SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Jim Boeheim notched his 903rd career victory, breaking a tie with Bob Knight for second all-time among Division I men's coaches, and No. 7 Syracuse rolled past Rutgers 78-53 on Wednesday night in the Big East opener for both teams.
Boeheim, in his 37th season at his alma mater, trails only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who has 940 victories after his top-ranked Blue Devils beat Davidson 67-50.
Syracuse (13-1, 1-0) has won 33 straight home games, the longest active streak in the nation, and has beaten Rutgers (9-3, 0-1) 13 straight times. The Orange's last home loss was to Georgetown, 64-56, on Feb. 9, 2011.
Brandon Triche had a season-high 25 points, hitting 5 of 7 3-point attempts, and added six assists to lead Syracuse. Michael Carter-Williams finished with 12 points and 10 assists, his eighth double-double, and C.J. Fair had 15 points and three blocks.
Eli Carter led Rutgers with 19 points.
NO. 1 DUKE 67, DAVIDSON 50
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Ryan Kelly scored 18 points to help Duke remain unbeaten with a win over Davidson.
Quinn Cook scored 15 points and Mason Plumlee scored eight of his 10 in the second half for the Blue Devils (13-0), who are one of only four undefeated teams remaining in Division I.
The game was tied 29-all at halftime before Duke opened the second half with a 12-0 run. The Blue Devils, who led by as many as 19 in the second half, heated up from 3-point range after the break, going 3 for 4 in the early minutes of the period.
Jake Cohen led Davidson (7-6) with 19 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 4 LOUISVILLE 80, PROVIDENCE 62
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Russ Smith scored 23 points and Louisville shot 53 percent to run away from Providence in the Big East Conference opener for both teams.
Gorgui Dieng and Luke Hancock each added 11 points, and Chane Behanan and Peyton Siva had 10 each as the Cardinals (13-1, 1-0) won their eighth straight.
Louisville, coming off Saturday's 80-77 victory over archrival Kentucky, didn't let down against Providence. Motivated by the memory of last season's 31-point road loss to the Friars, the Cardinals responded by handing Providence its worst defeat of the season.
Kadeem Batts had 17 points for Providence (8-5, 0-1), which fell to 0-7 all-time in Louisville.
NO. 8 OHIO ST. 70, NEBRASKA 44
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Deshaun Thomas outscored Nebraska in the first half 18-17 and finished with 22 points to lead Ohio State past the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 17 points for Ohio State (11-2, 1-0), which won its 15th consecutive Big Ten home opener. The Buckeyes have a tough test Saturday at No. 11 Illinois.
The Buckeyes led by at least 20 for almost the entire second half.
How bad was it for the Cornhuskers (9-5, 0-1)? Only 8:27 remained when they finally exceeded the 31 points that their football counterparts scored in a 14-point loss to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl a day earlier. Ray Gallegos had 14 points to lead Nebraska.
PURDUE 68, NO. 11 ILLINOIS 61
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Terone Johnson scored a career-high 25 points and D.J. Byrd scored nine of his 15 during a key 19-3 second-half run, sending the Boilermakers past Illinois.
Byrd sealed the game with a three-point play with 20.1 seconds to go.
The Boilermakers (7-6, 1-0 Big Ten) have won three straight and are over .500 for the first time this season. They have won eight straight over the Fighting Illini.
Illinois (13-2, 0-1) was led by Brandon Paul with 15 points and Joseph Bertrand with 14, but managed only one basket during a decisive 5½-minute stretch of the second half. Illinois has lost eight straight conference road games, dating to a Jan. 4, 2012 win at Northwestern.
NO. 16 CREIGHTON 79, ILLINOIS ST. 72
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) - Ethan Wragge was 6 of 9 from 3-point range and scored 18 points to lead Creighton over Illinois State.
Grant Gibbs had 16 points for the Bluejays (13-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference), while leading scoring Doug McDermott (23.5 points per game) finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Tyler Brown and Bryant Allen each scored 15 points to lead the Redbirds,(9-5, 0-2).
Creighton led 42-39 at halftime, although Illinois State mounted a furious run that culminated with a 3-pointer by Nick Zeisloft with 2 seconds left to make it a three-point game.
The teams combined for 26 3-pointers, including 17 in the first half.
NO. 17 BUTLER 70, PENN 57
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Roosevelt Jones scored a career-high 24 points to lead Butler over Penn for its eighth consecutive victory.
Butler (11-2) has opened the new year with a victory for the ninth straight season. The Bulldogs won their sixth straight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Miles Cartwright led Penn (2-10) with 15 points and Tony Hicks added 10.
The Quakers trailed 52-49 with under 9 minutes remaining in the game before an 18-8 run sealed the win for the Bulldogs.
Khyle Marshall added 14 points and Kellen Dunham contributed 10 for Butler.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO ST. 72, CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Jamaal Franklin had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Chase Tapley scored 14 to lead San Diego State over Cal State Bakersfield in its final tuneup before Mountain West play.
Freshman Winston Shepard added 11 points for the Aztecs (12-2), who were playing for the first time since losing 68-67 to No. 3 Arizona in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu on Christmas night.
The Aztecs, who have been regular-season co-champions of the MWC the last two years and made three straight NCAA appearances, visit Fresno State next Wednesday night in the MWC opener.
Stephon Carter scored 21 points and Corey Hall added 14 for the Roadrunners (6-11).