Northwestern-Iowa press conference notes

On Sunday, the Wildcats throttled the Hawkeyes 89-54 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Led by Bryant McIntosh’s 20 points and 10 assists, Northwestern improved to 4-2 in conference play. Here’s what Chris Collins, Bryant McIntosh and Scottie Lindsey had to say after the game.

Chris Collins

• On the wire-to-wire win: “I thought it was our best 40-minute performance this year. Every time they tried to hit us with a spurt I thought we answered right back. What stands out to me the most is the way we shared the ball.
• On the team’s 29 total assists: “We’re a fucntion of using each other.”
• On the performances from his players across the board: “I thought everybody gave us good minutes tonight. I thought certainly Vic primarily did a great job chasing him around. I thought our guys, the communication on the defensive end, was really strong.
• On another amazing atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan: “I wanted so badly to play well in front of these fans. I think people are really starting to embrace who these guys are. They lay it on the line. They give me everything they’ve got. It was as loud in there as it’s been since I’ve been here. When you can get that kind of home support, it can make a difference”
• On the performance and mindset of Scottie Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh: “They were both really good. Quietly, they like to view themselves as an elite backcourt. Tonight was vintage B Mac, man. It was his game tonight and a great pep to his step.”
• On the difference between McIntosh tonight and Thursday against Rutgers: “He was really sick earlier in the week. He had nothing really in the Rutgers game, but tonight he just was feeling better and had some juice and a lot more life.”
• On the difference in this team now that Dererk Pardon is back: “He helps us. Dererk’s a terrific player, he’s just our anchor. I thought he got a little bit rushed in the first half, but in the second half he settled down. Dererk was mad at me at the end because he wanted a double double [laughs]. But in all seriousness he’s just such a big part of what we do.”
• On Jordan Hankins’ death and his team’s support of the Women’s team: “We’re a family. They’re like our sisters. What happened was just very sad, and it hit home with a lot of us. Personally I just remember how that girl was in the gym all the time. I would always look out my window and smile seeing her dance and shoot and have fun. Not seeing that anymore makes me sad. Hopefully we can honor her by playing really hard.”
• On his team’s defense against Peter Jok: “I thought we stayed connected to him. You’re not going to stop him completely but if he was gonna get 20 points we wanted him to take 20 shots. We did a good job, but he also missed shots he usually makes.”
• On McIntosh: “He still has led us despite missing shots. He’s starting to make shots now and he’s always been the voice of our team. He’s getting his confidence back with his shooting, he’s having more fun, he’s making more shots, and I thought he was terrific tonight. It was really fun to watch as his coach”

Scottie Lindsey

• On the team’s performance: “I think, like coach said, this was our best full-40 minutes this year”
• On his defensive performance: “I was just trying to make plays for my team...I try to do anything I can to help my team out on defense”
• On his dunk in the second half: “It felt awesome. This game was very fun for us...That dunk was very fun for me. And I was glad the crowd was into it”
• On playing with McIntosh: “It’s awesome. He’s my roommate. We spend a lot of time together...It was just a great feeling. It’s awesome”
• On beating Iowa: “It feels just as good as any other win in the Big Ten...We take each game round by round...Anytime we get a win we’ll be just as happy as any other win”

Bryant McIntosh

• On extending the lead: “It just speaks a little to our growth, our maturity...When you have a 14-point lead, you make it a 20-point lead.”
• On his performance: “Seeing the ball go in the basket always helps. When I put the ball in the basket, it causes other people to converge. And then I can do what I do best.”
• On the atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan: “Our atmosphere tonight period was tremendous..Just the overall crowd was awesome.”
• On his lobs to Dererk Pardon: “I was just trying to make the right play. Their bigs were stepping up...It was either a lob or a creative pass...It was a fun last couple minutes with him...We were finally just happy we got a lob that he dunked.”
• On the team’s backcourt: “I think we’re all versatile weapons...I think we are a pretty elite backcourt, especially both ways...which is what makes it special.”
• On his relationship with Collins: “I give him a lot of credit for that happiness, the joy, just in everyday life...He’s become like a father figure for me, and I can’t thank him enough.”