During the 10-1 start for his Gophers, first-year coach Ben Johnson heard early NCAA tournament and national coach of the year talk.

That's how surprised the college basketball world was about Johnson's success so quickly after replacing Richard Pitino, especially while bringing in 10 newcomers.

The Gophers proved early to be better than the last-place preseason projections, but that's still where they ended up in the final Big Ten standings after a 75-62 loss at Northwestern on Sunday in their regular-season finale.

Johnson appeared to be as frustrated as he had ever been with Minnesota, staring at a 20-point halftime deficit against an opponent his team had defeated recently. His message to players was simply, were they not going to fight back?

"It's not like they don't want to win," Johnson said. "I know they do. They want to play well. It's just playing with that early force. I keep saying, the aggressor almost always wins."

The last Gophers team that finished worst in the Big Ten was tied with Northwestern at 2-16 in Clem Haskins' first year in 1986-87.

Final Big Ten men's basketball standings

A couple of weeks ago, the Gophers (13-16, 4-16 Big Ten) pounded Northwestern 77-60 at home to win their fourth conference game with four regular-season games remaining. They wouldn't win again.

The Wildcats (14-15, 7-13) wouldn't give their opponent any confidence in Evanston, Ill., on their senior night. They jumped to a 29-9 advantage and never really let up.

"Our guys really wanted this game," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "These guys still have a lot to play for. We wanted some momentum going into Indianapolis."

The Gophers, who were outrebounded 48-31, will play 11th-seeded Penn State on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Big Ten basketball tournament bracket

Coming off a career-high 39 points in an 84-73 loss at Maryland last week, Jamison Battle had 11 of his 20 points in the first half Sunday, but the Gophers gave up seven first-half three-pointers and trailed 46-26 at halftime.

The Gophers needed one more victory to solidify 13th place after Nebraska upset first-place Wisconsin on the road earlier Sunday. The Cornhuskers, who broke an 0-12 conference start by beating Minnesota last month, have won three consecutive games.

After barely missing upsets against Wisconsin and Indiana to finish the home slate, the Gophers were forced to do something they hadn't done since the calendar turned to 2022: win on the road.

Johnson always maintained realistic expectations in a rebuilding year, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the U's hot November and December that included road victories at Pittsburgh, Mississippi State and Michigan.

Minnesota suffered injuries and were hit by COVID-19 issues that contributed to the 15 losses in the last 18 regular-season games, but Sunday was also the ninth consecutive road loss.

Northwestern's biggest lead was 52-31 less than two minutes into the second half, but Battle and Payton Willis, who had 16 points, combined for 10 points during a 12-2 run.

BOXSCORE: Northwestern 75, Gophers 62

Sean Sutherlin's three-pointer got the Gophers within 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, who earned the 12th seed to open the Big Ten tournament against 13th-seeded Nebraska.

Gophers senior big man Eric Curry, who missed last Wednesday's game at Maryland because of a shoulder injury, returned to the starting lineup. He finished with three points and five rebounds in 26 minutes.

Johnson, who had just six players log double digit minutes Sunday, suffered from a lack of depth all season. But that really hurt the Gophers defense in the Big Ten. They entered Sunday ranked last in Big Ten games in opponent three-point percentage (38.4) and field-goal percentage (48.6).

The Gophers were outscored 37-8 off the bench, but they hope to find new life in the postseason.

"The team that can absorb the scout, prep, come hungry and ready moves on," Johnson said. "Hopefully, we're that team that's hungry and still wants to play."

The Star Tribune did not travel for this game. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the game.

The Star Tribune did not travel for this game. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the game.