THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
The Peacocks (11-5, 8-2 NSIC) will head up to northern Minnesota for a pair of cross-division games this weekend. Upper Iowa, winners of three of the last four games, will square off with the St. Cloud State Huskies on Friday night at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn. before heading up to Duluth, Minn. to battle the UMD Bulldogs in Romano Gymnasium on Saturday night. Both games will have a live online audio option, broadcast on the Peacock Sports Network. Upper Iowa is off to its best start as a member of the Northern Sun Conference, and has won nine of its last eleven games.
 

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GAME SEVENTEEN	GAME EIGHTEEN
AT ST. CLOUD STATE	AT MINNESOTA DULUTH
HALENBECK HALL	ROMANO GYMNASIUM
ST. CLOUD, MINN.	DULUTH, MINN.
FRIDAY, JAN. 13 || 8 PM	SATURDAY, JAN. 14 || 6 PM

 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

"ONIONS!": Junior Carson Parker knocked down a three-pointer from 25 feet at the top of the key with 0.2 seconds remaining in overtime last Saturday night as Upper Iowa defeated #19 Southwest Minnesota State, 99-96. The Peacocks trailed by eight points with 4:54 remaining in regulation, but used a big comeback to send the game to overtime. Parker connected on a three to put UIU up two points late in the extra frame, and then hit the game-winner as time nearly expired.
 
CAREER YEAR: Redshirt senior Jordan Hay is putting together a career season in his final year as a Peacock. The forward is leading the team in scoring (12.6 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 per game). Hay ranks seventh in the Northern Sun Conference in boards and third in field goal percentage (54.7%), and is also one of the top defenders in the league, averaging 1.8 steals per contest. The Stanwood, Iowa product also ranks second in the NSIC in blocks with 25. Hay put together his best performance of his career Saturday at SMSU, with career-bests in points (26) and boards (13).
 
PLAYOFF REMATCHES: The Peacocks take on the Huskies on Friday night in a rematch of last season's first round game of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament. UIU defeated SCSU 87-80 in Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette last February. Dennis Austin III and Josh Weeber each totaled 20 points in the win. Upper Iowa defeated Minnesota Duluth in a first round tournament game three years ago, with UIU winning that matchup 86-81 after trailing by 20 points in the first half.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS: Upper Iowa is currently tied for sixth in the latest NCAA Division II Central Region Poll Sponsored by D2SIDA. UIU is behind fellow NSIC schools Southwest Minnesota State (2nd), MSU Moorhead (4th), and Augustana (5th).
 
CHARITY STRIPE: The Peacocks are 10-3 this season when they make more free throws than their opponents. UIU put together one of their best performances at the charity stripe on Saturday night at SMSU, knocking down 26-32 (81.3%) attempts. Upper Iowa is also 10-2 on the year when the opponent commits more fouls in a game.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. SCSU HUSKIES: The Peacocks trail the all-time series 15-5, but UIU has won four of the last six matchups, including each of the last three games. Upper Iowa swept SCSU last season, with both games in Fayette.
 
vs. UMD BULLDOGS: UIU leads the series 8-6, and have won five straight games, but all in close fashion. The difference in the last five games is a total of 14 points.
 

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ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies (11-7, 7-2 NSIC) ran their winning streak to five games with a 101-86 win over Bemidji State last Friday before falling to Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. The team's five-game winning streak was the longest for the program in two seasons. Gage Davis leads the NSIC in scoring (21.6 PPG) and ranks in the top 10 in the league in 11 different categories. Scottie Stone ranks fourth in the league in scoring (18.6 PPG) and ranks in the top 10 in the NSIC in six different categories.
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH: The Bulldogs (4-11, 3-6 NSIC) have won two straight games for the first time of 2016, defeating Wisconsin-Superior and Minnesota Crookston last week. UMD's win over the Golden Eagles marked the largest margin of victory this season, as they made a season-high 13 three-pointers while shooting a season-best 52 percent from long range. Freshman Luke Harris leads the team in scoring (11.3 points per game), while Sean Burns posted his first collegiate double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) against Bemidji State.