This Week In Peacocks Basketball... After suffering a pair of setbacks last weekend to Bemidji State and UM Crookston, the Upper Iowa men's basketball team returns home to Dorman Gym to square off against the Sioux Falls Cougars and Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs. The Peacocks will tip off against the Cougars on Friday night at 7:30pm followed by the Mustangs on Saturday at 5:30pm.
Friday night is Throwback Night in Dorman; fans are encouraged to dress up from their favorite decade while the Peacocks host the Cougars. This weekend also marks the UIU Basketball Reunion Weekend. Former Peacock hoopsters are invited to the games as well as pregame shoot-arounds on Saturday. Watch the games from the VIP Suite with complimentary food and cash bar. At halftime of each game, alumni basketball players will be recognized.
It's a Slam Dunk… Don't Drive Drunk… The NSIC and Upper Iowa have designated this weekend as our It's a Slam Dunk… Don't Drive Drunk weekend to raise awareness about drunk driving. The Upper Iowa Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members will be collecting signatures from fans pledging not to drive drunk. This campaign started in 2013 to commemorate Drake Bigler, the five-month-old son of Southwest Minnesota State University Men's Basketball Coach Brad Bigler, who was killed by a drunk driver. Please help UIU and the NSIC and pledge not to drive drunk.
Moving Up the Ranks… After knocking down 15 three-pointers against Bemidji State and 11 against Minnesota Crookston, the Peacocks move into NCAA Division II's fourth-ranked position for made three-pointers. In their 18 games this season, UIU has connected on 212 of their 521 long-range attempts. Upper Iowa trails the national leader, UC San Diego, by only 17 three-pointers. The team is led by
Jareese Williams (51-106) and
Joe Smoldt (44-130) in made three-pointers, while
Chris Olson (31-58) leads the team in three-point percentage at 53.4%. Both
Kyle Haber and
Jackson Joens have knocked down 27 trifectas apiece.
Picking Up the Slack… In the games where the Peacocks have been below their season average of 11.8 three-pointers a game,
Munachiso Okonkwo has been there to pick up his teammates. UIU has been short of the double-digit mark for three-pointers in just eight games. In those games, Okonkwo has dominated the paint, averaging 13.9 points including a 31-point explosion at Wayne State College. For the year, the senior center is averaging 12 points a game, while against Northern Sun Conference opponents the average goes up nearly a point to 12.7.
About the Opponents...
Sioux Falls Cougars… The Cougars will come to Fayette with a 13-5 record overall and an 8-4 mark in the NSIC after winning five of their last six. Sioux Falls have benefited from the success of senior guard Trevon Evans. Evans is a two-time NSIC Player of the Week and his 433 points ranks third in the Northern Sun and sixth in Division II. The Cougars are also a force on the boards leading the NSIC in offensive rebounds per game (13.6), defensive rebounds per game (29.8), and rebounding margin (+11.4).
Against the Cougars… The Peacocks hold a slight advantage over the Cougars in the all-time series at 7-5. The Cougars have found success against UIU recently, sweeping last year's series including a narrow 5-point victory in Dorman last January.
Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs… Currently sitting in fifth place in the NSIC South with a record of 10-8 and 5-7 in the NSIC. The Mustangs are led by senior guard Ryan Bruggeman, who leads the NSIC in both scoring (24.4) and steals (2.0). Bruggeman has been named the NSIC's Player of the Week three times so far this season. Upper Iowa will also need to contain senior guard Taylor Schafer (12.5) and sophomore Kenny Byers (10.7) who join Bruggeman in double-figure scoring.
Against the Mustangs… In the 27 all-time meetings between the UIU and SMSU men's basketball programs, the Mustangs hold the record 19-8. However, in the last ten match ups the Peacocks have gotten the best of the Mustangs, posting a 6-4 record.
Both games this weekend can be viewed at
uiupeacocks.com/live on a live webcast with live stats available as well as on the NSIC channel through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple and Android tvs. Locally, both games against Northern State and MSU Moorhead will be aired on KCRG-TV 9.3.
