THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL…
Upper Iowa (11-12, 4-10 NSIC) will hit the road for their longest trip of the season this weekend as they head up way up north to Bismarck, N.D. and Minot, N.D. for a pair of NSIC cross-division matchups. The Peacocks will take on the UMary Marauders on Friday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. before heading up to match up with the Minot State Beavers on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m.
 

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PEACOCK STORYLINES...

ROAD SPLIT: On their first road trip of 2018, UIU picked up a split against fellow NSIC South foes Augustana and Wayne State. The Vikings used a 30-12 run in the final eight minutes to put the Peacocks away on Friday night, but on Saturday UIU came back with one of their best offensive performances of the season. Upper Iowa shot 11-16 from behind the arc en route to an 84-76 victory over Wayne State to split the weekend. Jareese Williams scored a career-best 18 points in the win, while freshman Joe Smoldt put together his second 20-point game of his career.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: With the win over Wayne State, Upper Iowa now has 107 wins as a program against the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and Head Coach Brooks McKowen has accounted for 56 of those victories. The fifth-year head man has 82 career victories, just five away from tying legendary coach and Dorman Gymnasium name-sake John "Doc" Dorman for fourth on the all-time wins list.

THE LONG BALL: The three-point shot has been key to Upper Iowa's success this season. When the Peacocks hit at least nine long balls in a game, UIU is 6-3 on the season, including a 3-1 mark when the team connects on at least 10 three's. In games where they connect on eight or fewer, Upper Iowa is 5-9. On Saturday at WSC, the Peacocks hit 11-16 (68.8%) from distance, their highest in a game since Dec. 9, 2016 at Concordia-St. Paul when they shot 15-21 (71.4%), a Division II program record.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS: Early on in Saturday's contest, senior Carson Parker moved into 13th all-time in the Upper Iowa scoring list. The New Hartford, Iowa native has now scored 1,310 career points, and now needs just 55 points to tie legendary Peacock Al Albers for 12th. Parker ranks third amongst all Peacocks in scoring at the NCAA Division II level. The guard's 542 career rebounds rank 17th all-time, and needs 7 to tie Craig Zanata for 16th. His 425 career assists are the best in the NCAA Division II history of the program.
 

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THE SERIES…

vs. UMARY: UIU leads the series 8-5 all-time, and have won five of the last six games in the series. The Peacocks topped UMary 87-76 in Fayette last season, and will make their first trip to Bismarck since the 2015-16 season. Upper Iowa won 73-66 on the road two years ago, outscoring the Marauders 23-2 in the final eight minutes of the game.
 
vs. MINOT STATE: Two years ago in Minot, the Beavers defeated the Peacocks for the first time in history, 88-83. Overall in the series, Upper Iowa still has the upper hand, leading 7-1 in the series that began in 2012. Last season in Dorman Gym, the Peacocks won 82-67 behind a 50-point second-half performance.
 

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SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS…

vs. UM MARAUDERS: UMary (5-13, 3-11 NSIC) earned their first weekend sweep of the season last time out at Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. UM has won three straight conference road games, and never trailed on Friday in the win over UMC. Keith Hunter averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two wins, including a 29-point effort in the overtime win over BSU. Hunter leads the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game.

vs. MSU BEAVERS: Minot State (17-3, 11-3 NSIC) is receiving votes in the top 25 in the nation, as they have for multiple weeks this season. The Beavers earned a road split with a loss at Bemidji State and a win at Minnesota Crookston, and had five players reach double figures in scoring in the victory at UMC. Tyler Rudolph scored 17 points in the win at UMC and moved into second place on the Beavers career scoring list with 1,797 points. Rudolph ranks second in the conference in scoring with 22.0 points per game, and ranks sixth in rebounding with 7.1 boards per game.