No. 8 Villanova Falls to Providence, 91-68

Providence Coach Pete Gillen says he doesn’t want his team ranked in the Top 25. He may no longer have a choice.

The Friars routed No. 8 Villanova, 91-68, in a Big East Conference game Monday night at Providence, R.I., for their sixth consecutive victory.

Last week, Providence beat then-No. 18 Texas.

The last time Providence was ranked was during the 1988-89 season.

“That’s the last thing we’re concerned with. I don’t know if our team can handle that, very frankly,” Gillen said.

Providence, 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big East, used a 15-0 run that straddled halftime to build a 48-29 lead and Villanova (11-2, 3-1) never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.

Austin Croshere, formerly of Santa Monica Crossroads High, had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Ruben Garces added a career-high 19 points for Providence.

No. 1 Kansas 86, No. 22 Texas 61--Paul Pierce kept the Jayhawks in the game in the first half and Raef LaFrentz took charge inside in the second in a Big 12 game at Lawrence, Kan.

Pierce, who scored 17 points, was about the only offense for Kansas (14-0, 2-0 Big 12) in the first half as the Jayhawks and Texas (7-4, 1-1) shot poorly.

LaFrentz, who scored 15 points, made two consecutive baskets to give Kansas a 67-51 lead with about six minutes left.

Freeman led Texas with 22 points. The Longhorns made only one field goal over the final 9:12.

No. 14 Louisville 92, North Carolina Charlotte 81--The Cardinals forced 19 turnovers in a Conference USA victory at Charlotte, N.C.

DeJuan Wheat scored 21 points and contributed to a second-half defensive surge that helped the Cardinals (12-1, 2-0) improve on their best start in 22 years.

North Carolina Charlotte (8-4, 0-1) lost for the first time in six games at home.

OTHER GAMES

Mike Batiste scored 20 points and Arizona State (9-5) held Chaminade (2-7) scoreless for 5:12 of the second half in an 89-54 nonconference victory at Tempe, Ariz. . . . Rahsaan Smith scored 18 points and Chris Herren added 17, leading Fresno State (9-6, 1-0) to a 79-76 victory over Rice (6-5, 0-1) at Houston in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams. . . . Also in the WAC, Tyrone Nesby scored 24 points and Nevada Las Vegas (10-2, 2-0) outscored Texas Christian (11-3, 0-1) by 20 points in the second half of a 98-91 victory at Fort Worth.

Adonal Foyle scored 24 points, had 14 rebounds and blocked eight shots to lead Colgate (2-9) to a 76-53 nonconference victory over Manhattan (4-7) at Hamilton, N.Y. . . . Steve Goodrich scored 21 points for Princeton (9-3) in a 71-66 nonconference victory over Rutgers (6-4) at Princeton, N.J.