Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 points, Nate Ament and Bishop Boswell played pivotal roles down the stretch and sixth-seeded Tennessee advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16, beating Virginia 79-72 in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols will face No. 2 seed Iowa in a Midwest Region semifinal in Chicago on Friday night. Gillespie had 50 points in two games in Philly — he scored 29 against Miami (Ohio) in the first round. Against No. 3 seed Virginia, he made the shot of the game on a desperation 3-point heave as the shot clock expired. Thijs De Ridder led Virginia with 22 points.

Dylan Darling hit a driving layup as time expired for his only bucket of the game, and St. John’s blew a 13-point lead in the final minutes before advancing to its first Sweet 16 since 1999 with a 67-65 victory over Kansas. Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins scored 18 points apiece for the fifth-seeded Red Storm (30-6), who have roared back to college basketball prominence in just three seasons under coach Rick Pitino. Darling coolly won it after Kansas erased its 58-45 deficit with 7 1/2 minutes to play, making a furious 20-7 run capped by Darryn Peterson’s two free throws to tie it with 13.1 seconds left.