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The Northern State men's basketball team begins 2015 with a pair of weekend home games as Winona State and Upper Iowa come to Wachs Arena for NSIC action. Northern and WSU play Friday at 8 p.m. while the Peacocks come to town Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip.

The Wolves went 10-2 and 4-2 in the NSIC prior to the break. Their only two losses came to MSU Moorhead. NSU closed 2014 with a 106-86 loss at MSUM. DJ Pollard led the Wolves with a career-high 20 points in the loss while Spencer Pankonin also had a career-best 18 points and hit six three-pointers in the contest.

Northern Notes
NSU is led by Seth Bachand who leads the team and is 15th in the NSIC in scoring averaging 13.6 points per game. Bachand also leads the league in rebounding with nine per contest and is third in field goal percentage, shooting 66 percent from the field and also ranks third in blocks with 1.5 per contest. Sharpshooter Skye Warwick is second in the league in three-pointers made with 2.8 per game and is fourth in three-point percentage as he shoots 53 percent from beyond the arc.

About the Warriors
Winona has lost four of its last five games after starting the season 4-1. The Warriors are led by Head Coach Mike Leaf who is in his 17th season at WSU. The Warriors are ninth in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 74.1 points per game and are fourth in scoring defense, allowing 66.3 points per. Winona also ranks third in the league in field goal percentage defense as opponents are shooting just 41 percent from the floor on the year. The Warriors also have the conference's stingiest defense inside as they lead the league in blocks per game with 4.4. Winona is third in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 38.1 and ranks fifth in rebounding margin at plus-6.2 a game.

Riley Bambenek ranks 11th in the conference in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game this season, Bambenek is also 12th in assists per game with 3.2. Kyle Bauman and Mohamed Ali Ben Ammar both rank in the top 10 in the league in blocked shots averaging 1.1 and 0.9 blocks per, respectively.

About the Peacocks
Upper Iowa has a potent offense which ranks second in the league in scoring average at 84.2 points per game. The Peacocks though rank second-to-last in the NSIC in scoring defense as they allow 77 points a contest. UIU is second in the league in three-pointers made per game with 9.8. Upper Iowa ranks fourth in the conference in assists per game averaging 15.1 a contest while leading the league in steals (8.8 spg) and turnover margin (plus-4.67). The Peacocks are led by second-year Head Coach Brooks McKowen.

The Peacocks are led by Bo Pagel's 13.1 points per game. Jordan Hay leads the team averaging six rebounds per game, a mark that ranks 14th in the NSIC.  Grant Lang ranks fifth in the league in three-pointers made with 2.2 per contest while Josh Weeber's 1.9 per are 11th-best in the conference.