Tennessee's Chris Lofton (5) and Tyler Smith (1) celebrate Lofton's game-winning shot against South Carolina. The Vols held off the Gamecocks, 89-87, Friday in Atlanta.

Atlanta ? Tennessee hardly looked like a No. 1 seed, and South Carolina sure didn’t resemble the team that lost by 33 points to the Volunteers less than a week ago.

In a stunning turnaround, the lowly Gamecocks were in position to pull off a major upset against No. 4 Tennessee before Chris Lofton hit a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining to give the Vols an 89-87 victory in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday.

Big Orange can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s bid to claim a top seed in the NCAA Tournament is still alive – barely.

“I think a close game will help us,” coach Bruce Pearl said, looking for the bright side. “We’ve got however many games left in this season, and every single one of them is for a championship.”

No. 1 North Carolina 82, Florida State 70

Charlotte, N.C. – Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to lead North Carolina in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Wayne Ellington added 19 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels.

No. 2 Memphis 69, Southern Miss. 53

Memphis, Tenn. – Derrick Rose scored 25 points, and Memphis advanced to the Conference USA tournament championship for a fourth straight year with its 41st consecutive league victory.

No. 3 UCLA 57, Southern California 54

Los Angeles – Freshman Kevin Love scored 11 points in a 15-2 run to open the second half that propelled UCLA into the Pac-10 finals.

Love had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double-double in the first postseason meeting between crosstown rivals who’ve played 225 other times. They split in the regular season.

No. 7 Duke 82, Georgia Tech 70

Charlotte, N.C. – Jon Scheyer scored 18 points, and Duke advanced to the ACC semifinals.

DeMarcus Nelson had 17 points, and Greg Paulus added 13 for the second-seeded Blue Devils, who blew nearly all of an early 20-point lead before rallying for the win.

No. 8 Wisconsin 51, Michigan 34

Indianapolis – Joe Krabbenhoft scored 12 points, and Michael Flowers keyed Wisconsin offensively and defensively in the lowest-scoring game in Big Ten tournament history.

No. 9 Georgetown 72, West Virginia 55

New York – Roy Hibbert went from scoring a season low to a season high, and Georgetown will play for another Big East tournament championship.

The 7-foot-2 center had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Georgetown withstood West Virginia’s only big run.

Saint Joseph’s 61, No. 10 Xavier 53

Atlantic City, N.J. – Pat Calathes scored 24 points, and Saint Joseph’s held Xavier to a season-low point total in the Atlantic 10 semifinals.

Illinois 74, No. 17 Purdue 67, OT

Indianapolis – Demetri McCamey scored 26 points, and Illinois advanced to the Big Ten semifinals.

McCamey, a freshman guard, made 9 of 14 field goals and all six of his three-point shots.

Arkansas 81, No. 18 Vanderbilt 75

Atlanta – Darian Townes and Gary Ervin each scored 18 points, and Arkansas dominated inside.

No. 19 Michigan St. 67, Ohio St. 60

Indianapolis – Drew Neitzel scored 28 points, and Travis Walton hit five free throws in the final minute for Michigan State.

Neitzel hit six three-pointers against the Buckeyes’ zone, but the fourth-seeded Spartans couldn’t pull away until late in the game with a three-pointer by Durrell Summers, a steal by Neitzel and another basket by Summers.

Minnesota 59, No. 22 Indiana 58

Indianapolis – Minnesota’s Blake Hoffarber caught a long pass with 1.5 seconds left, spun away from a defender and hit a 14-foot left-handed shot at the buzzer to upset Indiana.

The improbable play set off a wild celebration on the baseline, where teammates mobbed Hoffarber before the replay review confirmed it was good.

No. 24 BYU 63, San Diego State 54

Las Vegas – Lee Cummard’s 20 points led BYU past pesky San Diego, sending the Cougars to the Moutain West tourey title game for the second straight year.

Trent Plaisted added 19 points for the Cougars.

Pittsburgh 68, No. 25 Marquette 61

New York – Sam Young scored 22 points to lead Pittsburgh to the tournament title game for the seventh time in eight years.

Just like last season, Pittsburgh reached the title game without benefit of a first-round bye.