MINNEAPOLIS — In the span of a few seconds, Kyle Guy went from mourning to celebrating.
He missed a three-pointer with time expiring and buried his face in his jersey. The nightmare that had so haunted his team for a year—the stunning loss to No. 16 seed UMBC—was about to come alive again.
And then it didn't. A quick referee review found that Auburn's Samir Doughty had fouled Guy on his attempt, sending Guy to the free-throw line with 0.6 seconds on the clock.
Three free throws to right last year's wrong.
Three free throws to avoid a meltdown that was happening in this game's final few minutes.