THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK HOOPS… No. 14/12 Upper Iowa takes on Northern State University in a matchup of the NSIC South's 2-seed and the North's 3-seed in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Peacocks wrapped up their regular season with a 22-4 record overall and an 18-4 mark in the Northern Sun Conference, while the Wolves come into the game with a 20-11 overall record after closing their run in the NSIC with a mark of 13-9.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast is available for the game through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live or by using the links included with this story. The action will also stream live on the NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.
 
RANKINGS, RANKINGS, RANKINGS... The NCAA Division II Regional Rankings have Upper Iowa locked into the second position for the second straight week, while Northern State is listed at No. 10 in the region. In the two national polls, the Peacocks moved up to No. 14 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Top 25 and No. 12 in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll after closing their regular season out with a four-game winning streak. The national ranking this week marks the eleventh time that UIU has been in the top 25 for the NABC poll and ninth time in the D2SIDA poll.
 
SUPERMEN… This past week, super seniors Joe Smoldt and Jareese Williams both earned their third straight All-NSIC honors. Smoldt increased his program-best, career three-point total to 355 and his career scoring total to 1,964 points after last weekend's games. His point total ranks second all-time in Upper Iowa history. The Reinbeck, Iowa trails only Jim Bushkofsky (2,194 – 1970-74) on the all-time scoring list. Williams returned from injury and played in both games last week after missing 12 games. He became the second Peacock to cross over the 300 three-point threshold with a long ball against Minnesota State University, Mankato and then nailed seven triples at Concordia University, St. Paul.  His current 1,533 points rank eighth all-time behind Greg VonArx's 1,551 (1992-96) after passing Don Dutton's 1,507 (1960-64). This season, the pair combine to score 35.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. 

TOP OF THE 'HIL'... Junior Jake Hilmer earned his third straight All-NSIC honor this past week after averaging 17.1 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds in the 22 Northern Sun Conference contests. The Peacock point guard shot 46.2% from the floor and 38.7% from deep. His time at the charity stripe was extremely productive this season as he converted 96 makes on 104 attempts at a 92.3% clip; all three totals were the highest marks among all NSIC players. He had 18 games in double digits including eight 20-plus point games. Hilmer scored a career-high 30 points at Augustana University and 29 against the University of Mary in Fayette. 
 
TRIPLE VISION... This season, opponents have been seeing triple when it comes to the three-headed monster that is the Duax brothers. Lucas, Connor and Max Duax provide the Peacocks with a dominant presence on defense and a slashing style on offense. Lucas is averaging 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. His 40 steals are third in the conference, while his 37 in conference games lead all NSIC players. Connor has had some tremendous games for the Peacocks in his senior season while averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds with a shooting percentage of 58.8% including a 42.9% from three, while Max is averaging 4.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and nearly one steal per game while shooting 41.9% from three.

THE LAW FIRM OF JONES, REID AND MORITZ... The trio of Dylan Jones, Nick Reid and Cade Moritz have given Upper Iowa a presence in the paint on both ends of the court and have stretched post defenders with their range and skill set. Reid is averaging 7.2 points and team-highs of 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Jones and Moritz combine to average great numbers at the center position for UIU scoring 12.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in 35.7 minutes per game. In NSIC games only, Reid and Moritz are ranked fourth and fifth in total blocks with 24 and 22, respectively. 

FIRST MEETING WITH THE WOLVES… Upper Iowa lost a 90-81 decision at Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D. The Peacocks shot a blistering 60% from the floor in the first half, but the Wolves knocked in 65% of their takes in the opening twenty minutes to build an eight-point lead, 52-44, at half. Joe Smoldt led the Peacocks with 21 points and 5 assists, while Nick Reid added 12 points and six rebounds; the pair combined to hit seven three-pointers on the night. Lucas Duax scored 11 and grabbed five boards, and Dylan Jones added 10 points and five rebounds. Cade Moritz also scored 11 off the bench in 16 minutes. Northern State got 21 points from Jacksen Moni and 20 points, five rebounds and five assists from Sam Masten. Jordan Belka added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Cole Bergan came off the bench to score 16 and grab seven rebounds. Upper Iowa scored the first five points of the second half on a Jones layup and a Reid three to cut the gap to three, 52-49, but Northern State answered with a 12-3 run that saw the Wolves push out to a 64-52 lead. UIU's only points came on three-straight free throws from Smoldt. With ten minutes to play in the second half, Connor Duax knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to pull the Peacocks back within ten, 69-59. Minutes later a pair of three-pointers from Smoldt brought the Peacocks within seven, 74-67, but a pair of buckets by the Wolves reestablished the home team's double-digit lead, 78-67. Three free throws and a big offensive rebound and putback by Jones pulled UIU back within six, 78-72, and after a Northern State three, Nick Reid answered with a corner three to keep the margin at six, 81-75. The teams exchanged scores as the clock continued to run toward zero. An inside bucket from Lucas Duax pulled UIU back within five, 86-81, with 49 seconds to play, but the visitors wouldn't get any closer as the Wolves earned the nine-point decision.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVES… The Wolves are 20-11 overall and have won five straight including a win at home on Wednesday over Minnesota State in the team's first round game in Aberdeen, S.D. Northern State erased a double-digit deficit and held off the Mavericks to win 65-62 and advance. Sam Masten leads the team with a 15.6 points per game average and adds 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Jordan Belka is second on the team with 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while freshman Jacksen Moni scores 14.3 points and grabs 5.5 rebounds. Northern State plays a short rotation of guys with five players averaging more than 25 minutes and three with over 30 minutes a game.