A season was on the line. The N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament was at full throttle and Northwestern had melted a 14-point deficit to 3 when Tyger Campbell, the 5-foot-11 U.C.L.A. senior point guard, drove the lane and was knocked to the floor by a hard foul.
Fewer than three minutes remained, nerves were fraying and Campbell had not scored a field goal — nor would he by game’s end.
Yet as he sat on the floor under the basket, he smiled. He picked himself up and calmly sank two free throws (he would finish 12 for 12 from the line) to help push the Bruins past the Wildcats and into Thursday night’s highly anticipated round-of-16 matchup with Gonzaga.