The Wildcats jumped out to a 29-9 advantage in the first half and never really let up.
During his 10-1 start to the Gophers, first-year coach Ben Johnson listened to the NCAA Tournament debut and national coach of the year.
How surprised the college basketball world was about Johnson's success so soon after replacing Richard Pitino, especially when bringing in 10 freshmen.
The Gophers proved better than last-place's preseason estimates, but it's still where they finished in the final Big Ten standings after a 75–62 loss to Northwestern on Sunday in their regular-season finale.
Johnson appeared as frustrated as he had ever been with Minnesota, staring at a 20-point halftime deficit against an opponent his team had recently beaten. His message to the players was simply, weren't they going to fight back?
"It's not that they don't want to win," Johnson said. "I know they do. They want to play well. It's just playing with that starting strength. I keep saying, the attacker almost always wins."
The last Gophers team to be the worst in the Big Ten was a 2–16 draw with Northwestern in Clem Haskins' first year in 1986–87.
A few weeks earlier, the Gophers (13-16, 4-16 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern 77-60 to win their fourth conference game, with four regular-season games remaining. They won't win again.
The Wildcats (14-15, 7-13) would give their opponent no confidence in their senior night at Evanston, Ill. He took the advantage of 29-9 and never really gave up.
"Our people really wanted this game," said Northwestern coach Chris Collins. "These guys still have a lot to play for. We wanted some momentum in Indianapolis."
The Gophers, who were bowled out 48-31, will play 11th seed Penn State on Wednesday in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
With a career-high 39 points in an 84-73 loss in Maryland last week, Jamieson Battle scored 11 of his 20s in the first half on Sunday, but the Gophers conceded seven first-half three-pointers and 46-26 lagged behind. at halftime.
The Gophers needed another win to secure 13th place after Nebraska overtook first-place Wisconsin on the road on Sunday. The Cornhuskers, who started the 0-12 conference last month by beating Minnesota, have won three games in a row.
After barely missing upsets against Wisconsin and Indiana to finish home slates, the Gophers were forced to do something they hadn't done since the calendar turned 2022: win on the road.
Johnson always kept realistic expectations in the Reconstruction year, but was pleasantly surprised by the U's warm November and December that included road victories in Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Michigan.
Minnesota suffered injuries and was hit by COVID-19 issues, which contributed to 15 losses in the last 18 regular-season games, but Sunday was also its ninth consecutive road loss.
Northwestern's biggest lead was 52-31 less than two minutes into the second half, but Battelle and Peyton Willis, who had 16 points, combined for 10 points during the 12-2 run.
Shawn Sutherlin's three-pointer got the Gophers 63-55 with just under four minutes to play, but their rally was short-lived.
Pete Nance finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Wildcats, seeded 12th, to open the Big Ten tournament against 13th seed Nebraska.
Gophers senior big man Eric Curry, who missed last Wednesday's game in Maryland due to a shoulder injury, returned to the starting lineup. He finished in 26 minutes with three points and five rebounds.
Johnson, who had just six players on Sunday, entered the double-digit minute, suffering a lack of depth throughout the season. But it really hurt the Gophers' defense in the Big Ten. He finished last in three-point percentage (38.4) and field-goal percentage (48.6) in Big Ten games on Sunday.
The Gophers were dropped 37-8 off the bench, but are expected to find new life in the post season.
“Teams that can absorb scout, prepare, come hungry and move on,” Johnson said. "Hopefully, we are the team that is hungry and still wants to play."
The Star Tribune did not travel for the game. This article was written using television broadcasts and video interviews before and/or after the game.