COLUMBUS, Ohio — Chris Lofton missed his last seven field-goal attempts but made six straight free throws in the final 18.7 seconds to lift Tennessee over Virginia and into the Sweet 16.

"Last year everyone had tears in their eyes at this time,’’ said Lofton, who scored a team-high 20 points in Sunday’s 77-74 NCAA tournament second-round victory at Nationwide Arena. "This year, everyone is excited and it’s a great feeling.’’

The fifth-seeded Vols (24-10) advanced to the South Regional semifinals when Virginia’s Sean Singletary 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.

UT will play No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Ohio State (32-3) Thursday night in San Antonio. (TV: WVLT, 9:57 p.m.)

This marks the first time the Vols have been to the Sweet 16 since 2000. The Vols have never reached the Elite Eight in 14 previous NCAA tournament appearances.

"This was a combination of some guys who were here last year with some unfinished business, and a freshman group that was recruited to do this,’’ said second-year UT coach Bruce Pearl, whose team was upset by Wichita State in last year’s second round. "It’s a step we had to make in order for us to consider ourselves a top 20 program.’’

Tennessee had to do it the hard way, rallying from an 11-point deficit after both teams made good on their promises to emphasize defense.

Lofton sank both free throws on the first of three trips to the foul line he made in the game’s closing moments, giving UT a 73-69 lead with 18.7 seconds remaining.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers (21-11), the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season co-champion, raced down court and Singletary buried a 3-pointer to pull within 73-72 with 11.9 seconds left.

After a Cavaliers timeout, the Vols inbounded to Lofton, who was fouled and sank two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to put UT up 75-72.

JaJuan Smith, who scored 16 points, followed through on instructions to foul Singletary on Virginia’s ensuing possession to prevent a 3-point shot. Singletary, an All-ACC point guard, converted both free throws to bring the Cavaliers back within 75-74 with 6.3 seconds left.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao then threw a curve at UT by double-covering Lofton on the ensuing inbounds.

Lofton, along with Dane Bradshaw, saw to it that it didn’t matter: Lofton zigged and zagged away from the defenders to get open and receive the pass.

Bradshaw never took his eyes off Lofton, despite the double team.

"I really didn’t ? Chris was stepping up time and time again, and I wanted the ball in his hands,’’ said Bradshaw, who extended his senior season with five assists, three points, three rebounds and two steals.

"I know (Lofton) is going to work to get open,’’ he said, "and our entire season rested on him towards the end of the game.’’

Lofton was fouled immediately with the clock showing 5.7 seconds remaining. Officials stopped play for a few minutes while reviewing tape before re-setting the clock to 5.9 seconds.

Lofton wandered around with a blank look on his face during the awkward delay.

"I just kept thinking how this could make or break our season,’’ Lofton said.

Lofton made both free throws to extend the lead to 77-74.

The Vols planned to foul Singletary before he could attempt a potential game-tying 3-point shot, but Josh Tabb fell victim to a screen and Jordan Howell was slow to switch, allowing the Virginia sharpshooter an open look.

Alas, the shot was slightly off the mark.

Virginia’s J.R. Reynolds scored a game-high 26 points, but 22 of those points came in the first half before he tweaked his ankle.

Reynolds played all 20 minutes of the second half but was just 2-of-6 shooting after intermission.

"I couldn’t tell you how much defensively or offensively it hurt us,’’ Leitao said, "but I think it slowed us down a little bit.’’

The Vols opened the second half on a 14-2 run to go up 49-42 on a Duke Crews dunk at the 14:33 mark. JaJuan Smith’s three-point play during the run gave UT a 45-42 lead and Virginia didn’t draw even after that.

The Vols opened the game hitting 5 of their first 7 attempts from beyond the 3-point line for a 17-10 lead, but they proceeded to miss their next seven 3-pointers and Virginia built a 36-25 lead.

Lofton hit a 3-pointer with 3:02 left in the first half to pull UT within 36-31 and end a drought of nine consecutive field-goal misses that lasted nearly eight minutes.

Few would have expected the Vols to win had anyone told them that would be the last field goal Lofton would make.

But then, not many expected freshman center Wayne Chism to score 12 of his 13 points in the first half and sophomore Ryan Childress to score all 10 of his in the second half.

"They got contributions early from Chism, just like they got contributions late from Childress,’’ Leitao said. "Anything that may come out of the ordinary for a team is what carries you through this tournament.’’