THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL… Upper Iowa is set to embark on its final road trip of the regular season as UIU heads north to Winona State University. The Peacocks will face off against the Warriors on Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. Live stats and a webcast produced by Winona State are available through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The games will also stream live on the NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.

STAIRWAY TO SEVEN… Upper Iowa won back-to-back games against Minnesota State University-Mankato in Dorman this weekend extending their win-streak to seven, the longest of its kind since Upper Iowa began DII play in 2005-06. Friday night's matchup was a barn burner as Upper Iowa came away with a narrow 96-94 win despite Minnesota State leading for nearly the entire night. A 27-12 run in the final 7:50 allowed the Peacocks to come away victorious. UIU followed up with a 94-87 victory on Sunday where the roles were reversed as Upper Iowa held the lead from the 14:28 mark in the first half on. As a team, Upper Iowa heads into the final week of the season leading the NSIC in points per game (89.6), free throw percentage (80.8% - seventh nationally), and turnover margin (5.5 - fifth nationally).

ROAD TO THE POSTSEASON… Entering the final week of regular season play, Upper Iowa can still place anywhere from first to sixth place in the NSIC South Division depending on a variety of outcomes. If the Peacocks win one of their two games, UIU automatically qualifies for the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Feb. 26-28. If Upper Iowa were to sweep Winona State this weekend and Wayne State College were to split its series with Augustana University, the Peacocks would be crowned NSIC South Champions. UIU currently sits in second place in the division, the same spot where the team finished last year's regular season campaign.

Upper Iowa was named a top-eight team in the NCAA DII Central Region on Wednesday. The Northern Sun Conference made up five of the top eight teams in the central region with Augustana, Minnesota State University-Moorhead, Northern State University, and Wayne State all making the cut. The top six teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on March 13-16 hosted by Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the NSIC and MIAA postseason tournaments, with the remaining four spots being awarded on an at-large basis. Participating teams will be announced on Sunday, March 7 as the NCAA DII men's basketball selection show will air at 9:30 p.m. (CT) on ncaa.com.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS… Joe Smoldt and Jareese Williams continued to cement their place in Upper Iowa men's basketball history on Friday night. Smoldt entered the top ten on the program's all-time scoring list on the first made basket of the night while Williams joined the top twenty later on in the evening. By the end of the weekend, the duo stood in ninth place with 1,431 points and 20th place with 1,193 points. Williams' weekend pushed him up to fifth on the NSIC scoring leaderboard with 17.6 points per game while Smoldt sits right behind in seventh with 17.1 points per night. The tandem also sits in first and second in the league for made three-pointers at 47 and 41, respectively.

Smoldt ended the weekend with a team-high 51 points on a 13-26 (50%) rate from the floor and a 20-21 (95.2%) mark from the free throw line along with nine assists, all of which came without committing a single turnover. The Reinbeck, Iowa native matched a career-high 29 points thanks to a 17-18 (94.4%) rate from the charity stripe on Saturday. Smoldt's 18 free throws were the most attempted by a Peacock in a single game since November 2017. Williams kept his double-digit scoring streak of 14 consecutive games alive as he scored a team-high 27 points on Friday night thanks to career-high seven made three-pointers and 13 points on Saturday. 

OVERACHIEVING UNDERCLASSMEN… Jake Hilmer had 22 points on a 9-13 (69.2%) rate from the floor Friday night. Hilmer's performance marked the third time this season that the Walker, Iowa native has scored 20+. Hilmer is one of four Peacocks who rank in the top 15 in the NSIC in points scored with 204 through 14 games. Hilmer's 65 assists is also the league's second-best total while his 86.9% rate from the stripe ranks fifth in the conference.

Lucas Duax accumulated 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven steals, and five assists over the weekend as the redshirt sophomore continues to impact all aspects of the game. Duax's weekend numbers give him a comfortable four-steal cushion as the NSIC's top thief with 35 on the season. The Dubuque, Iowa native's five steals on Saturday gives him 100 through his first 44 games as a Peacock. Duax's 220 points is the league's 13th highest total while his 48.9% mark from the field is the 11th best rate in the conference.

"TWO" CLOSE FOR COMFORT… The Peacocks dropped a pair of non-conference games to Winona State University earlier in the season, each by just two-points. On Saturday, Jan. 16, UIU trailed by as many as 16 before breaking out on a 34-20 advantage to get within one possession. Neither team scored in the final 2:12 resulting in the 81-79 loss. The following day, Upper Iowa led wire-to-wire in the first frame. The Peacocks and Warriors exchanged runs in the final period until WSU held a 92-90 advantage at the buzzer. UIU allowed a season-high 29 three-pointers between the two games while Smoldt led UIU with 41 points on the other side of the ball during the series.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS… Winona State holds a 6-5 mark on the season, 4-4 in conference play. The Warriors most recently swept Concordia University, St. Paul after splitting their series with Minnesota State. WSU is led by Kevion Taylor whose 21.2 points per game is the second-best mark in the NSIC. Joining Taylor as main contributors are Andrea Lo Biondo, Owen King, Devin Whitelow, Luke Martens, and Connor Dillion who combine for 43.9 points per game. Whitelow runs the Warriors' offense, his 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the conference. As a team, WSU holds a +1.4 turnover margin and the league's second-best rate from the free throw line at 79.8%.