THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
The Peacocks (12-6, 9-3 NSIC) will return home after a four-game road trip to host a pair of NSIC South division opponents. Upper Iowa will host the defending national champion Augustana Vikings on Friday night before squaring off with the Wayne State Wildcats on Saturday inside Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette. Both games will be available online on UIU TV and available in eastern Iowa. Friday night will be broadcast on KCRG TV 9.3, while Saturday's game will be on 9.2. Friday night will be Jersey Night for fans attending the games, while Saturday's night theme is Beach Night.

 

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GAME NINTEEN	GAME TWENTY
AUGUSTANA VIKINGS	WAYNE STATE WILDCATS
DORMAN GYMNASIUM	DORMAN GYMNASIUM
FAYETTE, IOWA	FAYETTE, IOWA
FRIDAY, JAN. 20 || 8 PM	SATURDAY, JAN. 21 || 6 PM

 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

ROAD TRIP RECAP: Upper Iowa wrapped up its four-game road trip last weekend in St. Cloud and Duluth, Minn. The St. Cloud State Huskies defeated UIU 92-89 after a last-second three-point attempt was just short from Jimmy Roth to potentially send the game to overtime. The Peacocks recovered well the next night as they defeated the UMD Bulldogs 85-77 behind a late 11-4 run in the final three minutes. Jordan Hay scored six of the team's final 11 points to secure the win.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Peacocks are currently ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II Central Region Poll Sponsored by D2SIDA. UIU is behind fellow NSIC schools MSU Moorhead (3), Southwest Minnesota State (4), and Augustana (5).

PICK YOUR POISON: Defenses around the league are having trouble choosing which Peacock to try to stop each night. Upper Iowa is one of only two schools in the Northern Sun Conference (SMSU) with six players averaging in double figures. Roth leads the team in scoring (13.1) behind a team-leading 83 free throws made. Hay is averaging 12.3 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Carson Parker, Dennis Austin III, Josh Weeber, and Luke Lenhart are each averaging just over 10 points per contest. Between those six players, they have combined for 62 double-digit scoring games this season.

NEARING 900: Senior guard Luke Lenhart is inching closer to 900 points in his career. The Storm Lake, Iowa native is just eight points away from the milestone as he continues to pursue membership in the 1,000-point club, joining teammates Jimmy Roth and Josh Weeber.

NSIC SOUTH RAMIFICATIONS: Upper Iowa is tied with SMSU for first place in the NSIC South division (9-3). Friday night's opponent, Augustana University, is 8-4 and in third place in the eight-team division. UIU and Augie will square off for the first of two meetings this season, and the Peacocks will look for some cushion within the division.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. AU VIKINGS: The Vikings lead the all-time series 15-5 dating back to 1962. Augustana won the first seven meetings, but the series has been much closer (6-4) since 2012. Upper Iowa has fought to the end with Augie the last two matchups in Fayette, with both games coming down to the final possession. However, Upper Iowa has dropped each of the last four games in the series.

vs. WSC WILDCATS: The Peacocks hold a slight 11-8 edge in the all-time series, but have dominated lately, picking up six straight wins and eight of the last nine overall.
 

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ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

vs. AUGUSTANA: The Vikings (13-5, 8-4 NSIC) split a pair of home games last weekend falling to MSU Moorhead 91-89 in a double overtime thriller, but followed that with an 80-66 win over Northern State on Saturday night. Augustana is averaging 82.8 points per game and has out-scored its opponents by 11.5 points per game. Four Vikings are averaging double figures, with Mike Busack leading the charge with 15.1 points per game.

vs. WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats (5-13, 3-9 NSIC) were swept last weekend by Northern State (76-66) and MSU Moorhead (95-87), but led for a majority of Saturday's contest. Sophomore forward Kendall Jacks scored a career-high 28 points against the Dragons, and leads the team 14.7 points per game. Redshirt freshman Luke TerHark scored a career-high 16 points against the Wolves last weekend as well.