THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK HOOPS… Upper Iowa, ranked No. 19 in the latest NABC NCAA Division II Rankings, is scheduled for a pair of Northern Sun Conference games on the slate this week. The Peacocks will head to Mankato, Minn. on Thursday for a match up against the No. 17 Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato (6-0, 1-0 NSIC) at 5:30 p.m. UIU will return to Fayette after the game and host the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul (1-6, 0-1 NSIC) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast is available for both games through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. Both contests will also stream live on the NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Search for "NSIC Network" to find the app on your relevant device. Saturday's game will air on Eastern Iowa's CW 9.3.
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program for Saturday's game against the Golden Bears at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans both at our games and those at home watching the action. QR Codes will also be located around the facility to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
RANKINGS DEBUT... The Peacock men's basketball team made 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.
PEACOCKS ON THE SURFACE... 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.
COLLARING THE NO. 2 BULLDOGS... 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.
Joe Smoldt led the team in scoring with 29, while
Connor Duax added 20 off the bench.
NOT JUST ANY OLD JOE... Smoldt, this week's NSIC South Division Player of the Week led UIU on offense with 19 points per game last week including a 29-point outburst in UIU's upset of Truman State. The senior guard averaged four rebounds per game as well. Smoldt hit 7-13 from deep against the Bulldogs. In the two games, the Reinbeck, Iowa native converted 7-9 inside the arc adding two assists and two steals in his 60 minutes of action. For the season, Smoldt is averaging 16.7 points, good for 13th in the NSIC, and four rebounds while shooting 34.4% from behind the three-point line. Inside the arc, the fifth-year Peacock is knocking down 45% (15-33); he is also 7-9 at the charity stripe.
PEACOCK LEADERS... 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS... The No. 17 Mavericks are 6-0 and averaging 89 points per game while shooting 54.7% from the field and 35% from three. Quincy Anderson leads the team with 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game; Anderson is hitting 47.9% of his shots. Devonte Thedford (14.0) and Brady Williams (12.2) are also averaging double-figures in scoring for MSU. Kelby Kramer is pulling down a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game. The Golden Bears come into the weekend with a 1-6 mark overall and an 0-1 mark in the NSIC after a loss to MSU last Tuesday. CSP is shooting 42.7% from the floor and 30.7% from three to average 68.1 points per game this season. Marcus Skeete leads the Golden Bears with 16.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with shooting percentages of 62.5% from the floor and 46.7% from three. Elijah Ormiston is scoring 9.7 points and grabbing 5.7 rebounds per game.
