Providence Takes Command in the Big East

Providence is making a run at the Big East Conference elite.

The Friars extended their winning streak to five games by upsetting No. 4 Connecticut, 66-56, Saturday at Hartford, Conn.

Ryan Gomes led the Friars with 26 points and 12 rebounds and they passed the Huskies for first place in the conference. Providence improved to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

The Friars, 2-1 against ranked teams this season, ended Connecticut’s 19-game winning streak at the Hartford Civic Center.

The Huskies (15-3, 3-1) couldn’t handle Gomes, a 6-foot-7 junior from nearby Waterbury who was able to score both inside and outside.

“It’s a good win for us, not just because I’m from Connecticut, but it was for first place in the Big East,” Gomes said. “We just came in as if this was just another Big East game that we had to win and we came out and did it.”

Connecticut used a number of defenders on Gomes in the first half, but it wasn’t until center Emeka Okafor drew the assignment in the second half that Gomes cooled off somewhat.

Okafor had 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Huskies shot 40.7%, their second lowest mark of the season.

No. 1 Duke 85, Georgetown 66 -- The combination of Shelden Williams inside and Chris Duhon outside was too much for the Hoyas (11-4) to stop in front of their first sellout crowd ever at the MCI Center in Washington.

Williams scored 26 points and Duhon had 17 to lead the Blue Devils (16-1) to their 13th consecutive win.

No. 6 Cincinnati 83, Southern Mississippi 47 -- The Bearcats (14-1, 5-1 Conference USA), who had more turnovers forced (16) than baskets given up (14) in their most lopsided conference victory of the season, recovered nicely after being knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by No. 5 Louisville Wednesday night.

The Golden Eagles (9-7, 2-3), who trailed, 15-3, after five minutes, went nearly eight minutes without a basket and missed 19 of their first 21 shots.

No. 7 North Carolina 96, Virginia 77 -- Rashad McCants scored 26 points to lead six players in double figures as the Tar Heels (12-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) improved to 17-2 against the Cavaliers (12-5, 2-4) in the Dean Smith Center.

After Virginia took a 49-48 lead with 17:50 left, the Tar Heels went on a 26-6 run. They ended the run with 15 straight points, taking a 79-58 lead with 7:48 left.

No. 8 Pittsburgh 66, No. 13 Syracuse 45 -- The Panthers (19-1, 5-1 Big East) held the Orangemen (13-3, 3-2) to their lowest point total in 36 years. It was the fewest points they’ve scored since losing, 71-41, at Kansas in 1968.

Syracuse’s previous low in the 24-year history of the Carrier Dome was set in a 51-50 loss to Connecticut on Jan. 16, 1988.

North Carolina State 76, No. 11 Georgia Tech 72 -- The Wolfpack (11-4, 4-1 ACC) improved to 10-0 at home and moved into second place in the conference behind Duke. The Yellow Jackets (15-3, 3-2) lost their eighth in a row at Raleigh, N.C.

N.C. State won despite another subpar effort against Georgia Tech from leading scorer Julius Hodge, who was averaging 18.8 points before Saturday. He scored only two points before fouling out with 1:54 left. He has a 6.8 average in six games against the Yellow Jackets.

No. 24 Oklahoma State 72, No. 16 Texas 67 -- The Cowboys (14-2, 4-1 Big 12) ended the Longhorns’ 25-game home winning streak, becoming the first visiting team to win in the Frank Erwin Center since they beat the Longhorns on Feb. 20, 2002.

Texas (12-3, 3-1), which missed half of its 20 free throws, made only two of nine during the final four minutes while trying to erase a 10-point deficit.

No. 17 Florida 68, Auburn 52 -- The Gators (12-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) used a 16-2 run to give them a 60-44 lead with five minutes left at Gainesville, Fla. The Tigers (11-6, 2-4), who lost in Coach Cliff Ellis’ 300th game at the school (183-117), haven’t won in Gainesville since 1996.

No. 18 Texas Tech 80, Texas A&M; 78 -- Andre Emmett’s layup with six seconds left at College Station gave the Red Raiders (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) the victory over the Aggies (7-8, 0-4) and extended their winning streak to 12 games.

There were seven ties in the second half, the last at 78-78 on a putback by the Aggies’ Jesse King with 20 seconds to play.

No. 19 Mississippi State 71, Georgia 58 -- Mississippi State (16-1, 5-1 SEC) scored the first 19 points, held Georgia scoreless for the first eight minutes and never trailed at Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State star Lawrence Roberts, who came into the game averaging 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting 56%, had only four points in the first half. He had to sit after picking up his second foul about 10 minutes into the half. He finished with 17 points.

Georgia (9-7, 1-4) got no closer than eight points after the opening drought and didn’t make its first basket until Rashad Wright’s three-pointer with 10:40 left in the first half.

No. 20 Oklahoma 61, Kansas State 49 -- Jason Detrick broke out of a shooting slump to score 24 points at Norman, Okla., helping the Sooners (11-4, 1-3 Big 12) end their four-game losing streak.

They needed the win after getting off to their worst start in conference play since Billy Tubbs’ first season as coach in 1980.

The Wildcats (9-6, 1-3) finished with more turnovers (21) than baskets.

No. 21 Wisconsin 76, Illinois 56 -- Devin Harris, who scored a career-high 30 points, and Mike Wilkinson, who had 24, were a combined 19 for 30 shooting to help the Badgers (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) win their 24th consecutive home game and improve to 20-0 in conference home games under Coach Bo Ryan.

The Illini (12-5, 3-3) have lost 11 of their last 12 games -- including five in a row -- in Madison. Dee Brown, their leading scorer, didn’t score his first points until 8:29 remained in the game. He finished with four points on two-for-eight shooting.

Arkansas 70, No. 22 Vanderbilt 62 -- A three-point basket by Jonathon Modica gave the Razorbacks (10-7, 2-4 SEC) a 61-56 lead with 2:43 left and started a 12-6 run to end the game at Fayetteville, Ark. The Commodores (13-3, 2-3) are 1-3 since opening the season with 12 consecutive wins.

No. 25 South Carolina 61, Louisiana State 55 -- Carlos Powell made his team’s first three-point basket when it mattered most for the Gamecocks (17-2, 4-1 SEC). It came with 1:38 left at Columbia, S.C., and gave them the lead for good over the Tigers (12-4, 2-3). Until then, South Carolina had missed all 22 of its three-point attempts.