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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — After 40 minutes of give-no-ground basketball, everything opened up for Byron Eaton.

Oklahoma State's barrel-chested point guard found a clear path to the basket for a three-point play with 7.2 seconds left Friday, sending the Cowboys to a breakthrough 77-75 victory over Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma State (23-11) will play either East Tennessee State or Pittsburgh, the top seed in the East Regional. The Panthers sprawled across the first three rows of seats behind the Oklahoma State basket for the start of the second half, doing a little firsthand scouting.

Tennessee (21-13) saw its chance to win — a jumper by Tyler Smith from behind the arc — bounce off the side of the rim and then off the top of the backboard as the buzzer sounded.