Tuscaloosa, Ala. ? The No. 1 ranking might soon be history, but Alabama still pronounced itself ready to defend its Southeastern Conference title.

Defending is what the Crimson Tide does best.

Erwin Dudley and Antoine Pettway each made two free throws in the final 22 seconds as Alabama (10-1) withstood a late charge to beat No. 19 Xavier, 65-58, on Saturday for its 26th consecutive home win.

“This was a big win for us, however you look at it,” said Mo Williams, who had 17 points. “This season’s over with. The second season starts Wednesday.”

That’s when the Tide opens league play against Arkansas.

Alabama didn’t improve its shooting much from Monday night’s 51-49 loss at Utah, but scored 26 points off 19 turnovers.

Dudley had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Pettway provided a big spark off the bench with five steals and five assists.

Alabama shot 41.8 percent from the field but held the Musketeers (9-3) to 38.5 percent shooting and didn’t allow preseason All-America forward David West to score in the second half.

“They believe in their defense,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “They feel like they can get shutouts when they need to.

“It’s probably been the most consistent thing for us this year.”

Romain Sato had 17 of his 20 points in the second half for Xavier, despite picking up his fourth foul with 9:31 left. West, who played 40 minutes, had all of his 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half.

Alabama's Erwin Dudley, front, goes up for a slam as Xavier's Keith Jackson and David West (30) watch. The top-ranked Crimson Tide toppled the No. 19 Musketeers, 65-58, Saturday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Dudley scored 18 points.

“I knew he was looking to score and I had to shut him down,” Dudley said. “I had to just stay in front of him and contain him.”

Dudley was also a preseason All-America at forward.

The Musketeers, playing without injured guard Lionel Chalmers, couldn’t quite summon their old magic after winning two of three meetings with No. 1 teams since the 1995-96 season.

“I think they’re a great basketball team,” Xavier coach Thad Matta said. “They’ve got tremendous depth. They’ve got a great system. The players know what they’re trying to do.

“The one thing you don’t hear a lot about Alabama is their defense.”

The Tide hadn’t played a ranked opponent since beating Oklahoma in the season opener.

Williams sliced into the lane to give Alabama a 60-47 lead with seven minutes to play. Sato answered with a layup to spark a 10-0 run.

Pettway and Xavier’s Keith Jackson both made one of two free throws, then Alabama missed a couple of shots. West got trapped inside and fouled Dudley inside trying to get loose with 31 seconds left, giving the Tide the ball again.

Pettway made two free throws with 22 seconds left and Dudley added two more 11 seconds later to extend the Tide’s school-record home winning streak.

Williams wasn’t surprised at Pettway’s contributions.

“That’s Antoine Pettway. That’s an everyday thing. It doesn’t even excite me anymore. I expect that out of him now,” Williams said.

It was Alabama’s first sellout of the season, drawing about 5,000 more fans than any of the previous six games at Coleman Coliseum this season.

“I don’t think we’ll play in a tougher environment all year,” said West, who had six turnovers. “It got pretty loud, and there was an element of being in a big game.”

The teams traded big runs in the first half. Alabama trailed by as many as five points early and struggled to get the ball inside or make outside shots.

The Musketeers went 12 straight possessions without scoring, then scored 13 consecutive points, capped by Dedrick Finn’s jumper.

Alabama and Xavier hadn’t met since the first round of the 1986 NCAA tournament, when Gottfried was a junior guard. The Tide won that game 97-80 and reached the third round.

Williams think they could be destined for a postseason rematch.

“They’re a real good team and they’re going to go a long way in the (NCAA) tournament,” he said. “We might see them again.”

No. 2 Pittsburgh 85, Robert Morris 49

Pittsburgh — Chevy Troutman had 19 of his 24 points in the first half as the Panthers (10-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season.

DaMarcus Ellis had 11 points for the Colonials (3-6), who are 0-22 against Pittsburgh.

Ontario Lett added 18 points and seven rebounds and Jaron Brown had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers, whose frontcourt outscored Robert Morris’ 62-18.

No. 4 Arizona 80, Oregon St. 65

Corvallis, Ore. — Freshman guard Hassan Adams scored 14 points to lead Arizona. Rick Anderson, called upon to replace injured forward Luke Walton, had 13 points for the Wildcats (9-1, 2-0), who opened their Pacific-10 season with a sweep of the Oregon schools for the first time since 1997-98. Jason Gardner added 12 points.

No. 6 Notre Dame 55, Valparaiso 53

Chicago — Matt Carroll had 14 points, and Dan Miller and Torin Francis each added 12 as the Fighting Irish (12-1) won their eighth straight. The Crusaders, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, missed two three-point attempts in the last two minutes — including a long one by Greg Tonagel with 2.4 seconds left.

No. 9 Oregon 94, Arizona State 73

Eugene, Ore. — Luke Ridnour scored 24 points, including 21 in the second half, as Oregon rallied to win. The Ducks (10-2, 1-1 Pac-10) went on a 25-2 run midway through the second half, turning a five-point deficit into a 69-51 advantage with 8:46 left to play. Oregon trailed 39-33 at halftime but shot 81 percent (21-of-28) in the second half. Arizona State freshman center Ike Diogu led the Sun Devils (9-4, 1-1) with 27 points and eight rebounds. The Sun Devils had won five straight.

No. 11 Illinois 88, Oakland, Mich. 53

Champaign, Ill. — Brian Cook had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Sean Harrington added 20 points to lead Illinois. Illinois (10-1) shot 60 percent for the game despite going 8-of-25 from beyond the arc. The Illini also had 25 assists. Rawle Marshall scored 22 to lead the Grizzlies (5-6), who were just 6-of-19 from the free-throw line.

Dayton 92, No. 13 Marquette 85, OT

Dayton, Ohio — Ramod Marshall scored 23 points and Keith Waleskowski hit a clutch three-pointer in overtime to lead the Flyers (8-3). Robert Jackson was 8-for-9 from the field and had 19 points for the Golden Eagles (8-3), who lost their second straight and dropped to 0-4 on the road this season.

No. 17 Indiana 70, Charlotte 60

Bloomington, Ind. — Bracey Wright scored 17 points and Tom Coverdale added 13 as the Hoosiers (10-2) won in coach Mike Davis’ first game since serving a one-game suspension. Davis missed this week’s victory over Ball State for his on-court outburst at a referee during a loss to Kentucky. Demon Brown led the 49ers (5-6) with 16 points.

No. 20 Kentucky 83, Ohio University 75

Cincinnati — Keith Bogans scored 21 points and Erik Daniels made clutch baskets down the stretch to lead the Wildcats (9-3). Daniels, who grew up in Cincinnati and had about 60 relatives and friends in the stands, had two dunks, a layup and a putback that helped Kentucky hold off a late charge. Sonny Johnson had 24 points for the Bobcats (3-6).

No. 22 Maryland 79, Wagner 57

College Park, Md. — Ryan Randle had 21 points and tied a school record by making all 10 of his field goal attempts, and Steve Blake had 12 assists to move into 20th place on the NCAA career list for the Terrapins (7-3). Jermaine Hall scored 26 points for the Seahawks (4-6).

No. 23 Wake Forest 68, Richmond 62

Richmond, Va. — Josh Howard scored 21 points to lead the Demon Deacons (9-0), who opened the second half with a 20-5 run. Tony Dobbins had 18 points for the Spiders (6-5), who lost their 11th straight to Wake Forest.

No. 24 Louisville 72, Ohio St. 64

Columbus, Ohio — Bryant Northern and Reece Gaines scored all 32 of their points in the second half and overtime to lead the Cardinals (8-1). Brent Darby, whose two free throws with 6.5 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 57, had 24 points for the Buckeyes (7-4).