THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
Upper Iowa (9-10, 2-8 NSIC) will wrap up their four-game home stand with a pair of games against the NSIC North division this weekend in Dorman Gymnasium. The Peacocks will host the Huskies of St. Cloud State University on Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. before squaring off with the Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. Both games can be viewed online on UIU TV, and Friday's game can be seen in eastern Iowa on KCRG 9.3. Saturday's contest can be viewed on KCRG 9.2.
 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

HEARTBREAKING SWEEP: Last weekend in Fayette, the Peacocks dropped a pair of close games with their rivals from the NSIC South, Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. USF controlled most the game with their rebounding en route to a 77-72 victory, and outrebounded UIU 38-26 for the game. On Saturday against SMSU, the home team led for 38:59.4 of the game, only to see a last-second shot go down for the Mustangs, and the visitors left Fayette with an 86-84 victory. Upper Iowa held as much as a 17-point lead in the first half against SMSU, but ultimately fell in the end to lose the season series.

REBOUNDING WOES: Rebounds have been a very important key for Upper Iowa this season. The Peacocks are 7-0 this season when they outrebound their opponent. On the other side, the team is 2-9 when they get outrebounded during a game. UIU was outrebounded 70-48 in their two losses last weekend to USF and SMSU, and allowed 24 offensive boards as well. Munachiso Okonkwo leads the squad with 7.4 boards per game, while Carson Parker averages 6.0 per contest.

FOUR SCORE AND 52 POINTS A GAME: Four different Peacocks have paced the offense this season, and together they combine for 52.3 points per game. Parker leads the team with 16.8 per contest, which ranks eighth in the Northern Sun Conference. Dennis Austin III has put together his best season of his career, and is averaging 12.7 points per contest, while freshman Joe Smoldt continues to impress in his rookie campaign with 12.1 per game. Kam Rowan has scored in double figures in two straight games, and is now averaging 10.7 points per game on the year.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. ST. CLOUD STATE: The Peacocks trail the all-time series 16-6, but UIU has won five of the last eight matchups, including four of the last five. Upper Iowa fell last season in St. Cloud, Minn. after a last-second three-pointer fell just short and SCSU held on for the 92-89 win. However, the Peacocks got revenge in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament with a convincing 81-61 win en route to their run to the conference championship game.

vs. MINNESOTA DULUTH: UIU leads the series 9-6, and have won six straight games, but all in close fashion. The Peacocks won 85-78 in Duluth, Minn. last season in the most lopsided game in six seasons between the schools. The previous five meetings had been decided by a grand total of 14 points.
 

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SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS…

vs. SCSU HUSKIES: The Huskies (11-4, 7-2 NSIC) swept Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston to improve their winning streak to three games, and the team has won eight of their last 10 as well. SCSU is now 11-1 this season when they score at least 69 points, and they have held the rebounding edge in 11 out of their 15 games this season. Jon Averkamp has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season after getting 22 against BSU, and reached 1,000 career points in that game as well.

vs. UMD BULLDOGS: The Bulldogs (6-8, 3-6 NSIC) used identical 12-2 runs to close out both games last weekend against BSU and UMC, and have won four of its last five games. UMD has been especially good in close games, going 5-1 in contests decided by five points or less. The Bulldogs captured its first weekend sweep since Jan. 9-10, 2016 with their wins, and won their third straight home game in the process. Brandon Myer led the team in scoring for a sixth and seventh consecutive night as he averaged 24 points earning him NSIC North Player of the Week honors. Myer notched his third double-double (27 points, 12 rebounds) in the win over Minnesota Crookston.