The Peacock men's basketball team is making their first appearance in the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Top 25 after opening the season with six straight wins. Upper Iowa is ranked No. 19 in the nation after opening their home schedule with two wins last week over Winona State University (85-72) and No. 2 Truman State University (103-77).
 
UIU tallied 91 points in the most recent rankings after pulling in seven points in the rankings last Tuesday. The Peacocks are one of two Northern Sun Conference teams in the Top 25; the Mavericks of Minnesota State University also entered the rankings this week and landed at No. 17. Minnesota State (6-0, 1-0 NSIC) was the de facto-No. 26 team in the country last week. Both Augustana University (5) and the University of Minnesota Duluth are receiving votes in this week's poll.
 
Upper Iowa is averaging 86.5 points per game this season and has held their opponents to 72.2 points for a scoring margin of 14.3 points per game. UIU is knocking down 48.3% of their shots from the floor, 41.3% from beyond the three-point line and a blistering 85.7% at the free throw line, which ranks third in the nation and leads the NSIC. The Peacocks are holding their opponents to a below-average percentage (28.5%) from beyond the arc and are posting a plus-3.5 in rebounds through the first six games.
 
The Peacocks are coming off one of the biggest wins in their NCAA Division II history which began with the 2005-06 season. On Saturday, Upper Iowa used an 18-0 run in the first half to race out to a 57-31 lead at halftime of Saturday's non-conference game against No. 2 Truman State. The Peacocks continued to keep up the torrid scoring pace in the second half with another big lead pushing their advantage to 35 before the final score settled at 103-77. The Bulldogs dropped to No. 20 in this week's rankings.
 
Dylan Jones opened the game with a three-pointer at the top of the key and the Peacocks would never trail in the game. The three-pointer foreshadowed what was to come as the home team knocked down nine trifectas in the first half and 16 for the game. Six different UIU players converted a three-point attempt in the game led by Joe Smoldt's seven triples. Smoldt, who was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week, scored 29 points to lead UIU knocking down 7-13 from deep. As good as Smoldt was, Connor Duax was UIU's leading scorer at halftime. The Dubuque native scored 17 in the opening 20 minutes on 7-9 shooting including a pair of three-pointers and a breakaway dunk. The newest and oldest Duax brother with UIU scored 20 in the game.
 
Jareese Williams registers team-high averages in both points (18.3) and rebounds (6.2) per game. The super senior from Mason City has been deadly from deep converting 46.7% (21-45) of his long-range attempts. Williams and point guard Jake Hilmer remain perfect at the free throw line this season; Williams is 23-23, while Hilmer is 19-19. The pair of among 18 players in the nation that average 2.5 free throw attempts per game and have not missed.
 
For the season, four players are averaging double figures for the Peacocks including Williams (18.3), Smoldt (16.7), Hilmer (14.7) and Connor Duax (11.2). But UIU is also getting solid scoring contributions from Jones (7.5), Cade Moritz (5.7), Nick Reid (5.7) and Max Duax (5.2).
 
Hilmer is averaging just over five assists per game, while Max Duax is grabbing a tad over two steals per game. Jones is tied with Williams on the boards with 6.2 per game, while Reid is pulling down 4.8 per contest.
 
The Peacocks are receiving votes in the D2SIDA Men's Basketball Division II Media Poll this week with 16 points. D2SIDA also releases a weekly regional poll that saw UIU move from a tie for 8^th in the Central Region to sole-ownership of fifth place this week.  
 
Upper Iowa will be on the road on Thursday, Dec. 2, for a Northern Sun Conference game at No. 17 Minnesota State before returning home for a conference battle against Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday, Dec. 4. The men's games will be the first contest of the men's/women's doubleheader on both days.