Boston ? Jared Dudley threw the ball in the air and let out a triumphant yell. Before long, the Boston College student body would join him on the court.

Dudley scored 21 points before dribbling out the final seconds in the sixth-ranked Eagles’ 65-60 victory over No. 9 Syracuse on Saturday, setting loose a storm of students who charged the court to celebrate one of the most anticipated matchups in school history.

“I’ve never had that here,” said Craig Smith, BC’s Big East player-of-the-year candidate, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds. “It didn’t surprise me because I got here two hours before the game and people were going crazy.”

Jermaine Watson went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch for BC (22-1, 11-1), which opened a two-game lead over No. 18 Connecticut in the conference.

Gerry McNamara scored 18 points for Syracuse, but he missed three three-pointers in the final 28 seconds — two of them airballs — and went 2-for-11 from beyond the arc overall. The Orange (22-5, 9-4) have lost four of their last six games, all to ranked teams.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim snickered about the Conte Forum crowd charging the court, something usually reserved for big upsets.

“I thought they were ranked sixth in the country,” he said sarcastically. “Maybe they just think we’re better than we are.”

No. 1 Illinois 75, Iowa 65

Iowa City, Iowa — Deron Williams and Dee Brown each scored 18 points, and Illinois turned back repeated threats from Iowa. Illinois (27-0, 13-0 Big Ten) has won 23 straight conference games. Adam Haluska had 20 points for Iowa (16-9, 4-8).

Boston College's Jared Dudley (3) celebrates as Syracuse's Billy Edelin walks up the court dismayed. The Eagles beat the Orange, 65-60, Saturday in Boston.

No. 3 Kentucky 94, Mississippi State 78

Lexington, Ky. — Freshman center Randolph Morris scored 17 points, leading seven Kentucky players in double figures. Kentucky (20-3, 11-1 SEC) posted its highest point total of the season in a victory that extended its streak of 20-win seasons to 15. Mississippi State (18-8, 6-6) had its nine-game winning streak snapped.

No. 4 North Carolina 88, Clemson 56

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Jawad Williams scored 17 points, sixth man Marvin Williams added 14, and the Tar Heels improved to 51-0 all-time at home against Clemson.

Sean May finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (22-3, 10-2), who moved into a first-place tie with Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Sharrod Ford led Clemson (12-13, 2-10) with 13 points.

No. 11 Michigan State 68, Purdue 57

West Lafayette, Ind. — Alan Anderson and Maurice Ager each scored 12 points for the Spartans (19-4, 10-2 Big Ten) on the day Purdue honored retiring coach Gene Keady at halftime. David Teague led the Boilermakers (7-16, 3-9) with 15 points and seven rebounds.

No. 13 Gonzaga 75,

San Francisco 73

Spokane, Wash. — Adam Morrison scored a career-high 28 points for Gonzaga (21-4, 11-2 West Coast Conference), including a jumper with less than a second remaining.

No. 14 Utah 65,

Air Force 56

Air Force Academy, Colo. — Andrew Bogut scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as the Utes won their 18th straight and clinched the Mountain West Conference regular-season title. Utah (23-3, 11-0) snapped Air Force’s 24-game home winning streak.

No. 15 Washington 68, Washington State 55

Pullman, Wash. — Tre Simmons scored 16 points for Washington (21-4, 11-3).

No. 16 Alabama 87,

South Carolina 68

Tuscaloosa, Ala. — Kennedy Winston and Earnest Shelton combined to hit seven three-pointers in the second half for Alabama (21-4, 10-2 SEC).

No. 18 Connecticut 85, Rutgers 63

Piscataway, N.J. — Charlie Villanueva and Josh Boone each scored 21 points, and Connecticut (8-15, 2-11 Big East) used an early 26-5 run to take control.

No. 22 Maryland 92, Virginia 89, 2OT

Charlottesville, Va. — John Gilchrist had 22 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:12 left in the second overtime, leading the Terrapins(16-8, 7-6 ACC).

No. 23 Charlotte 86, Tulane 67

New Orleans — Eddie Basden scored a season-high 27 points and had 14 rebounds, leading Charlotte (19-4, 10-2 Conference USA).

No. 24 Cincinnati 72,

UAB 69

Cincinnati — Jason Maxiell had 22 points and 11 rebounds for flu-stricken Cincinnati (20-6, 8-4 Conference USA).