CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston, the No. 7 seed in the NSIC North, will open up the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament at Upper Iowa University, the No. 2 seed in the NSIC South. The game will be played at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa Wed., Feb. 22.
 

The winner of Wednesday's first round game will advance to play in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Sun., Feb. 26 at 2:30 p;m. against the winner of the St. Cloud State University and Wayne State College (Neb.) game.
 

Minnesota Crookston wrapped up the 2016-17 regular-season with an 8-20 mark. The Peacocks come into Wednesday with a 19-9 mark on the season.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 18-64 Season at UMC:Third Season

Upper Iowa Peacocks
Head Coach: Brooks McKowen
Record at UIU: 68-53 Season at UIU: Fourth Season

Feb. 22, 2017 •  Fayette, Iowa •  Dorman Gymnasium • 7 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/uiu/mbball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Tape Delay, starting at approximately 9 p.m. or after the conclusion of WBB broadcast) Play by Play - Matt Bishop
Can also listen online at www.kroxam.com or on the KROX app


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 14 Xavier Hall (6-1 170, Woodbury, Minn.)            3.3 PPG, 1.6 APG       
Fr. SG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 175, Oak Creek, Wis.)            22.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG
So. 3G 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-6 189, Annandale, Minn.)        11.4 pPG, 4.4 RPG
Fr. SF 21 Chase Johnson (6-6 207, La Crosse, Wis.)            5.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
R-So. PF 44 Gable Smith (6-7 215, Lodi, Wis.)            7.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. G 1 Connor Gamble (6-0 157, Stillwater, Minn.)            8.4 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Sr. F/C 24 Riley Rice (6-6 234, Mullen, Neb.)                2.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG 
 
Upper Iowa
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 3 Carson Parker (6-3 185, New Hartford, Iowa)            11.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.1 APG
Sr. SG 0 Luke Lenhart (6-0 160, Storm Lake, Iowa)            9.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG
R-So. 3G 23 Dennis Austin, III (6-3 200, Apple Valley, Minn.)        10.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Sr. SF 10 Jimmy Roth (6-5 205, Marion, Iowa)            11.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG
R-Sr. PF 24 Jordan Hay (6-6 215, Stanwood, Iowa)            12.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 30 Josh Weeber (6-5 220, Dubuque, Iowa)            9.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Jr. G 4 Kam Rowan (6-0 185, Champaign, Ill.)                7.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Sr. G 22 Jace Hanna (6-1 190, Shueyville, Iowa)            3.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG

#5StoryLines
1. Can UMC play a consistent full 40 minutes of basketball?

2. Can Harrison Cleary make a big impact for UMC?

3. Can the Golden Eagles slow down Jordan Hay inside?

4. Can UMC contain the three-point shooting of Jimmy Roth and Carson Parker?

5. Can Seniors Xavier Hall and Riley Rice make a major impact like they did last weekend?

 

#ChaseIsOnTheCase
Chase Knickerbocker is coming off of his career high on Saturday as he had 27 points on 9-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Knickerbocker averaged 18.5 points per game for UMC last weekend. He is averaging 11.4 points per game on the season for Minnesota Crookston.
 

#ItIsVeryCleary
It is very clear who the biggest scoring threat for UMC is and that is freshman guard Harrison Cleary. Cleary is second in the league in scoring with 22.0 points per game. He set the records last weekend for points in a season and most field goals in a season. Both marks surpassed Joe Hasz's marks from the 2001-02 season. Cleary had a big weekend for UMC as he averaged 28.5 points per game, shot 59.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the stripe. Cleary was named NSIC North Division Player of the Week for his performance for the Golden Eagles.
 

#OnTheOffensive
UMC redshirt sophomore Gable Smith has been known for his shot blocking ability in his two seasons at UMC, as he is the all-time leader at Minnesota Crookston and leads the NSIC with 2.4 per game. However, Smith has started to become more consistent on the offensive end. The Lodi, Wis. native is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over the last four games for UMC. He had 13 points and seven boards last Saturday in the win over U-Mary. He will look to continue to make an impact offensively Wednesday against Upper Iowa.
 

#XMarksTheSpot
UMC senior Xavier Hall had a strong weekend for UMC. He started the second half of Friday's game and earned the Senior Day start on Sunday against U-Mary. Hall has averaged 5.5 points per game over the last four games for UMC. Hall had eight points on 2-of-4 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line in the win over the Marauders. Hall's impact is also seen on the defensive end, where he excels, and in the ball movement for the team. He will look to continue to build on his recent success entering Wednesday's playoff game.

#Tidbits

- Minnesota Crookston enters Wednesday with an 8-20 mark on the season. The Golden Eagles are just one win shy of tying their all-time wins mark, set during the 2000-01 season with nine victories. Minnesota Crookston is led by stand-out freshman Harrison Cleary, who is averaging 22.0 points per game. Cleary is the reining NSIC Player of the Week after tallying 28.5 points per game over the weekend. In addition, UMC has gotten incresed consistency from young players Chase Knickerbocker, Chase Johnson, Gable Smith and Connor Gamble over recent games. In addition, seniors Xavier Hall and Riley Rice are coming off perhaps their best weekends in Golden Eagle uniforms.

- The Golden Eagles are shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from beyond the arc and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe. UMC is being out-rebounded on the season by an average of 37.1 to 30.8. UMC is scoring 73.7 points per game and allowing opponents to score 78.9 points per game.

- Minnesota Crookston has never won a NSIC tournament game in their previous 18 years in the conference. They will look to pick up their first tournament victory against Upper Iowa Wednesday.

- UMC played Upper Iowa once this season. They fell 79-68 to the Peacocks on New Year's Eve in Fayette, Iowa. The Golden Eagles were down just seven at half but they struggled out of the gate in the second half. UMC looked to 15 points from Chase Knickerbocker and 10 from Harrison Cleary. Upper Iowa was led by 20 points from Jordan Hay, while Luke Lenhart tallied 18 points.

- The Peacocks come into Wednesday with a 19-9 mark on the season. They finished second in the NSIC South. Upper Iowa looks to Jordan Hay's 12.5 points per game. In addition to Hay, Jimmy Roth is averaging 11.9 points per game, while Carson Parker is tallying 11.4 points per game. Upper Iowa has a very balanced attack as they have a lot of very strong parts. They don't go particularly tall with Jordan Hay as the tallest man in their main core at 6-6.

- Upper Iowa is averaging 80.0 points per game and allowing opponents to tally 78.0 points per game. The Peacocks are shooting 48.0 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from beyond the arc and 71.3 percent from the charity stripe. They are being out-rebounded by opponents 35.1 to 33.7. They are allowing opponents to shoot 45.7 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.