THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S HOOPS…   Upper Iowa plays their final two games of the regular season on the road this weekend. They travel south to play Drury on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Southwest Baptist on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Peacocks head into the weekend of competition with a 18-8 overall record and 13-5 mark in the GLVC.
 
FOLLOW ALONG…  There will be a pair of live options for those who are unable to make it to road games 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 WEEKEND… The Peacocks picked up two more wins last weekend in Fayette as they trumped Quincy 85-81 and Illinois Springfield 83-72. The home team edged out a close win on Thursday against the Hawks, as they blocked a last-second shot from the guests while being ahead by one point. Following that possession, UIU had multiple trips to the free throw line where they secured their victory with a four-point lead with 1.5 seconds remaining. 
 
Upper Iowa maintained a steady lead against the Prairie Stars for the majority of the contest. Jake Hilmer netted 36 points en route to the victory, with 24 of them coming in the first half. The Prairie Stars made several runs in the second half, including cutting the Peacock lead to 76-71 with 2:52 remaining.  However, Hilmer drilled a fall-away 3-pointer from the right wing a minute later, providing additional breathing room en route to the victory.  The Peacocks' final home game of the campaign also saw Upper Iowa play turnover-free basketball for the first 39 minutes of the contest. 
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS…  Upper Iowa men's basketball has been tabbed fifth in the second edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings, released on Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA committee. The Peacocks are one of ten teams that have made the list in the Midwest Region, joined by fellow GLVC members Indianapolis (No. 1), Lewis (No.8), Illinois Springfield (No. 9) and William Jewell (No. 10).
 
The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament from March 16-17, 19. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the GLVC, GMAC, GLIAC postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The NCAA men's basketball selection show will be streamed online on Sunday, March 10, at 10 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.
 
The next set of rankings will also be released on March 6. The NCAA National Championships will take place from March 26-30 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. 
 
READ ALL ABOUT REID…  After last weekend's games, Nick Reid became the 31^st Peacock to join the Upper Iowa 1,000-point club. The Central City, Iowa native is averaging 14 points per contest and a team-high 6.4 rebounds, while adding 26 blocks, 32 assists and 12 steals. He is shooting 87.5% from the charity stripe, 45.6% from the floor and 37.9% beyond the arc. Reid is currently 16th on the all-time rebounding list for Upper Iowa with 626 boards. 
 
CHASING THE ALL-TIME ASSIST RECORD… Senior Jake Hilmer has shown his versatility on the hardwood as he not only has broken the all-time scoring record at Upper Iowa, but is closing in on the all-time assist record. The mark was set back in 1997 by Kevin Clipperton (1993-97), who dished out 610 assists in his career as a Peacock. Hilmer has compiled 597 on the year, 14 away from breaking the record with three guaranteed games left to play. 
 
HOW IT'S SHAPING UP… Peacock men's basketball remains second place in the overall conference standings with a 13-5 GLVC mark, following Indianapolis with a 15-3 record in the league. Lewis and Truman State are tied for third place with a 11-7 mark, while William Jewell is next on the list at 10-8.
 
According to the Point Rating System, the Peacocks are in second place (3.92) and trail Indianapolis (4.22). Truman State is in third (3.64), Lewis is fourth (3.56) and Missouri-St. Louis is fifth (3.50). The other teams that round out the top eight are William Jewell, Illinois Springfield and McKendree. 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.
  
ON THE HORIZON… The final Point Rating System totals will be announced after competition on Saturday, dictating the fate of the Peacocks on their GLVC tournament seed and appropriate date/time of competition.