THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK HOOPS… Upper Iowa (14-2, 8-2 NSIC), ranked No. 16/18 in the latest two NCAA DII Top 25 polls, is prepped for a huge weekend at home in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Peacocks continue to play against the NSIC North Division this weekend with the top two teams in the standings coming to line up against UIU on Prochaska Court. Upper Iowa will host the St. Cloud State University Huskies (8-6, 4-3 NSIC) on Friday at 5:30. The Peacocks will then take on the No. 5/6 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (15-0, 8-0 NSIC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in a matchup of the NSIC's South and North Division leaders.
IT'S A SLAM DUNK, DON'T DRIVE DRUNK... The NSIC is holding the 10th annual "It's A Slam Dunk, Don't Drive Drunk" campaign beginning this Friday night in Fayette. Started in 2013, the campaign commemorates Drake Bigler, the five-month-old son of Southwest Minnesota State University's Men's Basketball Coach Brad Bigler, who was killed by a drunk driver. During designated basketball weekends throughout the months of January and February, NSIC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members will be engaging their campus communities to raise awareness about drunk driving and to encourage others to not drive impaired.
LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and webcasts for each game will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and included with this story. The contests will also stream live on the new 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. Locally, both games will be aired live on KCRG-TV 9.2.
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Fans can access an interactive and digital gameday program for each home contest 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.
MOVIN' ON UP... The Peacocks moved up three spots to No. 16 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Top 25 with 148 points and five spots to No. 18 with 122 points in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll after grabbing an NSIC sweep on the road with wins over the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University. In the last edition of each poll, Upper Iowa was ranked No. 19 in the NABC poll and No. 23 in the D2SIDA poll. The ranking this week marks the fifth time that UIU has been in the top 25 for the NABC poll and third time in the D2SIDA poll. Minnesota Duluth joins Upper Iowa in the rankings at No. 5 in the NABC poll and No. 6 in the D2SIDA poll. Augustana University is ranked No. 23 in the NABC poll and is receiving votes in the D2SIDA poll with 12 points.
HIGH FIVE FOR JOE… Joe Smoldt, who earlier this season became the first player in Upper Iowa's history to make 300 three-pointers, moved into fourth place on the Peacocks' all-time scoring list. The graduate student from Reinbeck, Iowa has scored 1,755 points in his career passing both Tony Giger (1,738) and Jim Crabtree (1,741) last weekend in northern Minnesota.
GETTING TO THE LINE… Upper Iowa's conversion rate at the free throw line has cooled a bit from the beginning of the year, but the Peacocks are still knocking down 80.0% of their opportunities at the charity stripe, which ranks fifth in the nation and still leads the NSIC. While several UIU players have contributed to one of the nation's top marks,
Jake Hilmer and
Jareese Williams have combined to make 124 of their 130 opportunities. Hilmer ranks second in the nation (95.5%; 64-67), while Williams ranks third in the nation (95.2%; 60-63). The two have the top two percentages in the Northern Sun. Hilmer owns the UIU record for consecutive free throws with 39, while Williams owns the second-best streak with 35. The old record was 19, held by Greg Von Arx in 1993-94.
BALANCE IS THE KEY... Six Peacocks are averaging between 4.9 and 8.3 points per game, all of which have had double-figure scoring games this season. The six-pack is also averaging between 2.5 and 5.5 rebounds. As a group, the three Duax brothers (Connor, Lucas, Max),
Cade Moritz,
Dylan Jones and
Nick Reid, are shooting 53.3% (223-418) from the floor and generating 38.7 points per game to account for 45.7% of UIU's scoring. Last weekend,
Lucas Duax averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals, while Reid averaged a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds per win.
VALUING THE BALL… Upper Iowa is ranked ninth nationally and second in the Northern Sun Conference in turnovers per game (9.6). The Peacocks have been under 10 turnovers in a game eight times this season including six times in their last eight games and three straight heading into the weekend. By limiting their turnovers, UIU is averaging 84.6 points per game and a scoring margin of plus-9.9 points per game.
RECENT HISTORY WITH UMC AND BSU… Upper Iowa is 6-6 against St. Cloud State and 6-2 against Minnesota Duluth in Head Coach
Brooks McKowen's tenure. The Peacocks won both games against the Huskies to open the modified 2020-21 season. UIU claimed 107-84 and 110-106 (OT) wins in Fayette last January. Upper Iowa won their last meeting with UMD by a score of 84-79; the teams got together in Fayette on Feb. 1, 2020 after UMD won the matchups in 2019 and 2018. The Peacocks and Bulldogs did not play each other last season.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES... The Huskies returned to the court for their first game on Monday at home against Concordia University, St. Paul after a 23-day break due to COVID-19 protocols. St. Cloud State won 93-80 in their return to the court thanks to a hot-shooting first half. The Husky offense has been solid this season averaging 82 points per game while shooting 49% from the floor and 33.7% from three. Opponents have been able to score though; SCSU is allowing 79.9 points per game and opponents are shooting 48.6% overall and 37.4% from three. Anthony Roberts leads the Huskies with a 20.2 points per game average and is also grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game. Four more players join Roberts in double-figure scoring including Caleb Donaldson (16.4), Ryan Bagley (11.6), Matthew Willert (11.6) and Josh Tomasi (10.9).
SCOUTING THE NO. 5/6 BULLDOGS... The Bulldogs come into the weekend with a perfect 15-0 record overall and an 8-0 mark in the NSIC. The Bulldogs offense leads the NSIC in scoring at 89 points per game and their defense has been equally impressive allowing just 68.7 points a game. Minnesota Duluth is shooting 52.7% from the floor and 38.7% from deep and recording a plus-six in rebound margin over their opponents. UMD's best win this season came on the road at No. 10/23 Ferris State University in a battle of Bulldogs. UMD came out on top 109-107 after a pair of overtimes in Big Rapids, Mich. Drew Blair paces the Bulldog attack with 18.7 points per game, while Austin Andrews is averaging 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Joshua Brown (14.3), Charlie Katona (11.9) and Jack Middleton (10.9) all average in double figures as well for UMD.
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa will head north again next weekend, Jan. 21-22, for one of the toughest cross-division trips in the Northern Sun. The Peacocks will battle the Wolves of Northern State University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then take on the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. UIU will return to Fayette for games on Jan. 28-29 and host Minot State University and the University of Mary.
