Bryant McIntosh Returns To Assembly Hall Riding High
Bryant McIntosh's last trip to Bloomington sucked.
Actually, that might be putting it too nicely.
McIntosh shot 2-for-12 and scored four points when his Wildcats lost 89-57 to the Hoosiers in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall last January. After airballing a 3-pointer, the IU fans responded with chants of "airball" and never really got off the Greensburg, Indiana, native's back the rest of the afternoon, celebrating his failures as the game went on.
Fast-forward a year and it's McIntosh who's having the last laugh as a leading junior guard on a Northwestern Wildcats team seemingly on the verge of getting into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
He scored 21 points and dished out eight assists against the Hoosiers in Evanston earlier this year in a 68-55 win that was at the starting end of what's become Indiana's spiral out of NCAA Tournament and perhaps even NIT contention.
"Last year I felt really jittery," McIntosh said. "I got caught up in the emotion of that and not just playing the game. So this year I just focused on trying to help my team win."
McIntosh, who Indiana did not offer a scholarship, is doing just that as one of the best point guards in the conference. He leads the Big Ten with 5.5 assists per game and scores at 14 points per game on top of that.
"McIntosh is playing well," IU head coach Tom Crean said before fielding multiple questions on senior Collin Hartman ahead of Senior Night. The Hartman storyline is, quite frankly, taking center stage among the Indiana faithful who aren't exactly eager to refresh NIT bracketology projections.
Earlier this year, right after Northwestern beat Indiana, a reporter wanted to know whether or not McIntosh would have accepted a scholarship offer if his in-state school would have wanted him. He hasn't hid his Hoosier ties in the past, and he wasn't about to then.
"I would have considered it," he said. "But I'm really happy with where I'm at. (Indiana) recruits nationally more, so it's just part of the game. I had to find a school that fit what I needed — and I found it."
McIntosh is at peace at Northwestern. He's got reason to be as a star for Chicago's Big Ten Team.
But still, playing well in Bloomington is a bit of a hurdle. He didn't last year partially because he let the crowd into his head.
"His emotions got the best of him last year," Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. "He probably would admit as much. He forced a lot."
He did, the fans let him know and he was sent off kicking himself.
Now's his chance to shut them up.
Said McIntosh: "This isn't the same Northwestern."
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