INDIANAPOLIS — Maryland men’s basketball could not break through the Big Ten Tournament ceiling.

For the third time since joining the conference in 2015, the No. 2 seed Terps were denied a chance to play in their first league tournament final. This time, junior point guard Tre Donaldson’s end-to-end driving layup with 0.4 seconds remaining lifted No. 3 seed Michigan to a stunning 81-80 victory on Saturday afternoon in the second of two semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Maryland’s past four losses have all come in heartbreaking fashion. The Terps dropped a 76-74 game in overtime at Northwestern on Jan. 16 on junior power forward Nick Martinelli’s midrange jumper as time expired, a 73-70 decision at Ohio State on Feb. 6 on junior point guard Bruce Thornton’s banked 3-pointer, a 58-55 outcome against Michigan State on Feb. 26 on junior shooting guard Tre Holloman’s halfcourt 3-pointer before the final horn, and now Donaldson’s layup.

The narrowness of those setbacks did not provide much consolation to graduate student small forward Selton Miguel.

“We’re not satisfied of course,” he said. “We have four losses — all buzzer beaters. The main focus is staying together at all times and keep playing. I know it came down to the last play, but we did everything we could to win the game.”

And with No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Michigan State getting bounced in Saturday’s earlier semifinal, Terps coach Kevin Willard seemed to recognize the opportunity that slipped through the team’s collective fingers.

“I’d rather be playing tomorrow,” he said in response to whether going home early could provide some rest before the NCAA Tournament. “It’s hard to win conference championships, it’s hard to win conference tournament championships. When you have a chance, you’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity you get.”

The Wolverines (24-9) will meet No. 5 seed Wisconsin (26-8) after the Badgers forged a 77-74 upset of the Spartans (27-6).

Graduate student center Vladislav Goldin racked up 25 points and 10 rebounds, junior power forward Danny Wolf amassed 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, and Donaldson had 12 points, nine assists and three rebounds for the Wolverines. They bounced back from three straight setbacks to end the regular season with victories over No. 6 seed Purdue (86-68 on Friday) and now Maryland and rectified a 71-65 loss to the Terps on March 5.

Despite a furious rally in the last 17 minutes of the second half, the Terps (25-8) were left out of the Big Ten Tournament final for the third time, joining close calls in 2015 and 2016 when those squads were both bounced by Michigan State — 62-58 in 2015 and 64-61 in 2016.

Freshman center Derik Queen compiled a game-high 31 points, three rebounds and two blocks to power Maryland, which had its four-game winning streak come to an end. Graduate student small forward Selton Miguel recorded 16 points and three steals, senior power forward Julian Reese finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 10 points and nine assists.

But the Terps must now wait for the NCAA selection committee to unveil the 68-team field Sunday evening to learn of their seeding and first-round opponent.

Despite the presence of the interior duo of Queen and Reese, Maryland could not control the defensive glass. The Wolverines collected 18 offensive rebounds and converted those second-chance opportunities into 18 points.

Michigan also capitalized on the Terps’ porous defense in the lane. The Wolverines outscored Maryland 44-30 in the paint by often finding Wolf and Goldin inside for high-percentage jumpers, layups and dunks.

After Queen sank a pair of free throws to give the Terps an 80-79 lead with five seconds left, Donaldson fired the inbounds pass to Goldin, got it right back between sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice and Gillespie and raced the length of the floor to bank a layup off the glass past Queen and Reese for the game-winning bucket.

“We had a little press to speed him up, and he just got a head of steam and got downhill,” Gillespie said.

The game turned in the second half. The Wolverines bridged the first and second halves with 18 unanswered points to turn a 34-31 deficit in the opening period into a 49-34 advantage with 17:16 left in the game. Maryland didn’t help matters by missing nine consecutive shots during that stretch.

The Terps did embark on a 12-2 burst to trim the deficit to 51-46, capitalizing on a 2:04 drought by Michigan. But the Wolverines went on a 10-4 spurt to cushion their lead to 61-50 with 11:42 to go. That seemed to energize Maryland, which scored 14 unanswered points, including 10 by Queen.

The two sides then traded baskets until Goldin hit a short jumper and a 3-pointer to help Michigan turn a 71-69 deficit into a 74-71 lead. The Terps tied the score three times in the final three minutes before the Wolverines rallied for the win.

“I was a little disappointed with the way we came out at halftime,” Willard said. “I thought they came out very aggressive, and I thought we didn’t come out with the same aggression that they did. I knew we’d get back in it because these guys have battled all year and have been really good all year. It’s just when you’re giving up offensive rebound after offensive rebound when you’re getting some good defensive stops, it gets a little disheartening. That’s something that we haven’t had happen to us, and it really was the difference in the game.”

Unlike Friday night’s 88-65 walloping of No. 7 seed Illinois in the quarterfinals when Maryland erupted for 57 points and did not commit a turnover in the first half (and Rice pumped in 18 of his game-high 26 points), the opening frame against the Wolverines was much more difficult.

With the score tied at 14 less than seven minutes into the period, the Terps embarked on a 9-2 run fueled by five points from Miguel to assume a 23-16 advantage.

But Michigan responded by scoring 13 of the next 15 points to lead, 29-25. The burst was aided by Maryland stepping into a 3:19 drought.

The Terps then went on another 9-2 spurt for a 34-31 lead with two minutes remaining. But they missed five shots in the last 3:43, and the Wolverines scored seven unanswered points bookended by junior shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 3-pointer and alley-oop dunk to enjoy a 38-34 advantage at halftime.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.