THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK HOOPS… Upper Iowa is back in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium this Friday and Saturday to close out a four-game home stand. The Peacocks welcome the Wildcats of Wayne State College and the Vikings of Augustana University on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4. The Peacocks (13-9, 10-6 NSIC) notched a 6-2 record in their eight-game run through the NSIC North Division and is currently tied for second place in the NSIC South Division with Wayne State. UIU will take on Wayne State (15-7, 10-6 NSIC) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Augustana (11-11, 7-9 NSIC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
LIVE OPTIONS… The games will have live options available for fans who can't make it to Fayette this weekend. 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 78.7 points per game and allowing 76.9 to their opponents. UIU is shooting 45.2% from the floor, 34.7% from three and 75.3% (52nd NCAA/5th NSIC) from the free throw line, where they have converted 28 more makes than their opponents. Ball security has been an important piece of winning for Upper Iowa this season as they have forced 270 turnovers, but only given the ball up 232 times or 10.5 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 13-1 when they hold their opponents under 50% shooting, but 0-8 when their defense falters and teams shoot above 50% from the field.
THIRD TIMES THE CHARM… For the third time this season, Upper Iowa's
Jake Hilmer earned the NSIC South Division Player of the Week following last weekend's action and also added his second D2CIDA National Player of the Week honor as well.
Hilmer averaged 31.5 points per game over the weekend after dropping a career-high 41 points in Upper Iowa's upset of No. 15 MSU Moorhead on Friday night and scoring 22 in UIU's 86-81 loss to Northern State on Saturday. The Peacock point guard knocked down 61.5% of his attempts (24-39) including 58.3% of his three-pointers (7-12) and added 4.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. For the season, the Peacock point guard is averaging
21.7 points (15th NCAA DII/2nd NSIC), 5.1 assists (24th NCAA DII/2nd NSIC), 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 46.8% from the field, 38.6% from three and 85.3% (4th NSIC) from the free throw line. His 1,620 career points are the seventh-most in Upper Iowa men's basketball history after passing 2022-graduate
Jareese Williams, who scored 1,587 points from 2016-22.
GUILTY OF LARCENY… Lucas Duax has registered 200 career steals and continues to make his case as the top defensive player in the Northern Sun Conference and all of NCAA Division II. His 200 steals are second in program history only to Kevin Clipperton's 207, which he grabbed from 1993-1997. This season, Duax is averaging 2.3 steals per game, which ranks eighth in the nation and leads all NSIC players. The Dubuque, Iowa product is averaging 17.0 points (11th NSIC), 5.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game and is shooting 54.4% (5th NSIC) from the floor and 75.3% (16th NSIC) on his free throws.
NICK OF TIME… Junior forward
Nick Reid is posting per-game averages of 13.6 points, 9.3 rebounds (24th NCAA DII/2nd NSIC), and 1.0 assists while shooting 38.7% from the field, 36.5% from deep and 85.2% (6th NSIC) from the free throw line. Reid has notched seven double-doubles this season including both games at home last Friday and Saturday.
SIX GAMES TO GO… 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 one run through the NSIC North. After 16 games, the NSIC South standings show four teams all within two games of the top spot. The University of Sioux Falls (11-5) holds the lead in the NSIC South, while Upper Iowa and Wayne State are tied for second one game behind. Southwest Minnesota State University is currently 9-7, while Minnesota State University, Mankato is 8-8 in fifth place. Augustana carries a 7-9 record, while Winona State University is 6-10. Concordia University, St. Paul won both games last weekend and are now 4-12 in the conference. Against the other teams in the top four of the standings, UIU defeated USF, 92-71, and SMSU, 66-57, at home, but lost at Wayne State, 86-77. With only six 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 will come down to the final games of the regular season in three weekends.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (courtesy of WSC Sports Information)… Wayne State is scoring 76.1 points a game and allows 71.7 points a contest. The Wildcats lead the NSIC in 3-point field goal percentage (.386) and free throw percentage (.805), which ranks fourth in NCAA Division II. WSC ranks seventh in the league in field goal percentage at 45.5 percent and is 10th in three-point field goals per game (8.1). The Wildcats are seventh in the league in rebound margin (+2.0) and lead the league in steals per game (6.5). Jordan Janssen continues to lead the Wildcats offense averaging 21.1 points and 8.5 rebounds a contest; he ranks third in the league in scoring and rebounding and is second in field goal percentage at 55.8 percent, fifth in blocked shots per game (1.0) and 10th in free throw percentage at 80.3 percent. Fifth-year guard Nate Mohr accounts for 14.5 points a game (17th-NSIC) and has a team-high 61 three-pointers ranking fourth in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage (.399). Sophomore guard Justin Eagins averages 13.0 points a game and is ninth in the league in three-point field goals per game (2.4) while leading the team in steals (27). Fifth year shooting guard Nick Ferrarini produces 7.9 points a game off the bench while starting sophomore forward Cody McCullough averages 7.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game that ranks sixth in the NSIC. He also ranks fourth in blocked shots (1.2).
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS (courtesy of Augustana Athletic Communication)… Augustana is coming off their first weekend sweep of NSIC action this season with victories at St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth. In both games, five Vikings' scored in double figures leading to an even output of scoring amongst the team. For the season, Ryan Miller leads Augie with a 13.9 points per game average. Isaac Fink has turned a corner the past eight games and is now up to 12.5 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per outing. Two other Vikings score in double figures with Jadan Graves at 11.7 and Akoi Akoi at 10.6 points per game. Graves has a team-high 88 assists, a figure that is at 4.0 assists per outing. The Vikings boast a pair of prolific scorers in Fink and Miller. Fink passed the 1,000-point milestone for the Vikings recently, while Miller went to Augustana with 1,446 points on his ledger from Grand View University, where he was an NAIA All-America honoree. He has scored 305 points so far at AU, totaling 1,751 collegiate points.
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa heads out on the road next weekend with games at Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11. The Peacocks will face the Mustangs on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and the Cougars on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
