THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
The Peacocks (20-9, 16-6 NSIC) will head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for the quarterfinal round of the 2017 NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon. #2 Upper Iowa will take on the #3 Huskies of St. Cloud State after both teams won home first round games. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon and is the second of four quarterfinal games that day. The game will be available via an online audio broadcast on the Peacock Sports Network.
 

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GAME THIRTY

#3 ST. CLOUD STATE

SANFORD PENTAGON

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.

SUNDAY, FEB. 26 || 2:30 PM

 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

FIRST-ROUND THRILLER: The Peacocks fought all the way to the end Wednesday night to advance after Carson Parker beat the buzzer for the third time this season. Parker hit a fade-away with 3.7 seconds remaining to propel UIU to the win over the #7 Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles. With the win, UIU clinched its fifth consecutive trip to the second round, and earns its 20th win of the season, tying a program record at the NCAA Division II level.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: The Northern Sun Conference handed out their awards Thursday and Parker and Jordan Hay were honored by the league. Hay was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-NSIC Second Team, while Parker was named to the All-NSIC First Team following the regular season as well. Hay is the first Peacock ever to earn NSIC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 6.2 rebounds to go along with 1.4 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. Parker is the first player to earn first-team honors since Joey Woods in the 2013-14 season. The Peacock point guard averaged 12.1 points per game in league play, shooting 50% from the field and 41% from behind the arc.
 
POST-SEASON HISTORY: For the first time since the conference tournament format changed to 16 teams in 2012, Upper Iowa is not the number four seed in the NSIC South. UIU's second-place finish, their best in program history, allows the Peacocks to play the #3 seed in the second round instead of the #1. UIU is now 5-0 in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament, picking up five straight home wins. The Peacocks are now 6-6 all-time in the conference tournament, advancing to the semifinals in the 2012-13 season.
 
SECOND REGION RANKINGS: The Peacocks are ranked ninth in the first edition of the NCAA Division II men's basketball regional rankings, which came out this past Wednesday, Feb. 22. The NSIC had five of the top 10 teams in the central region once again, with Southwest Minnesota State ranked second and followed by MSU Moorhead in fourth, Augustana in sixth, and Northern State in eighth, in the second 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 11th all-time with 1,365 career points, while Weeber ranks 13th with 1,280. Senior Luke Lenhart is currently 3 points away from joining his teammates in the 1,000-point club, and would become the 25th member to reach the milestone. Hay recently entered the 900-point plateau in his career; the Stanwood, Iowa native is currently sitting at 930 in his career in Peacock blue. Parker has scored 877 career points as well.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. SCSU HUSKIES: The Peacocks trail the all-time series 16-5, but UIU has won four of the last seven matchups. Upper Iowa's three-game winning streak in the series was snapped earlier this year when a UIU last-second three-pointer fell just short and SCSU held on for the 92-89 win.
 

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ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

vs. ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies (19-13, 14-8 NSIC) finished third in the NSIC North division this season, and picked up a first-round win at home over #6 Wayne State, 92-78. St. Cloud State is led by a pair of All-NSIC players, with Gage Davis earning first team honors and Scottie Stone making second team all-conference. Davis led the NSIC in scoring this season, averaging 22.9 points per game, while Stone ranked fourth averaging 19.0 per contest.