THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
The Peacocks (19-9, 16-6 NSIC) will host in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament for the fifth consecutive years as #2 Upper Iowa welcomes in the #7 Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston to Dorman Gymnasium on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. The winner will face the winner of the #3/#6 matchup of St. Cloud State and Wayne State on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday night's first round game will be broadcast online on UIU TV and will be available in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2.
 

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GAME TWENTY-NINE

#7 MINNESOTA CROOKSTON

DORMAN GYMNASIUM

FAYETTE, IOWA

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22 || 7 PM || KCRG TV 9.2

 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

SPLITTING THE FINAL WEEKEND: The Peacocks finished just short of their first division title in program history, wrapping up their regular season with a split on the road at Wayne State and Augustana. UIU finishes second in the NSIC South division, after winning a hard-fought battle with the Wildcats on Friday night, making a defensive stop at the buzzer to pull off a 67-65 win. UIU then held multiple nine-point leads against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday, but the home team came back to force overtime, and topped the Peacocks 92-87 in the regular season finale. Upper Iowa finished 16-6 in the NSIC, their best record since joining the league in 2006.
 
POST-SEASON HISTORY: For the first time since the conference tournament format changed to 16 teams in 2012, Upper Iowa will not be the number four seed in the NSIC South. UIU's second-place finish, their best in program history, will allow the Peacocks to play the #3/#6 winner in the quarterfinals if the Peacocks advance. UIU is 4-0 in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament, picking up four straight home wins. The Peacocks are 5-6 all-time in the conference tournament, advancing to the semifinals in the 2012-13 season.
 
FIRST REGION RANKINGS: The Peacocks are ranked seventh in the first edition of the NCAA Division II men's basketball regional rankings, which came out last Wednesday, Feb. 15. The NSIC had five of the top 10 teams in the central region, with Southwest Minnesota State ranked third, followed by MSU Moorhead in fifth, Augustana in eighth, and Northern State in ninth, in the first of three rankings.
 
CAREER POINTS WATCH: The Peacocks are already playing with two members of the 1,000-point club in seniors Jimmy Roth and Josh Weeber. Roth ranks 12th all-time with 1,353 career points, while Weeber ranks 13th with 1,278. Senior Luke Lenhart is currently 18 points away from joining his teammates in the 1,000-point club, and would become the 25th member to reach the milestone. Redshirt senior Jordan Hay recently entered the 900-point plateau in his career; the Stanwood, Iowa native is currently sitting at 917 in his career in Peacock blue. Junior Carson Parker has scored 857 career points as well.
 
BACKWARDS THINKING: Upper Iowa has gone against the norm this season when it comes to turnovers and halftime leads. UIU is 7-3 when they commit more turnovers than their opponents this season, and are 7-5 when trailing at halftime. The Peacocks held two halftime leads this past weekend, earning a split in the process. UIU trailed at the half in four straight home games, winning all four against Augustana, Wayne State, U-Mary, and Minot State earlier this season.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. UMC GOLDEN EAGLES: The Peacocks hold a 14-3 lead in the all-time series, and have won 12 of the last 13 meetings, including a 79-68 win on New Year's Eve in Fayette. Upper Iowa's win over UMC was their tenth win of the season at the time, using stifling defense to preserve the win. The 68 allowed points was the third-lowest point total allowed this season. UIU held UMC to 37% shooting from the field, and held the conference's second-leading scorer, Harrison Cleary, to just 10 points. Upper Iowa scored the first 14 points of the second half to help jump out to a lead that UIU would not relinquish.
 

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ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

vs. MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles (8-20, 4-18 NSIC) finished seventh in the NSIC North division this season, after earning a split on the season's final weekend. UMC topped U-Mary 91-80 in the regular season finale to jump into the seventh spot, snapping a five-game losing streak in the process. Minnesota Crookston is led by their outstanding freshman Harrison Cleary, who is second in the NSIC with 22.0 points per game. Cleary is the reigning NSIC North Player of the Week after averaging a league-best 28.5 points per game against Minot State and U-Mary. It is the second time Cleary has earned player of the week honors, and the freshman shot 60% from the field, including 5-10 from behind the arc. Chase Knickerbocker is second in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game this season.