No. 7 Villanova 83, No. 3 Syracuse 72

Maalik Wayns scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and Villanova took a big lead then held on to beat Syracuse in front of a raucous Carrier Dome crowd Saturday.

It was the second straight game for each squad against a top-10 team. Villanova (17-2, 5-1 Big East) lost 61-59 at No. 8 UConn Monday, when the Orange (18-2, 5-2) lost 74-66 at fifth-ranked Pitt. Syracuse had won 16 straight at the Carrier Dome dating to last February, but disappointed a season-high crowd of 33,736, second-largest in the building's history.

The Wildcats played at a deliberate pace and hit 8 3-pointers in the first half, then withstood a Syracuse's rally. The Orange closed what had been a 13-point lead to five when Baye Moussa Keita converted a three-point play to move Syracuse within 75-70 with 63 seconds left.

But the Wildcats, who went 22 for 24 on free throws, hit six straight in the final minute to hold on. Guards Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher each had 16 points and Antonio Pena 10 for Villanova.

Kris Joseph, who missed the Pitt game with a head injury, finished with 23 points. Rick Jackson had 16 points and 15 rebounds, his 13th double-double, and Brandon Triche had 14 points for the Orange.

Syracuse's guards had an awful game. Scoop Jardine had two points on 1-of-8 shooting and Dion Waiters was 2 of 12, as both combined to go 1 for 10 from beyond the arc.

No. 5 Pittsburgh 80, DePaul 50

Gilbert Brown scored 17 points and Ashton Gibbs added 13 to lead Pittsburgh over DePaul.

With the exception of a brief lapse early in the second half, the Panthers (19-1, 7-0 Big East) cruised to their ninth straight win.

The troubles continued for DePaul (6-13, 0-7 Big East). The Blue Demons dropped their 20th straight game in the conference and have lost 43 of their last 44 Big East regular-season games. Cleveland Melvin led DePaul with 11 points.

Providence 72, No. 19 Louisville 67

Marshon Brooks scored 27 points and Gerard Coleman had a season-high 19 to lead Providence over Louisville.

It was the first Big East victory of the year for the Friars (12-8, 1-6), and their first win over former coach Rick Pitino in his seven trips back to Providence.

Chris Smith had a season-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds for Louisville (15-4, 4-2). The Cardinals went 4 for 23 from 3-point range - missing all 12 attempts in the second half, including several airballs in the final minute as they struggled to make a comeback.

No. 16 Notre Dame 80, Marquette 75

Ben Hansbrough scored a career-best 28 points and keyed a second-half spurt that rallied Notre Dame to a victory over Marquette.

Hansbrough, who shot 10 of 15 from the field and 6 of 6 at the foul line, scored seven straight points during a critical juncture midway through the second half to help the Fighting Irish (16-4, 5-3 Big East) come back from a 12-point deficit.

Tyrone Nash added 13 points for Notre Dame, which improved to 13-0 at home. Eric Atkins scored 12 and Scott Martin 10. Carleton Scott had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Darius Johnson-Odom had 25 points to pace Marquette (13-7, 4-3). Jae Crowder added 15 and Jimmy Butler 12.

No. 25 Cincinnati 53, St. John's 51

Yancy Gates' three-point play with 8 seconds remaining gave Cincinnati a close victory over St. John's.

The Bearcats (17-3, 4-3), the leading defensive team in the Big East at 56.7 points per game, came up with their biggest defensive possession when they forced Dwight Hardy into a tough running shot with 3 seconds left and then St. John's missed two tips before the buzzer sounded.

Gates finished with 13 points and eight rebounds but was limited to 21 minutes because of foul trouble.

The Red Storm (11-7, 4-4) went 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) at the free throw line.

Rutgers 66, Seton Hall 60

Dane Miller had 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Rutgers defeated Seton Hall 66-60 on Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak against their Big East rivals.

Jonathan Mitchell finished with 14 points, while Gilvydas Biruta had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (12-7, 3-4).

Rutgers limited Seton (8-12, 2-6) to 32 percent shooting from the field, including 6 of 27 from 3-point range.