COLUMBUS, OHIO ? Diminutive Tim Smith saw the opening — only a sliver, really, but more than ample — and headed to the basket. He had the shot he wanted with an NCAA Tournament game on the line.

He let the ball go, and missed again.

For the second year in a row, East Tennessee State came up one shot short of a first-round upset. Tony Bobbitt’s three-pointer with 16.1 seconds remaining gave Cincinnati an 80-77 victory Friday.

Smith ran semicircles around the fourth-seeded Bearcats, scoring 26 points and winning admirers with each dazzling drive to the hoop. His last one had a bad ending.

“The lane was open, and I just missed it,” said Smith, who could have cut the deficit to one with 12 seconds left.

The 13th-seeded Buccaneers (27-6) then missed two hurried follow-up shots, dooming them to a familiar fate.

Last year, the Buccaneers nearly upset No. 2 seed Wake Forest in the first round of the tournament. Smith shot an airball on a three-point attempt that would have put them ahead in the closing seconds.

This time, his layup rolled off, and Cincinnati (25-6) was spared from the prospect of another quick exit. The Bearcats failed to make it past the first weekend of the tournament in six of the last seven years.

The smallest player on the floor nearly ran them out of the tournament again.

Cincinnati's Eric hicks dunks against East Tennessee State. The Bearcats held off the Buccaneers, 80-77, Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

“You can’t really contain him,” said Field Williams, who had 19 points and a lot of trouble trying to guard the 5-foot-9 Smith. “He’s so fast. He’s like Michael Vick with the basketball.”

Most of the Bearcats went up to Smith after the game and congratulated him on his performance, giving hugs that showed a deep respect.

“Marveled wouldn’t be an adequate word,” Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. “He’s got to be as fast with the ball as anybody in college basketball. He really broke down our defense.”

Cincinnati will play Illinois in the second round of the Atlanta Regional on Sunday, facing another quick guard in Dee Brown. The Bearcats have had trouble stopping quick guards all season.

Xavier 80, Louisville 70

Orlando, Fla. — Lionel Chalmers scored 25 points, and Romain Sato added 24 for Xavier (24-10), which wiped out a 53-39 deficit with a 36-10 run that broke Louisville’s spirit and forced the Cardinals out of the patient gameplan that helped them build an 11-point halftime lead. Taquan Dean led 10th-seeded Louisville (20-10) with 19 points before fouling out with 3:14 left.

Illinois 72, Murray St. 53

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Columbus, Ohio — Dee Brown scored 21 points to lead the fifth-seeded Fighting Illini to a victory on the same floor where they won their first outright Big Ten title in 52 years.

Roger Powell added 11 points and James Augustine 10 for Illinois (25-6), which took control with a late run in the first half and reached the second round of the Atlanta Regional.

Cuthbert Victor had 15 points and Chris Shumate 13 for the 12th-seeded Racers (28-6), the Ohio Valley Conference champions who dropped to 0-12 in games against Big Ten schools.

Mississippi State 85, Monmouth 52

Orlando, Fla. — Mississippi State withstood Monmouth’s early barrage of three-pointers and won in a blowout. Lawrence Roberts scored 19 points for the second-seeded Bulldogs (26-3).