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Northwestern looked a lot better and took the country’s seventh-best team to overtime, but that doesn’t mean the grades are great, especially for some of the key players. Here we go:
Bryant McIntosh: C+
43 minutes, 12 points, 5 of 18 (1 of 6 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers
Well so much for giving McIntosh some time on the bench. Northwestern’s star point guard played all but two minutes on the night and backup Jordan Ash never saw the floor. McIntosh managed to hold his own against Melo Trimble for most of the game, but by the end of overtime looked tired and was throwing up some wild shots. McIntosh is a fantastic player but he needs to get more rest during games.
Tre Demps: D
41 minutes, 6 points, 3 of 14 (0 of 6 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Outside of a stretch in the second half where Demps hit three straight shots (his only three makes of the night), he was once again way off. He managed to rack up 4 assists, but his decision making in the late stages of the game is what brings his grade down so low. He also missed his only two free throws and showed an inability to finish on the fast break.
Aaron Falzon: B+
35 minutes, 13 points, 5 of 11 (3 of 7 from three), 4 rebounds, 5 fouls
Falzon was one of Northwestern’s best players, and he did more than just shoot. While hitting three shots from deep certainly helped his grade, Falzon was also hustling all game, diving on the floor for loose balls, grabbing offensive boards and taking the ball to the rim. Once he fouled out, Northwestern’s offense looked stagnant and not very well spaced. The five fouls were the only thing keeping Falzon from an A performance.
Sanjay Lumpkin: B-
30 minutes, 6 points, 3 of 5, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Other than when he got called for a flagrant-1 on a dangerous fast break play, Lumpkin contributed solid minutes for the Wildcats. He also committed an ill-advised foul in overtime that led to a Maryland three point play which hurts his grade, but he was all over the offensive boards early. With Lumpkin you have to take the bad with the good and while he didn’t blow anyone away with his stat line he still put in a solid performance.
Joey Van Zegeren: B
25 minutes, 5 points, 1 of 3 (3 of 6 on free throws), 7 rebounds, 1 block
Van Zegeren was fine, and contributed what he normally does, rebounding, defense and bad free throw shooting. While 50 percent is around his season average, a couple more makes down the stretch would have gone a long way for the Wildcats. However, Van Zegeren probably shouldn’t have play 25 minutes because…
Dererk Pardon: A
15 minutes, 11 points, 5 of 6, 3 rebounds
Pardon was Northwestern’s best player on the night, and he only played 15 minutes. After the game, Chris Collins said he didn’t play Pardon down the stretch because he though Van Zegeren gave the team better defense. That is a fair assessment, but Pardon probably should have played more earlier in the game, especially when Northwestern was having trouble scoring. Pardon put in work on the block and showed a couple nice post moves. In the limited time he was given, the impressive freshman played very well.
Scottie Lindsey: C
18 minutes, 3 points, 1 of 3, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Scottie Lindsey is still an enigma. Whenever he comes in the game you never really know what you’re going to get. Against Maryland he played more minutes than Pardon but didn’t really make an impact outside of the one three pointer he hit.
Gavin Skelly: C-
5 minutes, 0 points, 0 of 1
Skelly only played 5 minutes and didn’t really do anything with that time. He did miss his only shot attempt which is enough to drop him slightly below average.
Alex Olah: F
13 minutes, 0 points, 0 of 5, 1 rebound, 1 block
Alex Olah may be healthy enough to be on the court but he’s not healthy enough to be good. Olah missed multiple easy finishes at the rim and just didn’t look right in his 13 minutes on the court. Van Zegeren and Pardon are better options until the senior gets comfortable.