It's not like they were in a great position anyway, but any lingering Minnesota hopes for an at-large bid were dashed last night in a 68-57 loss at Northwestern. The Gophers defended well in the first half, as they forced turnovers on 22 percent of Northwestern's possessions and limited the Wildcats to 20 percent shooting from three. That staunch defense was enough to provide Minnesota a six point lead at the break, and the Gophers were able to push that advantage up to double digits a couple times early in the second half.

After two Trevor Mbakwe free throws, Minnesota held a nine point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining. From there, Northwestern would go on a 15-2 run spanning just eight possessions to surge into a lead they would never relinquish. Alex Marcotullio was all over the court in that stretch, scoring 11 points and getting a steal and a block. Minnesota's defense just fell apart down the stretch--something we've seen before--allowing the Wildcats to post 1.46 points per trip in the second half.

Marcotullio finished with 18 points on just 9 shots, while Michael Thompson and John Shurna combined for 33 points and 13 rebounds. Davide Curletti chipped in 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 4 assists, and just 1 turnover.

Minnesota shot 57 percent on twos, but that was about the only thing they did right. Mbakwe posted 14 points and 12 boards, while Blake Hoffarber contributed 7 rebounds and 5 assists despite a bad shooting night (2 for 9, 5 points).

Minnesota now has 11 conference losses, so it's hard to imagine them making the NCAA Tournament without the auto bid. They host Penn State on Sunday in what will surely be a bittersweet Senior Day for Blake Hoffarber and Al Nolen.

Northwestern's regular season is now over, and they will face this same Minnesota team next Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament's 8/9 game, with either Ohio State or Purdue awaiting the winner. It's been a solid season for the Wildcats, but one that fell short of expectations (barring an improbable four wins in four days). The good news is that most of the roster returns this fall to take another crack at it.

***

In the night's other game, Michigan State took care of business against Iowa by an 85-66 score. This was a close game early in the second half before the Spartans got their offense going, and get it going they did. The Spartans focused mainly inside the arc, where they shot 56 percent and drew plenty of fouls, but they also hit 50 percent on their carefully selected threes. All told, Michigan State posted a 60.9 effective field goal percentage, their second best shooting night of the season. Their best occurred way back on November 16 against South Carolina, when the Spartans were still ranked #2 in the nation, so Michigan State fans could be forgiven for feeling a bit cathartic about this performance.

On this Senior Night, it was the freshmen that really shined, as Keith Appling posted 18 points (8 shots) and 6 rebounds and Adreian Payne contributed 8 points and 6 boards. Kalin Lucas scored 17 points in what might have been his final home game, and Durrell Summers even played a decent game with 7 points, 2 assists, and 1 turnover. Draymond Green statstuffed with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assist, and just 1 turnover.

Iowa got 20 combined points from freshmen Melsahn Basabe and Devyn Marble, and Bryce Cartwright finished with 11 points and 6 assists.

The Spartans did what they needed to do at home and will now turn their attention to Saturday's huge game at Michigan. Some are looking at that matchup as a play-in game for the NCAA Tournament, but the winner would still do well to win the 4/5 game of the Big Ten Tournament to remove all doubt. The loser likely finds themselves playing on Thursday and needing at least two wins in Indianapolis to earn an at-large bid. This should be a very fun game to watch on Saturday.

Tonight, there's just one Big Ten game as Wisconsin visits Indiana (8pm CT, ESPN). The Badgers are playing for NCAA Tournament seeding at this point, as they are basically locked into the #3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana could still move up to the #10 seed if they can win one of their final two games, but the odds are stacked against that. Still, the Hoosiers have some good home wins and only lost by nine in Madison, so don't be shocked if they manage to keep this one close.

- Posted by Mike Portscheller