NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Everyone knows Memphis can crank up the tempo and play a fast-paced game.

But if someone wants to get down and dirty? Well, the Tigers can slog it out with the best of 'em, too.

Joey Dorsey set the tempo with a performance that endeared him to football coaches everywhere, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds, a season-high six blocks, five fouls and an untold number of bumps and bruises, and top-seeded Memphis outscrapped Mississippi State, 77-74, yesterday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"He was definitely the focal point, an animal," Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "When he plays like that, our team is so much better, so much better. He was everywhere."

Plenty of other Tigers were lending a hand, too. Three more players finished in double figures, including 17 each from Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, and Memphis outrebounded Mississippi State (23-11) 45-37. The Tigers also had 19 assists to just five turnovers — one in the first half.

It was the ninth straight win for Memphis (35-1), which advanced to the round of 16 for a third straight year. The Tigers will play another bruiser Friday when they take on fifth-seeded Michigan State (27-8) in the semifinals of the South Region.

"I love the frame of mind they're in," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "We may not be the best team. We may be one of them, we may not be anywhere near it, but I like the mental attitude of my team. They're having fun playing. They competed against a good team and a physical team, and we march on."

Jamont Gordon had 21 points and Ben Hansbrough 19 for eighth-seeded Mississippi State, which hasn't gotten out of the first weekend since the 1996 team that went to the Final Four.

TEXAS 75, MIAMI 72

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A.J. Abrams made two free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining, giving the second-seeded Longhorns just enough margin to hold off seventh-seeded Miami (23-11) in the second round of the South Regional. Texas led by as many as 17 and was ahead 66-50 with 4:15 remaining before a dramatic rally by the Hurricanes.

"We won so I'm really not sweating it anymore," said the Longhorns' Damion James, who missed a pair of free throws in the final half-minute. "Just go back to practice and shoot free throws and hope to get better."

Texas (30-6) led 74-69 after Abrams' final free throws, but the Longhorns weren't quite safe yet. Miami's Raymond Hicks made a 3-pointer, and D.J. Augustin then shot an air ball on his first of two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play.

Augustin made his second free throw, and Miami's long pass was broken up. Texas advances to the regional semifinals to play third-seeded Stanford on Friday in Houston.

Abrams scored 26 points on six 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. The Longhorns went 13 of 26 from 3-point range, including 9 for 16 in the first half. They nearly negated that by going 12 of 21 on free throws.

"Thankful we won the game," Abrams said. "We did not finish like we wanted to in the last couple of minutes."