THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL... Upper Iowa will return to Dorman Memorial Gymnasium for the first time in nearly four weeks. The Peacocks will first face Augustana University on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. UIU will then battle Wayne State College on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. The game will also stream live on the NSIC app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.

SPLIT SERIES... Upper Iowa went 1-1 last weekend as the team defeated Northern State University on Friday night before falling short to Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday evening. The Peacocks were in control for the entirety of the matchup against Northern State as they held the lead or were tied with the Wolves for all forty minutes. UIU pushed their lead to as many as 14 points late in the second half. Jareese Williams led the flock with 24 points. Williams (24), Joe Smoldt (18) and Lucas Duax (13) combined for 55 of Upper Iowa's 95 points scored en route to the nine-point victory.

The Peacocks fell to MSU Moorhead by a 98-84 count the following night.  Neither team led by more than two scores during the first half. Upper Iowa pulled away for their largest lead of the game after seven unanswered points put them ahead 34-28 with 5:52 left on the clock. The teams continued to battle ending the first half in a draw at 47 points apiece. The Dragons started the half on a 10-3 run to go up 57-50 with 16:57 to play. MSU Moorhead never looked back as the contest concluded in a 14-point win, the Dragons largest advantage of the game. Upper Iowa had six double-digit scorers in the loss: Cade Moritz (13), Jake Hilmer (12), Smoldt (11), Joshua Carter (11), Williams (11), and Lucas Duax (10).

PRIDE OF THE PEACOCKS… Williams found himself a spot on the week eight NSIC top performers list after averaging 17.5 points per game over the weekend including six made three-pointers on Friday night. Williams' 48% three-point field goal percentage is the best in the NSIC and 16th highest in the nation. Williams' 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game are team-highs.

Hilmer dished out nine assists over the weekend, his 4.6 assists per game ranks fourth in the league. Hilmer (10.9) is also one of three Peacocks averaging more than 10 points per game this season. Duax came up with five steals against Northern State and MSU Moorhead, his 2.1 steals per game is an NSIC best. As a team, Upper Iowa has the second most steals per game in the league with 7.21 and the third best turnover margin (+2.57). 

Duax (13,10) was also one of four Peacocks to score in double figures in both games over the weekend; Williams (24,11), Smoldt (18,11), and Moritz (10,13). Smoldt's performance bumped his points per game average up to 11.9, the second highest on the team.

MILESTONE WATCH... Junior Joe Smoldt is just 22 points shy of hitting the 1,000-point milestone coming into the weekend. Smoldt looks to become the 28th member of the 1,000-point club in UIU men's basketball history. Entering the weekend, Smoldt has scored 978 points in 72 games.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS… Upper Iowa fell to Augustana by a 86-59 count when the two teams last faced off in early December 2019. A pair of first half runs propelled the Vikings ahead of the Peacocks 50-30 at halftime. The Peacocks were unable to recover from the 20-point deficit. Smoldt and Hilmer led the team with 14 points apiece in the loss. 

Augustana holds the second best record in the NSIC; 11-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play, second only to the University of Sioux Falls. Augustana's most recent slate of games resulted in a close win against Southwest Minnesota State University (64-61) and a narrow loss to Sioux Falls (65-59). The Vikings' starting five: Matt Cartwright (16.1), Matt Todd (13.9), Tyler Riemersma (11.2), Michael Schaefer (10.6) and Dylan LeBrun (9.9) combine for over 60 points per game. Riemersma adds on 9.1 rebounds per game, the fifth highest mark in the NSIC. Augustana has an +11.2 scoring margin this season and holds a +9.3 advantage on the glass.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS... Upper Iowa suffered an 88-69 loss to Wayne State earlier this season. The Peacocks were down just one point at halftime but the Wildcats went off on a 12-0 run to start the second half putting Wayne State up 50-37 with 16:27 to play. Upper Iowa was unable to get within a single digit deficit as Wayne State carried the momentum all the way to the finish line. Jordan Jansen had a monster night for the Wildcats scoring 17 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. Williams led the Peacocks with 16 points in the defeat.

Wayne State is 5-12 this season, 2-6 in conference play. After beating Upper Iowa and Winona State University (70-63) during the opening weekend of conference play, Wayne State has been on a six-game losing streak. The Wildcats most recent shortcomings came against the University of Sioux Falls (77-65) and Southwest Minnesota State University (62-59). Wayne State has four double-digit scorers: Janssen (17.9), Nick Ferrarini (13.4) Nate Mohr (11.2) and Al'Tavius Jackson (10.4) who combine for over 50 points per game. Janssen averages 10.2 rebounds per game which tops the NSIC. As a team, Wayne State (4.2) records nearly twice as many blocks per game as their opponents (2.2).