THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK HOOPS… Upper Iowa returns to Prochaska Court in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium this weekend after a four-game road trip that saw the team travel to Duluth and St. Cloud, Minn. as well as Bismarck and Minot, N.D. The Peacocks will host the final weekend of Northern Sun Conference cross-division battles when the No. 15 Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University, the top two teams in the NSIC North descend upon Fayette on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28. Upper Iowa (12-8, 9-5 NSIC) has posted a 5-1 mark in NSIC games against the North Division and has moved into a four-way tie for first place in the NSIC South. MSU Moorhead (17-3, 12-2 NSIC) is a perfect 6-0 against the NSIC South over the last three weeks; the Dragons only conference blemishes have come to Northern State in a pair of mid-week contests. The Wolves (15-5, 11-3 NSIC) are 4-2 against the NSIC South with losses to the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University; NSU's only other conference loss came against Minot State University.

LIVE OPTIONS… The games will have live options available for fans who can't make it to Fayette. Live stats and a webcast will be available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, the games can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on your streaming device. Both games will also be broadcast live across the eastern half of Iowa on KCRG's 9.2.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS… Upper Iowa has partnered with HomeTown Ticketing for all of this season's basketball games in Dorman. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at UIUPeacocks.com/Tickets or by paying cash in person prior to the match. Fans are encouraged to stay ahead of the curve this season with the HomeTown Ticketing Fan App available on all mobile device platforms. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids (ages 5-18) and free for kids under 5 and is good for both games of the double header.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Digital programs are available to fans in Dorman Gymnasium or at home for the games this weekend. Fans can access the interactive gameday programs at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. QR Codes will also be located around the lobby to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to the game's specific digital gameday program.
  
INSIDE THE NUMBERS FOR UIU… For the season, Upper Iowa is scoring 78.4 points per game and allowing 76.4 to their opponents. UIU is shooting 44.9% from the floor, 34.4% from three and 75.2% (52nd NCAA/5th NSIC) from the free throw line, where they have converted 29 more makes than their opponents. Ball security has been an important piece of winning for Upper Iowa this season as they have forced 254 turnovers, but only given the ball up 216 times or 10.8 per game, which ranks 12th in all of NCAA Division II for fewest turnovers and is the fourth-best mark in the conference. When looking at the difference between wins and losses this season, the Peacocks are 12-1 when they hold their opponents under 50% shooting, but 0-7 when their defense falters and teams shoot above 50% from the field.

CLIMBING THE "HIL"... Peacock point guard Jake Hilmer is currently averaging 20.7 points (25th NCAA DII/4th NSIC), 5.2 assists (23rd NCAA DII/2nd NSIC), 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 45.0% from the field, 36.3% from three and 84.3% (6th NSIC) from the free throw line. His 1,557 career points are the eighth-most in Upper Iowa men's basketball history after passing UIU Hall of Famer Greg VonArx, who registered 1,551 points from 1992-96.
 
LEAPING LUCAS… Senior guard Lucas Duax is having a tremendous season with averages of 17.0 points (11th NSIC), 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals (10th NCAA DII/1st NSIC) and 2.3 assists per game and is shooting 54.5% (5th NSIC) from the floor and 74.3% (16th NSIC) on his free throws. His 195 career steals are second in program history only to Kevin Clipperton's 207, which he grabbed from 1993-1997.
 
"REID"-ING MATTERS… Junior forward Nick Reid led the Peacock men's basketball team in scoring and rebounding last weekend and broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 27 points fueled by seven three-pointers to spark UIU's rally at Minot State. Reid averaged 17.5 points and 8 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from three (8-16) and added 4 blocks and 3 steals in his 36 minutes per game. For the season, he is posting per-game averages of 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds (30th NCAA DII/2nd NSIC), and 1.0 assists while shooting 38.0% from the field, 35.9% from deep and 87.7% (40th NCAA DII/3rd NSIC) from the free throw line.
 
DOWN TO THE WIRE… To this point in the season, Upper Iowa's NSIC slate has been made up of one trip through the NSIC South, a second match up with Winona State University and six games against the NSIC North. After 14 games, the NSIC South standings show four teams tied for the top spot with a 9-5 mark including the Peacocks, Sioux Falls, Southwest Minnesota State and Wayne State College. UIU defeated USF, 92-71, and SMSU, 66-57, at home, but lost at Wayne State, 86-77. Minnesota State University, Mankato is two games behind with a 7-7 mark, while Winona State is 6-8, Augustana University is 5-9 and Concordia University, St. Paul is in eighth with a 2-12 record. With only eight regular season games left in the conference season, the race for the division crown and the six available spots in the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament may very well come down to the final games of the regular season in late February.

SCOUTING THE NO. 15 DRAGONS… MSU Moorhead is averaging 80.0 points per game this season and holding their opponents to just 67.3 points a contest. The Dragons are shooting 46.5% from the floor, 35.8% from three and 71.3% from the charity stripe. As good as UIU is with the ball, MSUM has been better only coughing the ball up 8.8 times per game. Sophomore Jacob Beeninga leads the team in points per game with 18.1. The sophomore is on a three-game stretch of scoring 20 or more points, including two games of 30 or more points. Beeninga also leads the team in steals per game with 1.6. Junior Dane Zimmer leads the team in rebounds per game with 8.1. Senior Gavin Baumgartner leads the team in assists per game with 4.3. Baumgartner is 12 points shy of passing Kevin Mulder for fourth on MSUM's all-time scoring list.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES…  Northern State is averaging 80.2 points per game this season; out-scoring their opponents by 9.4 points per game. NSU is shooting 46.5% from the floor, 37.5% from the 3-point line, and 77.8% from the foul line. Sam Masten leads four in double figures averaging 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game this season. Masten is also shooting a team best 55.5% from the floor and sits top-5 in the nation in assists and assist/turnover ratio. Jacksen Moni and Jordan Belka follow, notching 15.8 and 13.1 points per game respectively, with Belka adding a team high 6.6 rebounds as well. Augustin Reede leads the team beyond the arc and is the final double figure scorer, notching 11.3 points per game with 57 made 3-pointers. Josh Dilling has solidified his starting role, adding 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
 
HEADING DOWN THE STRETCH… Upper Iowa will conclude their four-game home stand next Friday and Saturday as part of this year's Stormin' Dorman week. The Peacocks will host Wayne State on Friday, Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. and then welcome Augustana on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The basketball games on Friday and Saturday will be book-ended by a pair of home wrestling matches as UIU will host four straight days of NSIC competition in Dorman Memorial Gym.