KENOSHA, Wis. – After over 250 days the Parkside Rangers men's basketball team is set to open the 2024-25 season this weekend. The Rangers will head down to Springfield, Ill. for the annual Conference Crossover. Parkside is slated to open play on Saturday against Upper Iowa. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CST. The team will then have a short turnaround as they will take on UIS on Sunday with tip scheduled for 4 p.m. CST. Coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
Quick Hits
- The Rangers enter the 2024-25 season after going 13-16 overall and 8-10 finish in conference play. The Rangers season ended in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament last year as they fell to Ferris State despite Josiah Palmers 31 point career performance.
- Palmer enters this season with high expectations. The redshirt senior was selected to the GLIAC Preseason Second Team. Palmer is coming off a strong season last year averaging a career best in points per game at 14.9 and assists per game at 4.9.
Access this weekend's game notes
here.
Scouting Upper Iowa
The Peacocks enter the 2024-25 season after a NCAA Tournament appearance last year and are currently receiving votes in the NABC poll. They went an impressive 22-10 in 2023-24. UIU played in the Midwest Regional held at UIndy and would fall in the round of 32 to GLIAC foe Lake Superior State 88-80.
Upper Iowa will look to ride last year's success as they return four of their five starts from last year's squad. The biggest piece back for the Peacocks is Noah King. King was a First Team All GLVC selection last season after posting 17.4 ppg which would rank him fifth in the conference last season. Teammate Nick Reid also played a massive role for UIU, averaging 14.3 ppg while also grabbing 6.9 rpg.
Scouting UIS
The Prairie Stars enter the 2024-25 season after an 18-13 overall finish. Their season would end after an opening round GLVC Tournament exit in a 76-70 loss to Lewis. UIS is currently receiving votes in the NABC Poll and are picked to finish second in the GLVC Preseason poll.
Jordan Rice is a key returner for the Prairie Stars. The First Team All-GLVC selection is coming off his junior season where he averaged 14 ppg while shooting 49.3% from the field. He will look to build off his strong showing his junior year in his senior season.
