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Northwestern-Iowa player grades

The Wildcats bring home a high GPA after a blowout win.

NCAA Basketball: Iowa at Northwestern David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern absolutely dominated Iowa on Sunday night, earning a blowout 89-54 win. It’s the third straight win for the Wildcats and perhaps the best game they’ve ever played under Chris Collins. Here’s how each individual performed.

Scottie Lindsey: A

22 points (8 of 15, 3 of 7 3FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 3 steals in 33 minutes

Scottie Lindsey is really good. The junior always plays with a chip on his shoulder against the Hawkeyes, who stopped recruiting him after he broke his leg in high school. Tonight he once again showed the growth and consistency we’ve seen this year. He was efficient, hit the boards hard and was fantastic distributing the ball. He was also active on the defensive end on Peter Jok and others and sent through a rim-rattling dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy as Northwestern pulled away.

Bryant McIntosh: A+

20 points (9 of 11, 2 of 3 3FG), 1 rebound, 10 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal in 32 minutes

Northwestern doesn’t hand out A+ as a grade, but we do. This was B-Mac at his finest. He was aggressive but didn’t force things, he broke Iowa’s occasional press well and shot the ball better than he has all year. He had several beautiful drives and dishes to a variety of willing finishers, and he thoroughly dominated Iowa’s highly regarded freshman point guard Jordan Bohannon on both ends (Bohannon shot just 2 of 7). It was his best performance as a Wildcat in a long time, and you can see how good this team can be on offense when he’s playing at a high level.

Dererk Pardon: A-

14 points (7 of 12), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 blocks 2 steals in 32 minutes

Pardon was quietly excellent once again, nearly collecting a double-double and vacuuming up everything around the rim. He missed a couple of bunnies around the rim, but his activity level was impressive, and he gives Northwestern legitimate Big Ten size and skill down low.

Sanjay Lumpkin: B+

5 points (2 of 2, 1 of 1 3FG), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal in 28 minutes

Aside from one travel, Lumpkin was very solid tonight, knocking down an open three and taking one strong to the rack for a layup in traffic. He was really good on the boards, too and... wait... is that five assists? Yes! That number tied his career high.

Vic Law: A-

12 points (5 of 9, 2 of 4 3FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal in 26 minutes

Law’s stats don’t necessarily stand out — though he was really efficient from the floor — but his defense was absolutely phenomenal. Jok scored four points. He came in averaging 22.9. That’s a testament to Law’s effort on that end, and don’t let his low rebounding numbers change that: He mostly stayed on the perimeter, not giving Jok an inch of space. He was really, really good. More on his effort on that end will come later in the week.

Isiah Brown: B+

7 points (3 of 5, 1 of 2 3FG), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 steal in 16 minutes

Coming off a stellar game against Rutgers, Brown continued to show just how much he’s improved since the beginning of the year. The freshman guard knocked down a big three and also had a sweet hesitation move that led to a swished pull-up jumper. He was solid handling the ball for the most part and filled his role very well. His ability to create, even if just in spurts, is very valuable.

Gavin Skelly: B

6 points (2 of 3, 1 of 2 3FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, 1 steal in 16 minutes

Skelly hit another top-of-the-key three, showing his 0-of-6 performance versus Minnesota was more fluky than concerning. The big man was solid in all aspects offensively, though he did have some trouble against Tyler Cook on the defensive end. Still, it’s what NU needs going forward.

Nathan Taphorn: C-

0 points (0 of 3, 0 of 3 3FG), 1 rebound, 1 assist in 11 minutes

The shots just weren’t falling for Tap tonight. He got three good looks and didn’t cash in. It’s not as if Northwestern really needed them, though.

Jordan Ash: INC/A

3 points (1 of 1, 1 of 1 3FG), 1 rebound in 2 minutes

Yes, he only played two minutes, but I suppose there’s a way to grade that. Ash was in for the final possession of the first half and provided lockdown defense, and he hit a three-pointer late.

Barret Benson and Charlie Hall: INC

Nothing doing for either. Benson had just a foul in three minutes while Hall grabbed a defensive board and missed his only shot.