Hartford, Conn. ? Boston College opened its conference season in typical bruising Big East style.

The 25th-ranked Eagles (12-0, 1-0 Big East), off to their best start in school history, outmuscled and outhustled Connecticut and won, 75-70, before a hostile Hartford Civic Center crowd.

“We’re not going to let people come and beat on us. We’re going to put the beating on them,” forward Craig Smith said.

In foul trouble for most of the game, Smith made the most of his 16 minutes. The 250-pound forward scored 16 points, including the game-winning free throw with 35 seconds left for Boston College, which joins the Atlantic Coast Conference next year.

His teammate made up for his absence. Jared Dudley led the Eagles with 17 points and was able to penetrate the lane time and again against the much bigger frontcourt of 10th-ranked UConn (8-2, 0-1).

“Boston College came in and took the game away from us,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “They play with a great deal of poise. Al (Skinner) does a great job making sure his kids play with a sense they’re going to win all the time.”

Josh Boone dominated inside for UConn with 18 points and 15 boards, but it was the Eagles’ frontcourt that would prevail.

Although the Huskies outrebounded BC 44-40, the Eagles scored 23 second-chance points.

No. 1 Illinois 84, Ohio St. 65

Connecticut's Rudy Gay (22) goes up for a shot as Boston College's Sean Williams (51), Sean Marshall (23) and Nate Doornekamp defend. The Eagles beat the Huskies, 75-70, Wednesday in Hartford, Conn.

Champaign, Ill. — James Augustine tied his career high with 21 points, helping Illinois win its Big Ten opener. The Illini (15-0) led by only six at halftime, but used an 13-7 run at the start of the second half to build their lead to 12 with 14:14 to go. Tony Stockman scored 19 points for the Buckeyes (11-3).

No. 5 Duke 59, Princeton 46

Durham, N.C. — J.J. Redick made all 14 of his free throws and scored 21 points, helping Duke celebrate the 65th anniversary of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Will Venable had a season-high 21 points for the Tigers (8-5).

No. 6 Syracuse 79,

St. John’s 65

New York — Hakim Warrick scored 22 points, and Gerry McNamara added 19 for Syracuse. The Orange (14-1) opened Big East play with their 36th consecutive win over an intrastate opponent. Daryll Hill had 23 points for the Red Storm (6-5).

No. 8 Kentucky 79,

South Carolina 75

Lexington, Ky. — Kelenna Azubuike made four three-pointers and finished with 21 points, helping Kentucky hold on. Chuck Hayes added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (10-1), which won its league opener for the 17th time in 18 years. South Carolina (8-4, 0-1) has lost three games to ranked teams this season, having also dropped four-point road decisions at Kansas University and No. 16 Pittsburgh.

Michigan 65, No. 14 Iowa 63

Iowa City, Iowa — Brent Petway scored 14 points, and Michigan held off a fierce second-half rally. Daniel Horton had 13 points, two assists and a steal for the Wolverines (9-5, 1-0). Pierre Pierce led the Hawkeyes (12-2, 0-1) with 15 points.

Georgetown 67,

No. 16 Pittsburgh 64

Pittsburgh — Brandon Bowman drove the lane for the go-ahead basket with 8.4 seconds remaining, and Pittsburgh then failed twice to get off a shot. Bowman scored 18 for the Hoyas (9-3). Chris Taft scored 20 to lead Pitt (10-2).

Houston 70,

No. 17 Louisville 67

Houston — Andre Owens scored 27 points, including a three-pointer for the go-ahead basket with 21 seconds left, leading Houston. Freshman Juan Palacios had 20 points for Louisville.

No. 18 Mississippi State 90, Auburn 53

Starkville, Miss. — Lawrence Roberts had 19 points for Mississippi State (13-2).

Vanderbilt 70, No. 19 Alabama 56

Nashville, Tenn. — Mario Moore shot 4-of-5 from three-point range and finished with 16 points for Vanderbilt (10-4, 1-0 SEC). Jermareo Davidson tied his career high with 21 points for Alabama (11-3, 0-1), which had won six of seven.

No. 20 Michigan State 84, Penn State 58

State College, Pa. — Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and Shannon Brown added 16 to lead Michigan State (9-2). Geary Claxton scored a career-high 20 for the Nittany Lions (6-8).

Villanova 84,

No. 21 West Virginia 46

Villanova, Pa. — Allan Ray scored 26 points, helping Villanova (8-1) snap the West Virginia’s season-opening 10-game winning streak.

No. 24 George Washington 71, La Salle 42

Washington — T.J. Thompson had 16 points for George Washington (9-2, 1-0 Atlantic 10).