Northwestern will have to wait to win its first-ever title under head coach Chris Collins.

The Wildcats fell to Pittsburgh, 72-59, in the final of the Ft. Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday night in a game that was closer than the final score suggests, but also never truly in doubt.

Pat Spencer lead the Cats in scoring with 18 points and three assists and added three rebounds in another strong all-around effort. Boo Buie also scored in double figures off the bench with 16 points, and also contributed two rebounds.

This game was notable in that both teams were coached by former teammates and assistants at Duke: Northwestern's Collins and Pitt's Jeff Capel. But beyond that connection, both teams came into this game with startling similarities.

Pitt had a disappointing loss to Nicholls State and an impressive victory over Florida State. Northwestern had two disappointing losses, to Merrimack and Radford, and an upset victory over Providence.

Pitt doesn't have a primary star, with four players averaging double figures but no one over 13 points. Northwestern, likewise, has four players averaging double figures, led by Pete Nance's 13.6.

With all these similarities, tonight was a litmus test for Northwestern -- and it was one that they failed.

Both teams started the game shooting poorly. The Wildcats saw themselves claw to a 6-4 lead after five minutes. Pitt then turned up the defensive pressure and went on a 13-2 run to jump out to a 17-8 edge with 10:05 left in the first half. Spencer and Nance responded with their own run that pushed NU back in front by two, but Pitt went to the locker room leading 25-23.

NU shot a measly 32% from the field in the opening half but stayed in the game due to Pitt shooting 36% and failing to hit a 3-pointer in 11 attempts.

The second half saw the Panthers slowly add to their lead. They led 58-45 with 4:53 left in the game, but Spencer Spencer almost single-handedly got the Wildcats within 6 with 2:54 left.

But Pitt found its shot again and ballooned the lead back to 13 by the final buzzer.

Here are out takeaways from the loss that evened Northwestern's record at 3-3:

Northwestern didn’t get to the line: A lack of aggressiveness caused NU to miss their most reliable source of offense recently: free throws.

The Cats averaged 22.2 free throw attempts a game heading into the matchup with Pitt. But with 6:57 left in the game they had only attempted eight -- a big reason they were down 48-40. If it wasn’t for Boo Buie’s late drives to the rim that led to seven free throws in the final five minutes, the disparity would have been much more glaring.

The Cats averaged 77% from the line going into the game, good for 31st in the nation. They shot 14 of 16 from the line tonight, outscoring Pittsburgh, which hit 7 of 12.

Ryan Young struggled: The redshirt freshman big man came into the game averaging 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. But tonight he had a goose egg in both categories and only attempted one field goal in 21 minutes of play.

The athleticism and strength of Pittsburgh's front line was simply too much for Young. He looked a step behind and late to react in most plays.

This brings into question whether Young's game can be counted on once Big Ten plays gets started next month.

The inability to rebound is becoming a trend: There is nothing that kills momentum more than giving up a score from an offensive rebound. Coming into this game, NU was averaging 8.8 offensive rebounds. They gave up 12 tonight as Pitt outscored the Cats 10-0 in second-chance points.

Several times this season smaller, more aggressive players have been able to get rebounds over Young and Nance. That number is likely to increase going into Big Ten play.

Northwestern’s offense looks lethargic: Spencer has been the only player consistently getting dribble penetration into the lane to finish at the rim or pass off to a big or a wing. Buie has a bad tendency to take bad shots early in the shot clock but when he gets the ball, he pushes it.

Aside from those two, most of NU’s offense comes from telegraphed passes between players who are moving without a uniformly known purpose. That is not a good recipe for a consistent offense.

More players -- Anthony Gaines and A.J. Turner seem to be the most likely candidates -- need to be more assertive with their offensive movement for this team to push through shooting slumps they have suffered through multiple times in games this season.