THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S HOOPS… The Peacocks are back at home for the final time next weekend as they host another pair of GLVC opponents. UIU is set to match up with Quincy on Thursday, Feb. 22 and Illinois Springfield on Saturday, Feb. 24. 
 
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. 
 
SENIOR DAY CELEBRATION… The Peacocks will have their senior day celebration prior to the men's game on Saturday. Christian Haffner and Jake Hilmer will be the two seniors honored before the contest versus Illinois Springfield at 7:15 p.m. Come out and support!
 
RECAP OF LAST WEEKEND… Upper Iowa men's basketball picked up the weekend sweep as they trumped Missouri S&T 94-86 and Maryville in a 90-82 decision. The Peacocks improved to 16-8 on the season and 11 -5 in the GLVC, clinging to the second spot in the regular season conference standings and the point rating system. 
 
REID REACHING FOR 1,000… Nick Reid eclipsed 1,000 points in his collegiate career Saturday evening between both point totals at Emporia State and Upper Iowa. Reid is now just 31 points shy of joining Upper Iowa's 1,000-point club as he heads into this weekend with 969 career points as a Peacock. 
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 50 WATCH LIST… Upper Iowa men's basketball senior Jake Hilmer was named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List last week, making the cut from the original Top 100 that was announced on January 15^th. The script will shrink to the Top 25 players on March 15^th. 
 
This is the furthest that Hilmer has advanced in the Bevo Francis Watch List, as he was one of the Top 100 names during last season, but did not make the next cut to the Top 50. The Walker, Iowa native is putting up 24 points per game (4^th NCAA/ 1^st GLVC), 4.5 assists (4^th GLVC), 1.8 steals (4^th GLVC) and 2.8 rebounds. He has received GLVC Player of the Week twice and D2CIDA National Player of the Week once. 
 
DELZELL IN THE LAST STRETCH … Senior Caleb Delzell set a handful of career highs last weekend as his productivity was shown throughout the entire stat line as he aided in the team's two wins. Delzell netted a career high 23 points against Missouri S&T, while averaging 21.0 for the weekend. He shot 71.4% from the field, connecting on 15-21 attempts, while netting 63.6% (7-11) from long distance. In addition to his high shooting percentage and scoring, Delzell averaged 7.5 rebounds over the two games while adding five assists, two blocks and one steal, all without committing a single turnover. 
 
HOW IT'S SHAPING UP… Peacock men's basketball remains second place in the overall conference standings with an 11-5 GLVC mark, following Indianapolis with a 13-3 record in the league. William Jewell and Truman State are tied for third place with a 10-6 mark, while Lewis is next on the list at 9-7.
 
According to the Point Rating System, the Peacocks are in second place (3.94) and trail Indianapolis (4.28). Truman State is in third (3.78), William Jewell is fourth (3.63) and Lewis is fifth (3.50). The other teams that round out the top eight are McKendree, Illinois Springfield and Missouri St. Louis. More information on the PRS can be found in the paragraph below.
 
POSTSEASON PROCEDURES… The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) uses a Point Rating System (PRS) as the main qualifying procedure for its annual men's basketball tournament as those with the highest ratings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the postseason tournament.  The GLVC developed the PRS prior to the 2017-18 season, and it has been renewed annually by the league's men's and women's basketball head coaches. The PRS will be used to determine the top-eight teams that will advance to the 2024 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournaments, which will be held March 7-10, at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.
 
THEIR LAST MEETINGS… Back on Jan. 11 the Peacocks dropped to Illinois Springfield in an 88-71 decision. Upper Iowa recorded their lowest offensive point total of the season and shot 37.3% from the floor, while the Prairie Stars hit 50% of their shots. A buzzer beater from Hilmer just before the first half expired brought the Peacocks within four, trailing 42-38. However, Upper Iowa fell behind by ten points in the first five minutes of the second half 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. 
 
Last time against the Hawks, 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 back in mid-January and come out on top by four points. 
  
ON THE HORIZON…  Upper Iowa plays their final two games of the regular season on the road next weekend. They travel south to play Drury on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Southwest Baptist on Saturday at 3 p.m.