The Upper Iowa men's basketball team will travel to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies in the first round of the 2019NSIC/Sanford Health men's basketball tournament. The Peacocks' 4-18 conference record earned the seventh seed in the South Division and they will take on the Huskies whose 16-6 record earned the North's number two seed. The first round of the tournament is set for Wednesday evening with the contest between UIU and SCSU scheduled for a 7:30pm tip.
On Saturday, the Peacocks broke out of a 15-game skid with a 95-77 win over Concordia – St. Paul on Senior Night.
Joe Smoldt paced the Peacock offense over the weekend with 56 points, knocking down 12 three-pointers, and shooting 64.3 percent from the field.
Quentin Blaue and
Munachiso Okonkwo played their final home game on Saturday and they made it one to remember. Blaue recorded a career high 18 points on a perfect six for six night from beyond the arc while Okonkwo dropped 12 points, pulled in 8 boards, and 3 blocks.
Sharing the Load... This season, Upper Iowa has benefited from having a couple different players who can put up big numbers on offense. The Peacocks are one of just three teams in the NSIC (MSU Moorhead and Augustana) who have five players who are averaging at least 10 points per game.
Joe Smoldt is UIU's top scorer averaging 14.4 points per game is trailed by
Jareese Williams (13.5), Mu Okonkwo (11.1),
Kyle Haber (10.9), and
Chris Olson (10.3).
From Downtown... In Saturday's game against the Golden Bears, the Peacocks connected on 17 of their long-distance attempts, their third highest of the season. In their 28 games, Upper Iowa has made at least 15 three-pointers 10 times. The Peacocks are averaging 11.3 made three-pointers per game which ranks 13
th nationally and their 40.6 three-point percentage ranks 12
th.
About the Huskies…
SCSU earned the North's second seed after going 16-6 in conference play during the regular season. The Huskies offense has been powered by five-time NSIC Player of the Week, Gage Davis. In his 28 games this season, Davis is averaging 25.1 points per game, ranking 8
th in Division II.
In their first meeting this season, SCSU got the best of the Peacocks after a strong second half performance. UIU trailed by only one at the half but Brindley Theisen went six for six from beyond the arc to lead the Huskies to 55 second half points. The Peacocks had their third best night shooting, hitting 55.4 percent of their attempts from the field.
Wednesday's game against the Huskies 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.
