No. 2 Pittsburgh 65, Rutgers 62

Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points and Pittsburgh avoided a second straight upset by holding off pesky Rutgers Saturday night.

The Panthers (20-2, 8-1 Big East) scored 12 of their last 15 points from the free throw line and hit only one basket in the final 7:03 - a long 3-pointer by Gibbs with 55 seconds to play - in posting their 10th straight 20-win season.

Gary McGhee added 13 points and Brad Wanamaker had nine, including seven free throws in the final 6:17.

Jonathan Mitchell, Mike Coburn and Robert Lumpkins had 12 points apiece for Rutgers (12-9, 3-6), which saw a potential game-tying 3-point attempt by Dane Miller hit off the backboard with less than seven seconds to play.

Pittsburgh got the rebound and ran out the clock, disappointing a raucous, near-sellout crowd at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Rutgers' previous biggest upset came against then-No. 6 West Virginia in 1982, and coach Mike Rice and his Scarlet Knights came close to topping that against Rice's former mentor Jamie Dixon, only to be done in by Gibbs and second-half foul problems.

Rutgers picked up its seventh foul less than six minutes into the second half and Pittsburgh capitalized, converting 18 of 22 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

Pittsburgh struggled against Rutgers' tight defense and it didn't take the lead for good until McGhee converted a three-point play with 11:46 left.

Rutgers never went away and it got within a point at 58-57 when Coburn hit the second of two free throws 1:27 to play.

That's when Gibbs struck from long range. With the shot clock running down, he hit a 25-foot shot from right in front of the Panthers' bench for a 61-57 lead.

After Miller made 1 of 2 free throws, Gibbs was fouled immediately and sank both free throws for a 63-58 lead.

Coburn hit two free throws with 35.7 seconds left and then Rutgers forced Lamar Patterson into a traveling call in the backcourt. Lumpkins, whose previous college high was 11 at New Mexico State, hit a layup with 20.9 seconds to close the gap to 63-62.

Wanamaker was fouled as soon as Pittsburgh put the ball in play and made both free throws, and Miller's long-range attempt was well off target, giving the Panthers their 11th win in 12 games against Rutgers.

Rice was an assistant under Dixon before taking a job at Robert Morris and eventually coming to Rutgers this season.

The Panthers, who were held to a season-low 51 points in a loss to Notre Dame on Monday, continued their offensive woes in the first half, hitting 7 of 24 shots (29.2 percent) in falling behind 28-27.

Gibbs was Pittsburgh's offense, scoring 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

Rutgers wasn't much better, shooting roughly 37 percent. However, the Scarlet Knights made four of their first five shots in never trailing in the half.

Marquette 76, No. 9 Syracuse 70

Jae Crowder scored 13 of his 25 points in the second half Saturday and Marquette handed Syracuse its fourth straight loss.

C.J. Fair's layup tied the game at 64, but Crowder's layup put Marquette ahead by two. Kris Joseph's jumper tied it for the last time for Syracuse which never led in the game. Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer with 1:51 to go and then Darius Johnson-Odom made another 3 as Marquette withstood the charge.

Kris Joseph led the Orange with 18 points, but it wasn't enough as Syracuse (18-4, 5-4 Big East) lost its fourth in a row for the first time since Jan. 16-29, 2006.

Butler finished with 19 for Marquette (14-8, 5-4).

No. 21 Georgetown 69, No. 8 Villanova 66

Austin Freeman scored 10 of Georgetown's final 12 points and finished with 30 to lead the Hoyas over Villanova.

Freeman, the Big East preseason player of the year, took over the offense by himself as the Hoyas (16-5, 5-4) lost most of a nine-point lead with 5 minutes to play.

The Wildcats (17-4, 5-3) cut the lead to one point three times in the final 1:15 and each time Freeman found a way to get the lead back to three.

Corey Fisher, who finished with 15 points, got Villanova to 63-62 with two free throws with 1:15 to go.

West Virginia 66, Cincinnati 55

John Flowers scored 16 points and led a second-half run that rallied West Virginia to a victory over Cincinnati before a rare capacity crowd that came to reminisce about Bob Huggins.

The Mountaineers (14-6, 5-3 Big East) are 1-1 without leading scorer Casey Mitchell, a senior guard suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Joe Mazzulla added 16 points, helping to make up for his absence.

Huggins coached at Cincinnati for 16 seasons before he was ousted in 2005. The Bearcats (18-4, 5-4) haven't been back to the NCAA tournament since. Huggins improved to 3-2 against his former team.

With Cincinnati's second capacity crowd of the season watching, West Virginia dominated the boards 42-30 and gave the Bearcats their first home loss of the season. Cashmere Wright led Cincinnati with 24 points, 20 of them in the second half.

The Mountaineers drove to the basket for layups or fouls and went 24 of 30 from the line. Mazzulla was 10 of 12, helping West Virginia hold on after it pulled ahead by 14 in the second half.

Huggins had an emotional homecoming two years ago. The school handed out signs saying "Thanks Huggs" and played a pregame videoboard tribute left Huggins in tears. Then, the Bearcats pulled out a 65-61 win.

There were no supportive signs or tear-drawing tributes for his return on Saturday, but no less interest. The Bearcats sold out for only the second time in two seasons - crosstown rival Xavier drew the only other capacity crowd. Otherwise, the Bearcats have been playing in a half-empty arena.

Huggins got a standing ovation when he walked onto the court before tip-off. He went behind the benches and embraced a few longtime supporters.

The game quickly got an angry edge.

There were a dozen lead changes and two technical fouls in a fast-paced first half, which ended with West Virginia ahead 33-27.