44 seconds left.
It started when UNI went to the free-throw line for the sixth time in a 60-second span, hitting all 12 free throws to put Northern Iowa up 69-57.
Texas A&M quickly pushed the ball up the court and played what looked like too-little-too-late basketball, chucking up a desperate 3-pointer that missed badly, only to see Admon Gilder grab the offensive rebound and put back an easy layup.
31 seconds left.
Now we see the first example of UNI's sloppiness. It has a tough inbounds location down in the corner. Sure enough, it throws the ball away, and A&M converts an easy layup as the Panthers are careful not to foul.
More important, A&M got the steal and converted the bucket in less than six seconds.
There are now 26 seconds left, and A&M uses its final timeout.
25.8 seconds left.
This is where the tide turns.
Once again, UNI inbounds the ball toward the corner, on the baseline. And once again, Texas A&M puts on a trap. UNI has no idea what to do. Paul Jesperson, the hero in the tournament's first round with his half-court buzzer-beater, tries to throw the ball off a defender but instead gives A&M an easy dunk.
It is now 69-63 with 22 seconds to go, and the crowd is starting to sense what is happening.
21.7 seconds left.
Here is where UNI wishes it still had a timeout left. It is up against the wall. Its players are not sure what to do against the press and desperately need some guidance.
Instead, they once again try to inbound the ball into the corner and instead throw the ball away.
For some reason, even though the latest pass was never touched, the refs reviewed the play and actually ADDED 0.3 seconds to the clock, going from 21.7 seconds on UNI's inbounds to 22.0 seconds for Texas A&M's inbounds.
22.0 seconds left.
Texas A&M now adds to its comeback the old-fashioned way, hitting a quick 3-pointer off of the inbounds pass. It takes just 2.4 seconds.
The 12-point lead is now down to three, and it took only about 25 seconds.
17.9 seconds left.
Up by five, UNI makes another mistake.
Texas A&M has to go the full length of the court. It does, but Jesperson inexplicably leans into the shooter during a layup attempt, giving A&M a foul on top of the made shot.
1.9 seconds left.
Northern Iowa once again inbounds the ball into the corner. Texas A&M once again traps the ball. And once again, UNI doesn't know what to do and tries to throw the ball off the defender, only to give the ball back to A&M for an easy layup.
UNI turned the ball over four times in the final minute, and Texas A&M made all six of its shots.