THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa men's basketball will tip off the 2020-21 season with a pair of NSIC matchups at home against St. Cloud State University. The Peacocks will go head-to-head with the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 2 and Sunday, Jan.3; both games begin at 2 p.m. Fans at the games this weekend are limited to invite only. Don't worry if you don't get the invite though... we've got you covered with several live options. Live stats and a webcast will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The games will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Locally, both games will be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.2 across Eastern Iowa.
 
ALL-NSIC PRESENCE… Returning to the Peacocks are three All-NSIC honorees. Jaresse Williams and Joe Smoldt earned spots on the second team while Jake Hilmer was named an honorable mention last season. The trio combined to average 38 points per game last season. Williams, a senior, hopes to surpass the 1,000-point milestone early in the season as he sits just 54 points away. The Mason City, Iowa native led the Peacocks in scoring last season with 13.1 points per game and rebounds with 133 as well as leading the NSIC in three-point percentage as he connected on 43.4% of his 198 attempts. Williams helped fuel the Peacock offense with 19 double-digit scoring performances including a career-high 30 points in a win over the NSIC South Champion University of Sioux Falls, all of which came in the second half. Smoldt was right behind Williams with 12.7 points per contest. The Reinbeck, Iowa native had 18 nights in double-figures, one of which he surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in a win over Concordia University, St. Paul. Smoldt will continue to climb the ladder of Upper Iowa all-time scorers, the guard currently sits at 1,192 career points through his first three seasons in Peacock blue and white. Hilmer, the Peacocks' starting point guard, recorded 137 assists on the year, the NSIC's third highest total. The true freshman started all 30 games for the Peacocks adding 12.2 points per game and a team-high 20 games in double-digit scoring.
 
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN… Upper Iowa enters its 105th season with a plethora of returning talent including eight of the nine biggest contributors from the 2019-2020 campaign and 19 out of the 23 players on the roster. Lucas and Max Duax, Jackson Joens, Cade Moritz and Dylan Jones are all expected to make significant impacts on the court. Lucas Duax led the NSIC with 65 steals on the defensive end as well as registering 9.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in first full season. Moritz made his mark in the paint scoring 7.1 points and grabbing 3.3 rebounds per game for the Peacocks. Mortiz also compiled 29 blocks which put him in the top ten in the NSIC for the category. As a team, UIU held a league-leading turnover margin of +3.7 last winter. Upper Iowa's offense also finished in the top three in the NSIC posting 80.1 points and converting 9.6 three-point field goals per game while limiting their opponents to 8.1 trifectas per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES… St. Cloud State holds the career series 14-6. However, after an 0-8 start, the two teams are tied at six games apiece since the 2012-13 season. The Huskies finished 14-15 overall and 11-11 in conference play during the 2019-20 campaign. St. Cloud State returns two of their top three leading scorers from a year ago. Ilya Tyrtyshnik and Anthony Roberts will bolster the Huskies backcourt and are set to lead St. Cloud's offense this winter. Roberts started all 29 games as a true freshman averaging 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Tyrtyshnik added 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a regular starter. As a unit, the Huskies held a +3.2-scoring margin over their opponents and a +2.0-turnover rate. Of the 14 players on St. Cloud State's roster in 2020-21, there are eight newcomers which include four true freshmen and four transfers. Joe Mutimer and Josh Tomasi join Grantham as the Aussies on the roster, Mutimer a true freshman and Tomasi a transfer freshman after redshirting at Western Colorado. Dragomir Pavlov, Matthew Willert and Blake London are the other three two freshmen on the roster, while Ryan Bagley, Cameron Alexander and Luke Taylor look to make big impacts as transfers.