Widely predicted to finish in the conference cellar this season, Minnesota nearly finished at .500 in Big Ten play.

However, a chance to reach that mark came up short as the Gophers lost 90-66 at Northwestern on Saturday night.

Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting, Elijah Hawkins added 14, but a disappointing defensive effort was too much to overcome.

The conference tournament starts Wednesday at Target Center with the bottom four teams in action. Minnesota (18-13, 9-11 Big Ten) will finish no worse than 10th, meaning a likely 5:30 p.m. Thursday debut. Running the table is probably needed for Minnesota to make the NCAA tournament.

The Gophers have lost four of five.

“We got to find a way to play better. I think that’s the most important thing, We got to find a way to get back in a rhythm. We got to find a way to get back confidence-wise on the defensive end, and we’ve got to do it in a hurry and be able to do it consecutively,” coach Ben Johnson said on the KFAN postgame show.

“… The disappointing part is that we’ve shown we’ve been capable, but now we’ve really got to put it to paper and we’ve got to figure out a way to translate it to the games.”

Northwestern (21-10, 12-8), which ended a two-game slide on Senior Night, still has a chance for a double bye.

Brackets will be announced after Sunday’s six conference games.

Minnesota shot a respectable 49.1%, including 43.8% from deep, but it was no match for the firing-on-all-cylinders Northwestern offense.

The Wildcats finished at 58.6%, including 10 of 18 from deep, and they had 23 assists on 34 baskets while committing just one turnover.

“They got into a rhythm early and made shots all game, and we could never defensively get stops we needed to get,” Johnson said.

Northwestern could not have been much better in the first, shooting 70%, including making seven of 11 from deep, and did not turn the ball over in opening a 53-41 lead at the break.

After missing seven of its first nine shots, Minnesota bounced back to shoot 53.3% in the first 20 minutes, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, an area where the Gophers have struggled this season.

The Gophers led just twice at halftime in conference play.

Northwestern quickly pushed its lead to 17 in the second half, but a 3-point play by Garcia got the Gophers within 13 midway through the half.

The Wildcats provided a golden opportunity for Minnesota to get even closer by missing 10 straight shots, but the Gophers missed five of six and turned the ball over once in that stretch.

An 8-0 run put Northwestern ahead 85-63 with 2:36 left.

“The last 10 minutes they really upped the ante and we just did not respond,” Johnson said.

Minnesota has not finished .500 or better in the league standings since 2016-17 and has failed to reach that level 19 times in 24 years.

Still, in Johnson’s third season there has been marked improvement for a program that was 4-16 and 2-17 in conference play in the former Gophers’ first two seasons at the helm.

Cam Christie had his second straight tough shooting night, missing all six shots and finishing scoreless. He had eight points on 2-for-13 shooting Wednesday in a loss to Indiana.

Guard Braeden Carrington scored eight points in his return to the Minnesota lineup after missing two games recovering from a concussion. However, Joshua Ola-Joseph was out dealing with concussion-like symptoms.