INDIANAPOLIS-Northwestern fought hard and held an early lead, but the undermanned Wildcats were overwhelmed down the stretch by No. 17 Wisconsin in a 70-63 loss on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that head coach Chris Collins announced will be the team's season finale.

"Unless we get invited to the NCAA tournament, we're not participating in anything else," Collins said. "We're a beat up group...we wanted to leave it all out on the floor here..."

Even in a loss, the Wildcats did just that. Nick Martinelli scored 22 points, setting Northwestern's single-season scoring record in the process. Freshman KJ Windham was second in support with 14 points.

For the Badgers, forward Nolan Winter led the way with 18 points, his season-high against a Big Ten opponent.

Collins said that a postseason trip didn't make sense for his undermanned group that was pushed to the limit after losing Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach, two of their top three scorers, to injury last month.

"Some of it is the timing...it's a three week layoff for [the Crown] and I don't have enough bodies to practice for 20 more days. It's been a really emotional year on a lot of fronts... It's just time to put a bow on this year. We got together and made that decision as a group."

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's season finale, which leaves them with a record of 17-16, and 7-13 in Big Ten play.

Berry and Nicholson left Northwestern better than they found it: Collins tipped his hand on the postseason decision when he shared emotional embraces with his two graduating veterans, Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson, when they came off the floor late in the game.

Berry and Nicholson will graduate as one of the winningest classes in program history. With the duo as key cornerstones and consistent starters, the Wildcats tied the program record for most wins over a four-season stretch with 76, matching the run from 2008-12.

"We built the program that we wanted to be a part of," Nicholson said.

Martinelli feels like an honorary senior this season with how long he's been in and around the program. He was deeply affected by the teammates playing in their last game.

"These guys to my right and left, I've grown up with them," he said. "My older brother [Dom Martinelli] went to Northwestern for a year, and they'd come over to the house, and we'd hang out when I was in high school.

"When it hits you that they're not going to maybe be around as much, it just hurts. Then looking over to the bench and seeing Brooks, somebody that is my best friend in the whole world, it's super painful. But I cherish every single moment with these guys."

Then, it was Berry's turn to turn emotional. The fifth-year guard has been through so much in the purple and white: streaky shooting runs, injuries, NCAA Tournaments and now, this final stretch, where he was able to come through when the Wildcats needed him to step up and save their hopes of a winning season.

"Coming in as a freshman, all we wanted to do was help Coach find the winning track again," he said. "It was tough at first, but after we got over the hump, just being a part of that and giving this program everything that we have these last five years...me and Matt can honestly say that we left this place better than we found it."

Martinelli sets single-season scoring record: Martinelli's 22 points set a new high-water mark for single-season scoring for the Wildcats at 676, well clear of John Shurna's previous record of 661 in 2011-12.

The junior forward was simply sensational down the stretch of this season, closing with four straight games of 20+ points and three games of 28+ points in the final six.

"Coach always says, 'Isn't it nice to have a coach that lets you shoot whatever shot you want?'" Martinelli quipped with a grin.

Collins was unabashed in his praise for his star forward, who put it all on the line to cement a winning season and a 17-16 final record. He was the one who established the goal of being above .500 after Barnhizer and Leach went down for the year.

"I've been lucky in my life to be around a lot of the best of the best with USA basketball and Duke," he said. "They want to be coached. They want to be held accountable...Nick Martinelli fills that.

"I'm just really excited for him to decompress, get his body right and have an off-season to kind of continue to hone his craft. I'll tell you what...I'd be hard pressed to tell you there's too many better players in the country next year than Nick Martinelli."

One of the most impressive feats for Martinelli isn't just the scoring production -- it's the cultural leadership. Plenty of players can put up points, but Martinelli rallied a program, singlehandedly pulling them up off the mat and throwing him back into the Big Ten fray.

His casual shouldering of the team's workload without complaint was encapsulated with his second quip of the press conference, in response to Nicholson.

"We just never stopped fighting," Nicholson said. "That's kind of what we did this year all year long. I'm really glad that we're leaving [on that note]. I hope that Nick can keep it going."

"I've got you, bro," Martinelli chimed in without hesitation.

One more ref job for the road: Big Ten referees sent Northwestern's season off in style, and Wisconsin once held a 21-11 differential in free throw attempts with 11:49 left in the second half. The Badgers got sloppy late in the game with the outcome decided, so the final mark was 23-22 in favor of Wisconsin. But the early advantage was clear.

It wasn't just a difference in foul shots. All-Big Ten First Team selection John Tonje kneed Berry in a sensitive area late in the first half, in a play that was just as incidental as the one where Leach hit Vlad Goldin, another First Team pick, and was ejected in a game at Michigan. This time, there was no call. In fact, freshman Angelo Ciaravino was the one whistled for a foul on Tonje as Berry fell to the floor in pain.

In the second half, Carter Gilmore had a breakaway dunk stopped by a hard foul from Martinelli. The two forwards tumbled into a heap under the basket and an altercation seemed to be brewing as they both tried to stand up at the same time, with Martinelli standing over Gilmore on the baseline in front of the Badgers' bench.

Refs and teammates intervened before anything more than words were exchanged, although some Badgers players, notably starting guard Max Klesmit, left the bench to intervene. They came onto the court before being intercepted by coaches, which would have been a technical had Martinelli's foul on Gilmore not already sent the game to a media timeout.

This game probably doesn't even end up on the Mt. Rushmore of referee calls going against Northwestern this season, and frankly, the Badgers had the upper hand, anyway, with a talented, deep and well rested roster that didn't have to play the day before. Which makes it all the more frustrating that the refs seemed to put their thumb on the scale for the favorites.

Northwestern certainly has plenty of examples and tape to advocate their case with Big Ten officials this offseason. Let's hope administration is vocal and conference leadership is willing to listen because something has to change.

Northwestern is home for Collins: Another year on the coaching carousel is underway and more and more teams are taking notice of the job that Collins has done in a decade-plus at Northwestern. There was some light buzz after he seemed to demur after Wednesday's win over Minnesota when asked about his interest in the Indiana job.

Collins, who has three seasons left on his current contract, didn't directly say he's looking for or expecting a extension this offseason, but Northwestern fans can rest easier after his response to questions on Thursday.

"I'm so all in on my team during the year that I block everything out," he said. "We'll let the dust settle and figure out [my future], but everyone knows how much I love Northwestern... It's become a home for my family and I."

This year was even more special for Collins as he has finished a four-year stretch with his son, Ryan, as a team manager. He called it "the best years of his life".

His ascendant star, Martinelli, prefaced Collins' remarks, lauding his coach's loyalty and dedication to his program.

"He's a guy that will ride or die with us, and we know that," Martinelli said. "You talk about guys that have come into the program and how they've progressed. That's a tribute to him for sure...

"He's really about loyalty, and he's about the right things. He has great values and he instills them in all of us."

The list is long of players and coaches who made guarantees or commitments, only to reverse or recant them shortly afterward. But to hear Collins and Martinelli talk postgame, it sounds like player and coach aren't going anywhere. They are already home.