Northwestern 58, Wisconsin 81: Player Grades

Overall: D

Wisconsin is a national title contender, no doubt about it. Now beating Northwestern by 23 points is no indication of the No. 4 team in the nation's prowess, but it's clear the Wildcats provided little resistance to the Badgers' offensive attack. The Badgers shot 52.6 percent and 48 percent from three, compared to just the 39.3 percent and 28.6 percent from deep that the Wildcats shot. Few things came easily for Northwestern on the offensive end, showcasing the largest separation between the two teams.

Tre Demps

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
17	4	6	7-14	33

Grade: B+

One of the two Wildcats to score in double digits, Demps never looked scared going up against the Badgers. He kept attacking the rim and rarely settled for outside jumpers. He was largely the only one on Northwestern continually looking to attack on offense but only committed one turnover.

Bryant McIntosh

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
13	1	3	5-11	27

Grade: C+

The freshman was, once again, one of Northwestern's best players Sunday night, but that doesn't mean he deserves a stellar mark. Sure his 13 points were nice. He got into the lane multiple times only to miss mid-range floaters. But the most concerning  of McIntosh's stats is the one assist to a team-high four turnovers. The freshman was rattled with Wisconsin's disciplined defense and wasn't able to find open teammates against Wisconsin's big wings and front line.

Sanjay Lumpkin

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
0	2	0	0-2	24

Grade: D

The side of the floor where Lumpkin usually makes his mark, the defensive end, was where the sophomore really struggled Sunday night. The undersized four was forced to guard players such as Duje Dukan and Sam Dekker who exposed Lumpkin. While it would make sense for Lumpkin to be able to close out on Dukan and Dekker and run the two Wisconsin sharpshooters off the three-point line, Lumpkin was often late on closeouts, allowing Dukan and Dekker to go off, especially from behind the arc.

Vic Law

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
3	1	4	1-7	22

Grade: C-

The difference in maturity and experience between Law and Wisconsin was a microcosm of how the two teams matched up on the whole in that area. Law looked out of sync with his teammates and extremely undermatched when compared to his Wisconsin counterparts.

Alex Olah

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
7	2	4	3-8	21

Grade: C

Alex Olah had the toughest matchup of any Northwestern player as he went up against Frank Kaminsky. And it didn't get any easier when Kaminsky left the floor and Wisconsin went small with either Nigel Hayes or the six-foot-ten Dukan at the five. All three of them put Olah on roller skates when the Northwestern center ran to close out on them. There were moments where Olah appeared to have position on the offensive end, but didn't get the ball and on a few of those occasions, he was visibly upset. That's the type of assertiveness Olah needs to show consistently, and his teammates may find him more than they have been.

Scottie Lindsey

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
0	1	2	0-5	18

Grade: D-

Lindsey didn't contribute much at all Sunday. It was a bump in a road for the freshman who didn't hit any of his five shots from the field.

Jeremiah Kreisberg

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
4	0	1	2-3	14

Grade: B+

After seemingly losing his spot in the rotation to Gavin Skelly, Kreisberg played well in extended minutes. He put Frank Kaminsky in a spin cycle late in the game, showcasing some impressive footwork.

JerShon Cobb

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
3	2	1	1-2	13

Grade: C-

In a game where Northwestern needed a veteran presence, the senior guard didn't provide it. Cobb scored just three points in 13 minutes and wasn't able to provide many tangible additions to Northwestern's offense.

Nate Taphorn

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
9	1	2	4-5	13

Grade: A

TWO DUNKS. That is all.

No, not really. Taphorn was the brightest spot for Northwestern. He used his athleticism to attack the rim and was able to matchup well with the inside-outside games of Wisconsin's bigs.

Gavin Skelly

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
2	1	2	1-2	9

Grade: C

Skelly's physically gifted enough to hold his own in Big Ten play, but the fundamentals haven't caught up with him yet.

Johnnie Vassar

Points	Assists	Rebounds	Field Goals	Minutes
0	2	0	0-2	7

Grade: C-

Vassar played over Dave Sobolewski for the first time this year as the senior did not see action. He didn't do much in his seven minutes of garbage time.