THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK HOOPS… The Peacocks are back in Fayette this weekend as they host Drury on Thursday, Jan. 18 and Southwest Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 20. Upper Iowa comes into the weekend with a 9-5 overall record and 4-2 conference mark. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG… There will be a pair of live options for those who are unable to make it to Dorman Gymnasium this weekend. Both live stats and a webcast can be found through the links attached with this story. Fans can also refer to UIUPeacocks.com/Live for all links on each gameday. 
 
RECAP OF LAST WEEK… The Peacocks split games on the road last weekend as they fell in their first match up to Illinois Springfield 88-71 and defeated Quincy 88-84 to wrap up their weekend on a high note. They suffered their first loss since Dec. 2 when they dropped to the Prairie Stars. They trailed 42-38 at halftime, but within the first five minutes of the second stint, Upper Iowa fell behind by ten points and trailed 56-46. The Peacocks were unable to keep up with the Prairie Stars as they could not pull any closer than a nine-point margin for the remainder of the contest. 
 
Upper Iowa closed out their weekend with a victory over Quincy. The Peacocks held a 16-point lead with eight minutes to play, but allowed the Hawks to come creeping back to make it a one possession game with 20 seconds left. UIU did just enough to escape the Hawks nest and come out on top as they knocked down shots from the charity stripe to close out the contest. 
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100…  Jake Hilmer was named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List. The list consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA. Hilmer is receiving this accolade for the second time in his career, after being named to the watch list in 2023 for the first time. The senior is averaging 25.1 points (2nd NCAA/1st GLVC), 4.5 assists (5th GLVC), 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals (3rd GLVC), while shooting 48.8% from the field, 36.2% from beyond the arc and 90.3% from the charity stripe (21st NCAA/2nd GLVC). He surpassed the 2,000-point mark this season and ranks second in Upper Iowa men's basketball history for career points with 2,128, trailing Jim Bushkofsky (1970-74) who scored 2,194.
 
KING NETS 1,000… Noah King has tallied over 1,000 points in his career between Kirkwood Community College and his debut season with the Peacocks, already accumulating 258 points this season. The sophomore is averaging 18.4 points per game, while shooting 87% from the free throw line and 48.6% from the field. 
 
ACROSS THE CONFERENCE... Upper Iowa sits third in the league (4-2) behind the University of Indianapolis (6-1) and Missouri- St. Louis (5-2). The Peacocks lead the league in scoring with 89.7 points per game, followed by Illinois Springfield with 82.3. UIU ranks first in assist to turnover ratio with 13 assists per game and 7.3 turnovers. They sit second in free throw percentage with 77.4%, following Truman State at the top of the list with 79.2%.
 
Individually, Hilmer (25.1) leads the conference in scoring, while King (18.4) is third. Reid is ranked sixth in rebounds and seventh in blocks, hauling in 6.7 boards and 1.1 blocks per game. Delzell is fifth in three-point field goal percentage with 46.2%.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION… Drury men's basketball is in the middle of the pack of the league standings with a 3-4 GLVC mark. They have won three games in a row, and four out of their last five. Last weekend, the Panthers defeated Maryville 71-62 and Missouri S&T 89-82. They visit Fayette for the first time ever, although the teams have played three previous matches in program history. Drury leads the series 2-1, although the Peacocks won the most recent matchup in 2018 by a score of 83-78. The Panthers are led in scoring by Juok Riak (15.2 ppg) and Logan Applegate (15.0 ppg). Riak shoots 65.8% from the field and Riley Naeger nets 65.4% from long distance.
 
The Peacocks are set to face Southwest Baptist for the first time in program history. The Bearcats have one conference victory on the season over Drury (65-62) and have a 1-6 mark. They put up 68.1 points per game on offense and are second in the GLVC in defense, holding their opponents to an average of 68.0 per game. They feature two double-digit scorers in Drenin Dinkins (15.3 ppg) and Drew McMillin (12.2 ppg). SBU shoots 43.1% from the field and 32% beyond the arc. 

ON THE HORIZON… Upper Iowa heads to the state of Missouri next weekend for a pair of matchups with William Jewell on Thursday, Jan. 25 and Rockhurst on Saturday, Jan. 27