Player Grades from Northwestern's 71-61 loss to Purdue: Tre Demps shines, big men struggle

Northwestern traveled to West Lafayette on Tuesday and managed to hold their own against No. 17 Purdue. Unfortunately, weak play down low led to a loss and a return to average grades for the Wildcats. Here we go:

Bryant McIntosh: B+

36 minutes, 14 points, 5-of-11 shooting (1-of-3 from three), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block

It speaks to how good McIntosh has been this season that this feels like an average effort from him. He hit right around his season averages across the board and even led the Wildcats in rebounding tonight -- not good when it's a point guard doing that. The only thing keeping him from an A is that the Northwestern offense looked very stagnant at times and McIntosh didn't try to create his own shot too often. Purdue's weakness in the backcourt is something that McIntosh probably could have exploited a little better. All-around solid game from the sophomore, though.

Tre Demps: A-

40 minutes, 16 points, 7-of-13 shooting (2-of-6 from three), 3 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 block

It's safe to say that whatever happened to Tre Demps at the beginning of Big Ten season has passed and that the real Tre Demps has returned. He played the entire game and shot fairly efficiently from the field, which isn't an easy feat for the senior. He also wasn't settling for as many bad shots as he tends to do and took advantage of Purdue's guards for some easy points at the rim.

Aaron Falzon: C+

27 minutes, 7 points, 3-of-6 shooting (1-of-4 from three), 1 rebound, 1 steal, 4 fouls

Falzon played a decent game, especially considering Purdue's size at small forward, but he didn't really execute his most important job: hitting three-pointers. On back-to-back possessions in the first half, Falzon was left open at the top of the key and missed very good looks. He isn't going to get many shots more open than those and has to hit them for this offense to be at least competitive. Outside of that, he made a few nice plays driving to the rim which show some promising development from him.

Sanjay Lumpkin: D-

10 minutes, 0 points, 0-of-3 shooting (all from three), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls

This was not a good game from Lumpkin. He took three shots, all triples, and missed each of them. He then committed three fouls, plus a turnover, and was pulled from the game. Note: This all happened in only 10 minutes of playing time. Sanjay doesn't get an F only because he was pulled by Chris Collins relatively early on.

Alex Olah: D+

21 minutes, 12 points, 5-of-10 shooting (1-of-5 from three), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 fouls

This is a very deceptive stat line from Olah. He scored 12 points, had a couple of nice finishes down low and even hit a three-pointer, but took way too many shots from beyond the arc. Olah spent far too much time standing around the perimeter and far too little time on the post. He only grabbed 2 rebounds in 21 minutes, which is less than what Pardon had in 6 minutes. It didn't help that the senior got in early foul trouble -- sense a theme? -- but when size is the biggest issue in the game, it hurts to have your 7-footer standing 25 feet from the basket.

Gavin Skelly: B-

20 minutes, 6 points, 2-of-3 shooting (1-of-2 from three), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block, 4 fouls

Skelly, as he often does, contributed solid but not great minutes off the bench. He fought down low despite being severely out-sized and even gets a slight grade bump for hitting his second-ever three-pointer. It would have been nice to see a few more rebounds, but his two crisp assists make up for that a bit. Overall, another pretty good game from the sophomore.

Scottie Lindsey: C

25 minutes, 2 points, 1-of-6 shooting (0-of-4 from three), 2 rebounds, 3 assists

It seems that, for tonight at least, Scottie Lindsey came back to earth. Coming off one of his best games of the year against Illinois, he did not have his shot against Purdue and it showed. Lindsey only had two points and missed all four of his three-point attempts. What makes this performance slightly better than some of his earlier games is that he still managed to contribute to the team in other ways, such as on the glass, on defensive and with good passing. Lindsey may not be all the way there yet, but he's still improving.

Dererk Pardon: F

6 minutes, 2 points, 1-of-2 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 5 fouls

This was a yeoman-like performance from Pardon. While he was both undersized and out-muscled down low, he still managed to grab 3 rebounds in only 6 minutes. Unfortunately, his playing time was so limited because he committed almost a foul a minute and quickly fouled out

Joey Van Zegeren: C

11 minutes, 2 points, 1-of-2 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls

Van Zegeren continues to see decreased playing time even as Dererk Pardon only played 6 minutes due to foul trouble. He provided some solid energy minutes off the bench but he also committed some early fouls in the first half that didn't help.

Jordan Ash: NA

2 minutes

Ash played two minutes to provide McIntosh a quick rest. He did not record a stat.