Northwestern's stay in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament proved to be a short one.

The 12th-seeded Wildcats fell to 13th-seeded Minnesota, 51-46, in Wednesday night's tourney opener.

The loss snapped Northwestern's three-game winning streak, as well as Minnesota's seven-game losing streak. What made this defeat sting more than usual was that the Gophers were playing without two starters in Liam Robbins and Gabe Kalscheur, and the Wildcats beat them just two weeks ago.

For 36 minutes, this game seemed like a carbon copy of the Cats Feb. 25 win in Minneapolis. The Gophers started much better than the Cats, jumping out to a 16-2 lead, just like they did in February, when they led 17-3. Then, just like the first time around, the Wildcats turned up the defensive pressure, forced turnovers and made their way back into the game.

A Robbie Beran three-pointer with 4:20 left gave the Cats a 46-39 lead, and they looked to be in the driver's seat for the stretch run. But then, as they have all season, Northwestern hit a scoring drought.

The Wildcats did not score again, allowing the Gophers to close the game on a 12-0 run to snatch the win and advance to a matchup with Ohio State.

This was an incredibly ugly game, on both sides. The teams combined for 31 turnovers, and both shot under 37% from the field and under 30% from beyond the arc. Northwestern had its lowest scoring output of the season, and the combined score of the game didn't even hit triple digits.

No Wildcat scored in double figures in this one, as Miller Kopp was the high-point man with nine, and Pete Nance added eight, to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Gophers were led by 14 points from Tre' Williams. Jamal Mashburn Jr. added 11, while Marcus Carr was held to 10, just over half of his season average.

Here are our takeaways from the Cats season-ending defeat that left their record at 9-16 overall and 6-14 in Big Ten play:

Almost a repeat: Northwestern found themselves down 14 points early to Minnesota after a slow start. They were in that exact same spot in late February, but in that game Northwestern closed out a win to snap a 13-game losing streak.

To make their comeback both times, the Cats amped up the defensive pressure. They forced 17 turnovers this time. The main difference on Wednesday was the free throw line.

In February, the Cats out-shot and outscored the Gophers at the line. On Wednesday night, Minnesota doubled up Northwestern in both makes and attempts from the line, even though both teams shot less than 50%. The Gophers went 10 for 24, the Wildcats 5 for 12.

Shakespeare couldn't have written this ending: Scoring droughts were something of a norm for the Wildcats this season, so it only makes sense that their season would end with a rather long scoring drought.

Beran gave the Cats a seven-point lead with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Northwestern then proceeded to go scoreless for the final 4:20 of the season, as Minnesota put the game away.

The scoring drought featured five missed field goals, two missed free throws and two turnovers. Somehow, it was poetic justice that the season ended in this fashion.

Cats put the brakes on Carr: Minnesota's point guard was third in the Big Ten this season in scoring, averaging 19.6 points per contest. With Liam Robbins and Gabe Kalscheur sidelined, Carr was the focal point of Northwestern's defense, and NU delivered by holding Carr to 10 points and six turnovers.

Anthony Gaines and Chase Audige were on Carr for the majority of the game, and they bothered Carr by being active with their hands and always staying in front of him. Gaines even picked him up full-court for most of the game.

Gaines only had four points, but he came up with three steals and his work on Carr defensively made him the best player on the floor for Northwestern. Audige, too, finished with three steals but only six points, as he was limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble.

Horrid shooting dooms Northwestern: Northwestern's defense was actually a strength on Wednesday, but the team had its worst offensive performance of the season.

The Cats had their season low in points, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage in this one. Their 27.8% mark from long distance was their second-worst of the campaign, while 14 turnovers was tied for the third-most on the year.

Northwestern picked a bad time to play its worst game of the year.

Post-season struggles continue: This loss drops head coach Chris Collins to 4-9 in post-season play, including both the Big Ten and the NCAA tournament (remember that?).

Three of those wins came in the 2017 season, when the Wildcats won two games in the conference tourney for the only time in school history, and then made the second round of the Big Dance. The other win came in the first round of the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, in Collins' first season.

Northwestern has now gotten bounced in the first round of the conference tournament three straight times -- four if you count the opening-round loss in the 2020 tourney, which isn't official because it was canceled the following day.