The race for the Big Ten title has been tightly-contested all year, and Maryland basketball seemed to be making a late push for the crown. Kevin Willard and the 16th-ranked Terrapins were playing some of the best basketball in the conference coming into Wednesday night's massive clash against No. 8 Michigan State.

The Spartans controlled much of the game, but a furious rally in the final few minutes allowed Maryland to tie the game at 55 with just seconds remaining. With a chance to win the game, Ja'Kobi Gillespie went early and missed the go-ahead 3-pointer, giving Michigan State a few seconds to win it.

Tre Holloman took advantage of the extra time, drilling a half-court buzzer beater to give Tom Izzo's club a 58-55 win and vault it into first place in the Big Ten. After the game, Willard knew exactly where Maryland went wrong on the final play, via Ryan Martin of WMUC Sports.

“You’ve got to take the last shot there, we fought so hard to come back… that’s just a tough way to lose the game,” Willard said, per Martin.

Despite the heartbreaking finish, Willard knows that this result could be good for his team when the NCAA Tournament rolls around in March.

“It's going to be good for us in March,” Willard said, via Colin McNamara of the Testudo Times.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie will catch a lot of heat for his mistake on the final possession of the game, and it is a game-losing mistake. However, what got Maryland into a hole initially had everything to do with the front court.

Kevin Willard and company have relied on their big men all season long, but Michigan State was able to shut the star duo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen down.

Reese finished the game with just four points and seven rebounds despite averaging 14 points per game on the season. Queen was still able to post a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, but Michigan State held him to just 2-for-11 shooting.

In order for Maryland to achieve its goals this season and make a run in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, it needs to get more out of its stars in the middle. Reese can be a rebounding machine on the interior when he's locked in and was coming off of three straight double-doubles heading into this game.

Queen had been playing the best basketball of his season before this contest and was showing why he is a potential lottery pick this summer. The freshman was averaging over 20 points and 14 rebounds per game during Maryland's four-game winning streak heading into Wednesday, and the Terrapins need that version of him going forward.