The Minnesota Golden Gophers' time in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament was short-lived. On Wednesday afternoon, the No. 12 seed Golden Gophers were knocked out of the tournament by No. 13 seed Northwestern, 72-64.

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli followed up a 29-point performance against the Golden Gophers a few weeks ago with a 28-point game on Tuesday. Martinelli was 12-for-22 from the floor on Wednesday while also recording seven rebounds.

Ty Berry and Jordan Clayton also both finished with double-digit scoring efforts for Northwestern, while Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 22 points and seven rebounds. Mike Mitchell Jr. recorded 11 points as well in the losing effort.

It was a tough offensive performance for the Gophers on Wednesday afternoon, shooting just 37.7% from the floor, including 31.8% from three-point range. They did have one of their best games from the free throw line, however, making 17-of-21 attempts.

After a competitive first half that saw the Gophers trailing by just three at halftime, the second half was a much different story as an early 10-0 run from Northwestern grew their lead to double digits.

That lead would grow to as many as 15 points in the second half before the Gophers used a successful late-game run to narrow the margin of defeat down to eight points.

With the defeat, the Gophers' 2024-25 season is most likely over, finishing with a 15-17 overall record and a 7-14 record against conference opponents.

The Gophers' lone opportunity to continue their season would be in the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament, set to take place in Las Vegas later this month. The tournament features a pair of automatic qualifiers from each of the Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12, along with ten at-large programs.

For now, all eyes will turn to the job security of Gophers head coach Ben Johnson. Following the completion of Wednesday’s game, Johnson is now 56-71 in his four seasons with the program, including 22-57 in Big Ten play. According to a report earlier on Wednesday from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Johnson is "likely" to return for the 2025-26 season.

============================

- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.

- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @RivalsDylanCC

- SUBSCRIBE to Gophers Nation