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Northwestern suffered another disappointing close loss, this time at the hands of Notre Dame in a 70-66 thriller in the title game of the Legends Classic tournament. The Wildcats led in the final minutes but couldn’t close the deal, falling to 3-2 on the season.
Bryant McIntosh: D
Seven points, two rebounds, four assists, four turnovers on 3/18 FG, 1⁄3 3FG,
It was a night to forget for McIntosh. His shot wasn’t falling all night, and he had trouble taking care of the ball in the first half. The bad decisions and brick after brick on his floater were extremely uncharacteristic. He did hit a huge shot late in the game to give Northwestern the lead, but also missed his final attempt with a chance to tie. McIntosh was wildly inefficient from the floor and was severely outplayed by Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell, who had 18 points and 6 assists. It was probably the worst game of the junior’s career and one Northwestern badly needs him to bounce back from.
Vic Law: A-
15 points, six rebounds, two assists, two turnovers on 6/13 FG, 3/6 3FG
After being in foul trouble for long stretches of the Texas game, Law bounced back in a major way the next night. Law shot the ball well from deep again again, and did a fantastic job holding V.J. Beachem to just 11 points on 3/11 shooting. It was interesting that Law didn’t get many shot opportunities late in the game after shooting the ball so well early on.
Dererk Pardon: A-
Six points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, seven blocks on 3⁄4 shooting
Pardon didn’t do a whole lot offensively, but it was a defensive master-class for the sophomore center. He finished with seven blocks and was a beast inside throughout the game. He was also strong on the boards, and showed solid passing ability. His face-up jump shot needs a ton of work, though.
Scottie Lindsey: A
17 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, two turnovers on 6/8 shooting, 3/3 3FG, 2⁄3 FT
Scottie Lindsey likes playing in Brooklyn. The junior shot 6/10 from beyond the arc in the team’s two games there, and kept the team in the game when the offense went stagnant in the first half. It has been an incredibly encouraging start to the season for Lindsey.
Nathan Taphorn: B
12 points, five rebounds, one assist, two turnovers on 4/6 FG, 4/5 3FG
Taphorn went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in just minutes. One moment, he was perfect from three-point range and willing Northwestern back into the game, and a few minutes later he threw an inbounds pass right to the Fighting Irish and fouled Farrell for an and-1. Aside from the turnover, Taphorn did exactly what Chris Collins puts him in the game to do: hit threes and stretch the floor. The throwaway on the inbounds pass will sting for a while, but he was a big reason the Wildcats were in that position in the first place.
Sanjay Lumpkin: B-
Two points, four rebounds, one assist, one turnover on 1/1 FG
Lumpkin did his job defensively, but wasn’t much of a factor on the offensive end. It was a fairly nondescript night for the senior captain.
Isiah Brown: B
Four points, two rebounds, one turnover on 0/1 FG, 4/4 FT
Brown didn’t get as many shots up as he’s accustomed to, but he was still a threat on the offensive end. Brown is still one the best, if not the best, on the team at getting to the foul line; he accounted for four of the Wildcats’ seven total attempts in the game. He did have some careless fouls again, one of which came late in the shot clock.
Gavin Skelly: D+
0 points, three turnovers on 0/2 FG
It just wasn't Skelly’s night. He looked out-of-sync on offense, and had multiple miscommunications that led to turnovers. With the way Pardon was playing inside, Skelly saw fewer minutes than usual.
Jordan Ash: INC
Three points, three rebounds, one assist on 1⁄3 FG, 1⁄3 3FG
Ash hasn’t been part of Collins’ main rotation this season, but he got some run against the Irish even when the game was close. He hit one three but air-balled another, and wasn’t in the game long enough to make too much of an impact.