COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Providence Beats No. 14 Syracuse

Michael Smith scored 15 points and set a Big East record with 26 rebounds, three more than Syracuse’s Danny Schayes against Georgetown in 1981, as Providence beat No. 14 Syracuse, 96-82, Tuesday night at Providence, R.I.

“I told Mike, ‘You’re the guy, you’ve got set the tone for us,’ ” Coach Rick Barnes said of Smith, the Big East’s rebounding leader at 12.1 a game.

Eric Williams scored 26 points and Franklin Western added 19, including 14 consecutive free throws, as Providence (10-5 overall, 4-4 Big East) ended a three-game losing streak. Lawrence Moten had 26 points for Syracuse (12-3, 5-3).

No. 6 Connecticut 91, Villanova 67--Donyell Marshall scored 26 points as No. 6 Connecticut remained undefeated in the Big East at Hartford, Conn.

Connecticut (17-1, 7-0 Big East) jumped to an early lead and led by as many as 28 points. Kerry Kittles scored 17 points Villanova (6-8, 2-5).

No. 10 Temple 60, St. Joseph’s 46--Eddie Jones scored 20 to help Temple break a second-half tie with 12 consecutive points at Philadelphia.

Temple (12-2) built a 31-20 margin in the first half but scored only one point in the last 7 1/2 minutes and led, 32-31, at halftime. The Hawks (7-8) led twice after that but wilted as Jones scored 17 points in the second half.

No. 16 Wisconsin 66, Illinois 56--Michael Finley scored 17 points and Wisconsin (13-2, 4-2 Big Ten) held Illinois’ Deon Thomas and Kiwane Garris in check at Madison, Wis. Thomas led the Fighting Illini (10-5, 3-3) with 16 points, four under his average.

OTHER GAMES

Jamal Faulkner’s 10-foot basket with 33 seconds to play lifted Alabama (9-6, 5-2 Southeastern) over Auburn (5-10, 0-7) at Auburn, Ala. . . . A final run lifted Penn (11-2) to a 66-62 victory over city rival La Salle (8-9) at Philadelphia. . . . Joe Wilbert scored 20 points and had nine rebounds to lead Texas A&M; (10-4, 4-0 Southwest) to an 80-64 victory over Texas Christian (5-11, 2-3) at College Station, Tex.