The end came quickly for the 9th seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Hosting the men's Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis for the first time, the home team hung with 8th seeded Michigan State for about three quarters of the game but a rash of turnovers and hot shooting allowed the Spartans to pull away and win 77-67.
It was a game of runs in the first half with each team gaining - then losing -momentum. A close game after halftime got away from Minnesota though. That Spartans did whatever the wanted in the second half offensively, shooting over 60% from the field while harassing Minnesota defensively.
The Gophers were led by Dawson Garcia who scored 19 on 8-15 shooting.
Now Ben Johnson's Gophers will await their postseason fate. Finishing the year 18-14 is a big improvement from last season's team. But losing five of their last six games means they're probably on the bubble for a bid to the NIT Tournament.
Those announcements will come after Sunday's conference tournaments wrap up play.
Next up for Michigan State is a date with the top seed in the Big Ten, the Purdue Boilermakers. That game will be Friday at 11:00 a.m.
REST OF THURSDAY SCHEDULE:
Game 4: No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 Maryland | Following Gophers-Spartans | Big Ten Network
Game 5: No. 7 Iowa vs. No. 10 Ohio State | 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 6: No. 6 Indiana vs. No. 11 Penn State | 25 minutes after Game 5 | Big Ten Network