Golden Eagles Set for First Home Games of New Year; Host No. 19/23 Upper Iowa and Winona State


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will open up the home portion of 2022 looking to end a seven game conference losing streak, as they host No. 19/23 Upper Iowa on Friday and Winona State on Saturday. The last time the Peacocks and Warriors made their way to Crookston, it was a sweep for the Golden Eagles, one of three home sweeps that season for the Golden Eagles. It should be a fun weekend inside Lysaker Gymnasium on Friday and Saturday.

• WELL ABOVE THE NORM. In today's day and age, one of the most important things in sports is analytics and percentages. According to CBB Analytics, the Golden Eagles two best shooting ranges come from the right wing three and the left elbow mid-range shots. From the right wing, the Golden Eagles have shot 33/72, good for 45.8 percent. The Division II average from that spot is under 35 percent. Although the shots from the left elbow and above are marginally less, the Golden Eagles are 18/29 from that spot, which is good for 62.1 percent, good for almost 25 percent higher than the D-II average. Minnesota Crookston has been really effective from those two spots on the floor.

• IMPROVEMENTS ON DEFENSE. Minnesota Crookston has been solid on the defensive side of the ball. In many games, the defense has kept them in games. A season ago, Minnesota Crookston allowed opponents to shoot over 50 percent a season ago and over 36 percent from three, as well as allowing 81.5 points per game. This season, Minnesota Crookston is allowing just 71 points per game and are allowing teams to shoot just 42 percent from the field as well. If Minnesota Crookston can continue to improve on the defensive end, they should be in almost every game the rest of the way.

• POSITIVE NET RATING. Analytics are awesome aren't they? There are only three players on the Golden Eagles roster that have played over 400 minutes this season: Uzo Dibiamaka, Leonard Dixon and Ethan Channel. Channel and Dixon, the two Oregon natives both have a net rating of over seven on the season, which is an impressive number for both. Dixon also has an offensive rating of 5.5, which is second on the team, only behind Dylan Hushaw, who has an impressive 5.8 offensive rating in over 100 minutes of playing time. Net ratings are an important stat to look at in terms of making a positive impact on your team and the trio of Hushaw, Dixon and Channel have done that this season.

• DROPPING DIMES. For most parts of the season, Uzo Dibiamaka has been the main ball handler and has had the ball in his hands a ton this season for the Golden Eagles. That's evident by his assist numbers. The redshirt sophomore from Australia currently has 46 assists already this season, including a career-high six against Michigan Tech. Dibiamaka has a chance to collect the most assists in his first season as a Golden Eagle since Harrison Cleary set the record with 66 his freshman season in 2016-17. It's been a good start to the career for Dibiamaka this season.
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• START THE NEW YEAR WITH AN UPSET. This weekend will be a great opportunity for the Golden Eagles as Upper Iowa and Winona State come to town. The last time the Peacocks came to town, it was a dominating win for the Golden Eagles in the 2018-19 season. In fact, that was one of three sweeps the Golden Eagles had that season, so they will be looking to do the same this weekend. It won't be easy however, as the Peacocks have been ranked as high as 13th in the NABC Coaches Poll and 16th in the D2SIDA Poll just a weekend ago. Although UIU was upset by Winona State this past Sunday, they are a team that could make a run in the NCAA Tournament due to their experience and guard play. It is a grand opportunity for the maroon and gold to pick up one of their biggest wins in program history.

• NIFTINESS FROM NAZ. Although he missed the Golden Eagles last game at Bemidji State, Nathaniel Powell finished up 2021 playing his best ball of the season. Before the game against Bemidji State, the Nottingham, England native started three straight games against MSUM, Minot State and UMary and averaged 9.0 points per game in those three starts, including 11 in his first career start at home against the Dragons. Powell has been solid throughout the year for Dan Weisse and looks to be even more valuable when he is one of the first five on the floor for the Golden Eagles.

• ENERGY FROM Z. Zach Westphal has been a solid player off the bench for the Golden Eagles not just this season, but his entire career as well. Westphal has started just three games in his Golden Eagle career, but he has consistently been looked upon by the Golden Eagles to bring scoring and energy off the bench. This season, Westphal has two games in double-digits, with a season and career-high of 12 points in the opening game win over East Central. Westphal also scored 10 points in the loss at UMary. The redshirt senior from West Fargo is playing 12.6 minutes per game this season as well.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 62-128 Season at UMC: Eighth Season


Upper Iowa Peacocks
Head Coach: Brooks McKowen
Record at UIU: 136-112 Season at UIU: 9th Season


Winona State Warriors
Head Coach: Todd Eisner
Record at WSU: 85-72 Season at WSU: 7th Season

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
R-So. G 10 Uzo Dibiamaka (6-3, Adelaide, South Australia) 10.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.5 APG
R-Jr. G 1 Ethan Channel (6-4, Beaverton, Ore.) 13.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG
R-Sr. G 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4, Savage, Minn.) 10.2 RPG, 2.7 RPG
R-Jr. F 11 Leonard Dixon (6-7, Demascus, Ore.) 11.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG
R-So. C 13 Nathaniel Powell (6-9, Nottingham, England) 5.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Sr. G 2 Zach Westphal (6-2, West Fargo, N.D.) 4.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG
R-Jr. F 23 Marcus Thompson (6-6, Brooklyn, N.Y.) 2.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG
R-Jr. C 15 Zen Goodridge (6-8, Orlando, Fla.) 3.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG
R-So. G 3 Dylan Hushaw (6-2, Las Vegas, Nev.) 3.6 PPG 2.8 RPG
Upper Iowa University
Projected Starters
So. F 3 Nick Reid (6-7, Central City, Iowa) 5.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG
R-Sr. G 5 Jareese Williams (6-2, Mason City, Iowa) 18.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG
Jr. G 15 Jake Hilmer (5-11, Walker, Iowa) 14.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG
R-Sr. G 20 Joe Smoldt (6-0, Reinbeck, Iowa) 18.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Jr. F 21 Dylan Jones (6-8, Waukee, Iowa) 5.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Jr. G 2 Lucas Duax (6-3, Dubuque, Iowa) 7.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Jr. G 22 Max Duax (6-2, Dubuque, Iowa) 4.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG
R-Sr. F 22 Connor Duax (6-5, Dubuque, Iowa) 7.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Sr. F 55 Cade Moritz (6-8, Norwalk, Iowa) 6.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Winona State University
Projected Starters
Sr. G 1 Devin Whitelow (5-9, Peoria, Ill.) 12.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Jr. G 5 Alec Rosner (6-3, Appleton, Wis.) 16.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Jr. G 10 Owen King (6-2, Caledonia, Minn.) 7.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. G 3 Luke Martens (6-3, Apple Valley, Minn.) 10.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG
Fr. F 30 Connor Drew (6-7, Huxley, Iowa) 8.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 13 Carson Arenz (6-5, Onalaska, Wis.) 3.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Jr. G 22 Nick Klug (6-1, Burlington, Wis.) 5.0 PPG
Fr. F 24 Drew Adams (6-8, Woodbury, Minn.) 5.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG


NSIC Rankings

Scoring Offense: 16th
Scoring Defense: 8th
Scoring Margin: 14th
Free Throw Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct.: 15th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 6th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 12th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 6th
Rebounding Offense: 10th
Rebounding Defense: 15th
Rebounding Margin: 15th
Blocked Shots: 4th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 10th
Turnover Margin: 15th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 9th
Defensive Rebounds: 9th


#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

UPPER IOWA. What a start it's been through 14 games for Upper Iowa. Brooks McKowen has his squad off to a 12-2 start, with the only blemishes being Minnesota State in overtime and Winona State. The Peacocks use their experience and unreal guard play to win a ton of games. Upper Iowa is second in the nation in free throw percentage and is 24th in the entire nation with over 81 points scored per game. UIU has been held to 80 points or less in just two games this season and has a 1-1 record in those two games.

JEEZ JAREESE. One of the most experienced Peacocks is Jareese Williams. The Mason City, Iowa native leads UIU in scoring at 18.8 points per game, which also stands at fourth in the conference as well. Williams has scored more than 20 points in half of Upper Iowa's games this season and was held to less than ten points for the first time this season last time out against Winona State, which coincidentally, was a loss for the Peacocks. Williams is one of the best players in the conference and will be a tough guard this weekend for the Golden Eagles.

HILMER HILL. Junior Jake Hilmer joins Williams and Joe Smoldt as one of three Peacocks averaging in double-figures this season. Hilmer does his scoring the exact opposite of Williams and Smoldt. Hilmer has just 39 three-point attempts on the season, while both Williams and Smoldt have combined to shoot over 200 threes on the season. The Walker, Minn., native is shooting 54 percent from the field and an outstanding 94 percent from the charity strip this season.  No matter how he does his scoring, Hilmer is part of one of the best offenses in the nation and the trio is arguably the best in the conference.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE. The Golden Eagles will be the first team in the NSIC North that the Peacocks will see in the regular season since 2019. The last time these two teams met, Cade Moritz went off. The senior scored 16 points in a 102-94 victory over the Golden Eagles in Fayette in January of 2019. In fact, the night before against Bemidji State, he scored a career-high 20 points. Moritz has played in all 14 games this season with two starts and scored a season-high 14 points in back-to-back games against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. Moritz also had a double-double against Sioux Falls, pulling down 11 rebounds.

WINONA STATE. Winona State is a perennial power. Not only in the NSIC, but in Division II as well. The Warriors have two National Championships to their name, coming in 2006 and 2008 and have a whopping 57-game win streak as well from 2006 into 2007. In that streak, the lowest points scored against an opponent came against Minnesota Crookston in 2006. Although the Warriors haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2014, they are an elite program in the nation.

WARRIOR FOR LIFE. Caledonia, Minn., native Owen King has made an instant impact in his first season as a Warrior. The former South Dakota State Jackrabbit has started in all 11 games this season and is playing 29.5 minutes per game, as well as averaging 7.5 points per game. It seems fitting that King will finish up his college career the same way he started his basketball career: As a Warrior.

LIFE OF LUKE. Much like King, Martens has started in all 11 games for the Warriors this season and scored 14 points in the upset win over Upper Iowa on Sunday. Martens is the third leading scorer for WSU at exactly 10 points per game. Martens knows what it takes to win. The Apple Valley, Minn., played basketball at Apple Valley high school, which has the honor of calling guys like Tyus and Tre Jones alums. Both of which are in the NBA. Gary Trent Jr., son of former Timberwolf Gary Trent also played at Apple Valley for a brief time.

STRAW THAT STIRS THE DRINK. What a match-up we could have in Crookston on Saturday between the point guards. Both Dibiamaka and Devin Whitelow are both currently averaging double-figures on the season and they both also have 45 assists or more. Whitelow has hurt the Golden Eagles in the past, but it won't be easy with Dibiamaka guarding him.