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THIS WEEKEND IN MEN'S BASKETBALL The Peacocks (10-11, 6-6 NSIC) return home following a four-game road trip in which they went 3-1. UIU has now won four of its last five games and will look to carry that momentum into the weekend as they take on a pair of NSIC South opponents in Dorman Gym. The Peacocks host the Wayne State Wildcats and former Head Coach Brian Dolan on Friday night at 8 p.m., followed by a visit from the #2 Augustana Vikings on Saturday evening at 6 p.m.
Upper Iowa is having a '90's Weekend, celebrating the three IIAC Champion teams from the 1990's ('94, '96, '99). More than a dozen members of those teams will be attendance and recognized on during Saturday's game against Augustana.
NOTES FROM LAST WEEKEND Upper Iowa snapped a three-game winning streak with a loss to the Minot State Beavers, 88-83 on Friday night at the MSU Dome in Minot, N.D. Upper Iowa trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, but cut the lead to four on multiple occasions late, only to have the Beavers go 8-for-8 in the final 35 seconds from the free throw line. The Peacocks salvaged a weekend split with a win over the University of Mary Marauders, 73-66. UIU trailed by a game-high 16 midway through the second half before mounting a 29-6 run over the final 11:14 to win the game.
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER 1 A CENTURY IN THE MAKING: Upper Iowa enters its 100th year of men's basketball with the start of the 2015-16 season and third year under the tutelage of
Brooks McKowen. The Fairbank, Iowa native was named the 18th head coach in Peacock men's basketball history prior to the 2013-14 season and holds a 43-38 record at UIU.
2 JIMMY JAMS: Junior
Jimmy Roth exploded for back-to-back 20 point games last weekend, his third and fourth of the year and gave him seven in his career at UIU. Roth now has 862 career points and will have a chance at 1,000 before the season ends.
3 DEJA VU: The last time Upper Iowa defeated a ranked team at home was on Jan. 15, 2010 against a then-18th ranked Augustana Vikings team. UIU's bid to upset #2 Augustana last year came up just short, 97-92.
4 NOT FEELING BLUE: Upper Iowa is 6-4 in their new blue uniforms, while they 3-3 in their white uniforms and 1-4 in the grays.
THE SERIES vs WAYNE STATE: (9-8) - The Peacocks hold a slight edge in the all-time series with the Wildcats, but have dominated lately, picking up four straight wins and six of the last seven overall.
vs AUGUSTANA: (5-13) - The Vikings won the first seven meetings between these two teams, dating back to 1962, but the series is tied 4-4 since 2012.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats (4-13, 2-10 NSIC) have dropped six of their last seven games, but that lone win came against Minnesota Duluth, who was ranked in the region at the time. WSC is led by sophomore guard Matt Thomas, who is the only Wayne State player averaging double figures scoring at 17 points per game. The Wildcats are 0-8 away from Wayne, Neb., this season, with a 0-7 in true road games.
AUGUSTANA: The Vikings ranked No. 2 in the National Association Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll for the sixth straight week. Augustana has now spent 18 straight weeks in the top 10 of the NABC poll and the 24th consecutive week in the rankings for AU dating back to Nov. 25, 2014.Augustana is currently 15-1 on the season, including 12-0 in NSIC play. The Vikings have won 15 straight games and recently extended their home winning streak to 24 games. Augustana is led by a trio of seniors who are all conference and national player of the year candidates. Daniel Jansen is currently averaging 20.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while Casey Schilling is at 18.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Alex Richter averages 14.6 points per game and is shooting nearly 60% from 3-point range (40-67, 59.7%).
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