ATLANTA — Tyler Hansbrough pumped his fists and sprinted off the court after another close call against Virginia Tech. Only one problem — he was heading toward the wrong tunnel.

That was about the only thing that didn't go his way yesterday.

Hansbrough scored 28 points and made a disputed defensive stop in the final seconds as No. 1 North Carolina avoided an upset at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, holding off Virginia Tech, 79-76.

After A.D. Vassallo missed a 3-pointer that would have forced overtime, Hansbrough sprinted toward the tunnel near the North Carolina bench. He ran into a group of cheerleaders, who steered him toward the proper Georgia Dome exit.

"Yeah, everybody's laughing about that," Hansbrough said. "I knew it was the wrong tunnel, but I came back out, I saw some friends in the front row laughing about it. Everybody (on the team) was pointing and laughing. I said, 'OK, whatever.' "

The top-seeded Tar Heels won without ACC player of the year Ty Lawson, who sat out the game with an injured toe.

No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Connecticut, No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 Kansas all lost in the opening game of their conference tournaments. North Carolina is still alive, advancing to face No. 22 Florida State in today's semifinals.

At last year's ACC tournament, Hansbrough grabbed a loose ball and hit a jumper with 0.8 seconds left to beat the Hokies in the semifinals. This game was just as tight, if not quite as dramatic at the end.

Hansbrough scored the go-ahead basket with 36.1 seconds left — the 12th lead change of the second half — and then he tied up J.T. Thompson in the lane for a jump ball that gave North Carolina (28-3) possession with 5.2 seconds to go. Coach Seth Greenberg of eighth-seeded Virginia Tech (18-14) threw his jacket in disgust, believing Thompson was fouled.

"What I saw doesn't count, so it makes no difference," Greenberg said. "The only people that count are the guys in the striped shirts and so, what they saw is what happened."

Hansbrough was fouled on the inbounds and made both free throws. Then he helped out one last time, putting his hands in Vassallo's face as the Hokies forward got off the final shot. It skimmed the far side of the rim, and the horn sounded.

Vassallo scored 26 points to lead Virginia Tech, hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Hansbrough thought he had a chance on the final one, as well.

"He's been making shots the whole game, so why not?" the North Carolina star said. "I just tried to put my hand up and give some help."

Said Vassallo, "I had to make a quick decision. I didn't think Hansbrough would come out and help. I thought I had the open look, then I saw him."

The Hokies led through most of the first half, before North Carolina rallied for a 43-42 lead at the break. After nine lead changes in the first 7 minutes of the second half, Vassallo knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers and Virginia Tech pushed the margin as high as six points a couple of times.

But Hansbrough and the Tar Heels fought back. The reigning national player of the year scored 20 points in the second half, continually bulling his way inside to score or draw fouls.

Some of those fouls drew Greenberg's ire. He couldn't help but notice the stat sheet: Virginia Tech was called for 20 fouls, compared to 14 for North Carolina. The Hokies never reached the bonus during the second half.

"I guess we foul and they don't," Greenberg said sarcastically.

MARYLAND 75, NO. 9 WAKE FOREST 64

Greivis Vasquez scored 22 points and the seventh-seeded Terrapins (20-12) opened the second half with a 14-2 run for a 50-33 lead en route to an upset of the second-seeded Demon Deacons (24-6). Maryland will play No. 8 Duke in today's semifinals.

NO. 9 DUKE 66, BOSTON COLLEGE 65

Gerald Henderson scored the go-ahead basket with 34.8 seconds remaining and the third-seeded Blue Devils held off the sixth-seeded Eagles when Rakim Sanders missed a last-second 3-pointer after also missing a jumper with 17.8 seconds left.

NO. 22 FLORIDA STATE 64, GEORGIA TECH 62

Derwin Kitchen scored the go-ahead layup with 7.7 seconds left, lifting the fourth-seeded Seminoles (24-8) over the 12th-seeded Yellow Jackets (12-19).

CONFERENCE USA

At Memphis, Tenn.

NO. 4 MEMPHIS 74, HOUSTON 49

Robert Dozier scored 16 points and the top-seeded Tigers (30-3) became the first NCAA Division I program to win 30 games in four consecutive seasons by routing the Cougars (21-11) to advance to the Conference USA tournament final against second-seeded Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane (24-9) beat Tulsa, 70-67.

BIG EAST

AT NEW YORK

NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 69, NO. 10 VILLANOVA 55

Earl Clark scored 17 points, and the top-seeded Cardinals (27-5) hit 13 3-pointers to beat the fourth-seeded Wildcats (26-7) to reach the Big East tournament championship game for the first time, where they will play No. 18 Syracuse.

NO. 18 SYRACUSE 74, WEST VIRGINIA 69

Less than 24 hours after winning the second-longest Division I game ever, the sixth-seeded Orange (26-8) played just one extra period in beating the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (23-11).

BIG 10

AT INDIANAPOLIS

NO. 7 MICHIGAN STATE 64, MINNESOTA 56

Chris Allen scored 17 points and the top-seeded Spartans (26-5) kept their hopes for a No. 1 seed alive with a victory over the Golden Gophers (22-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. Michigan State will play fifth-seeded Ohio State, a 61-57 winner over fourth-seeded Wisconsin.

NO. 24 PURDUE 79, PENN STATE 65

Robbie Hummel scored 20 points and the third-seeded Boilermakers beat the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions to advance to the semifinals against second-seeded Illinois, which beat seventh-seeded Michigan, 60-50.

PAC-10

AT LOS ANGELES

NO. 23 ARIZONA STATE 75, NO. 13 WASHINGTON 65

Pac-10 player of the year James Harden scored 24 points, and the fourth-seeded Sun Devils (24-8), blew a 21-point lead before beating the top-seeded Huskies (25-8) to reach the final of the Pac-10 tournament against Southern Cal.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 65, NO. 15 UCLA 55

Freshman DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the sixth-seeded Trojans (20-12) beat the second-seeded Bruins (25-8) for the first time in three meetings this season to advance to the final.

BIG 12

AT OKLAHOMA CITY

NO. 14 MISSOURI 67, OKLAHOMA STATE 59

Zaire Taylor scored 9 points and Leo Lyons added 12 of his 15 points in the second half as the third-seeded Tigers (27-6) ousted the eighth-seeded Cowboys (22-11) to advance to the Big 12 championship game against ninth-seeded Baylor, which defeated fifth-seeded Texas, 76-70, in the other semifinal.

ATLANTIC 10

At Atlantic City, N.J.

TEMPLE 55, NO. 19 XAVIER 53

Dionte Christmas scored 20 points and the defending champion and fourth-seeded Owls (21-11) upset the top-seeded Musketeers (25-7) in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. Temple will play seventh-seed Duquesne, which beat third-seeded Dayton, 77-66.Southeastern

At Tampa, Fla.

NO. 20 LSU 67, KENTUCKY 58

SEC player of the year Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and the top-seeded Tigers (26-6) opened up a 14-point second-half lead in beating the Wildcats (20-13), whose streak of 17 straight NCAA appearances could have come to an end.

In today's semifinals, LSU will play Mississippi State, which beat South Carolina, 82-68, and Tennessee will face Auburn. Tennessee beat Alabama, 86-62, and Auburn ousted Florida, 61-58.

MOUNTAIN WEST

AT LAS VEGAS

SAN DIEGO STATE 64, NO. 25 BYU 62

Lorrenzo Wade scored 16 of his 24 points after halftime and hit two free throws with 7.6 seconds left, carrying the fourth-seeded Aztecs (23-8) over the top-seeded Cougars (25-7) and into today's Mountain West Conference final against second-seeded Utah, which ousted sixth-seeded Wyoming, 68-55.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

At Reno, Nev.

UTAH STATE 71, NEW MEXICO STATE 70

Tyler Newbold rolled in a 15-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left and top-seeded Aggies (29-4) overcome a 13-point halftime to defeat the fifth-seeded Aggies (17-15) to advance to the final of the Western Athletic Conference tournament against Nevada.

Gary Wilkinson scored a game-high 19 points and Tai Wesley and Pooh Williams added 13 each for Utah State. Jonathan Gibson had 16 points and Jahmar Young 15 for NMSU.

NEVADA 77, LOUISIANA TECH 68

Armon Johnson scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and Luke Babbitt added 23 to help the second-seeded Wolf Pack (21-11) rally an early 12-point deficit to defeat the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (15-18).

Kyle Gibson had 25 points and Magnum Rolle 24 for the Bulldogs, who led by as much as 21-9 midway through the first half.

PATRIOT LEAGUE

At Washington, D.C.

AMERICAN 73, HOLY CROSS 57

Tournament MVP Garrison Carr scored 24 points to lead the Eagles (24-7) past the Crusaders (18-14) for the Patriot League tournament championship and a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.