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GREENSBORO — Garrett Temple kept repeating the message to his LSU teammates Thursday.

"I don't want this to be my last game," the senior guard told everyone before the Tigers played Butler in the Greensboro Coliseum. "I don't want this to be our last game."

Temple's message -- delivered at several points in the first half and again with about 10 minutes remaining -- got through. The Tigers defeated Butler 75-71 in a first-round game of the NCAA tournament's South Regional.

Eighth-seeded LSU will play No. 1 seed North Carolina, which crushed Radford 101-58, on Saturday with the winner earning a berth in the Sweet Sixteen in Memphis, Tenn.

"It will be a great honor to play those guys," said LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell. "They have a great coach and a lot of tradition. But just because North Carolina is a marquee team doesn't mean we're going to go out there and be timid."

To get a shot at the Tar Heels, LSU (27-7) played a typical grind-it-out game that wasn't sealed until 4.5 seconds remained, fitting for a matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.

Center Chris Johnson stepped to the free-throw line for two shots with the Tigers holding a 74-71 lead. His first attempt bounced off the front of the rim. He knew that if he missed the second, Butler, with its array of 3-point shooters, had a chance to tie.

With the Butler portion of the crowd in a fever pitch, what was Johnson thinking as he prepared for his second shot?

"Just don't miss it," he said. "Don't let down my team."

He said he took a deep breath, then swished the second shot to clinch the win.

The Bulldogs (26-6) had won their first-round tournament game in each of the last four years. This time, with three freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup, they couldn't quite pull it off.

But they made it interesting. After LSU bolted to a 9-0 lead before two minutes had elapsed, Butler began slowly working its way back into the game. The Bulldogs sliced the lead to 35-29 by halftime and went up by one point three times in the second half.

Matt Howard posted up low and got position to score or draw fouls en route to 22 points. Guard Shelvin Mack and forward Gordon Hayward combined for seven 3-pointers.

LSU always responded, usually with Marcus Thornton, a powerful 6-foot-4 guard. When he wasn't driving hard to the hoop, the Southeastern Conference's player of the year was pulling up for a 3-pointer or a mid-range jumper.

He poured in 30 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots, and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals. He also survived a hard fall in the second half when a couple of players landed on one of his legs, but he shook it off and re-entered the game moments later

"We didn't have an answer for Thornton," said Butler coach Brad Stevens. "He made every big shot. We were there, our guys played as hard as they could on him. You run into players like that in the NCAA tournament."

LSU is in the field for the first time since 2006, when it made a run to the Final Four. The Tigers shocked Duke, the nation's No. 1 team, in the Sweet Sixteen, 62-54. Mitchell and Temple both started that game.

"After we got back from that Final Four we had two terrible seasons," said Mitchell, who supplemented Thornton with 14 points and seven rebounds. "We wanted to get back there so bad. I think this is our time."

LSU realized it must rely on its stellar defense to slow the Tar Heels, and the thought doesn't faze them.

"They put their shoes on just like us and have to play," Mitchell said.

BUTLER (26-6) — Hayward 4-10 0-0 12, Veasley 3-6 0-0 7, Howard 6-10 10-13 22, Mack 5-12 5-7 18, Nored 2-6 0-0 4, Vanzant 0-2 0-0 0, Hahn 0-2 2-2 2, Jukes 2-4 2-4 6, Butcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 19-26 71.

LSU (27-7) — Mitchell 7-14 0-2 14, Johnson 4-8 4-6 12, M.Thornton 10-15 7-8 30, Spencer 3-10 2-3 9, Temple 1-4 2-2 5, Bass 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 2-4 0-0 5, Warren 0-0 0-0 0, Farrer 0-0 0-0 0, Q.Thornton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 15-21 75.

Halftime—LSU, 35-29. Three-point goals—Butler 8-23 (Hayward 4-8, Mack 3-6, Veasley 1-3, Hahn 0-1, Vanzant 0-1, Jukes 0-2, Nored 0-2), LSU 6-14 (M.Thornton 3-4, Temple 1-2, Martin 1-2, Spencer 1-6). Fouled out—Howard. Rebounds—Butler 34 (Howard, Mack 8), LSU 30 (Mitchell 7). Assists—Butler 12 (Hayward 4), LSU 14 (Spencer 5). Total fouls—Butler 20, LSU 20.