIC regular season championship. MSUM is currently riding a five game winning streak, including its opening round win over Wayne State, 89-60. Senior guard and co-NSIC Player of the Year Jordan Riewer leads the Dragons in scoring (16.9/game), rebounding (4.8/game) and assists (5.5/game). Junior forward Isaac Selvie is second on the team in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (4.8), while guards Aaron Lien and Tyler Vaughn also average double figure scoring at 12.1 and 10.5, respectively.
