GAINESVILLE, FLA. ? Al Horford received a surprising phone call after Florida’s loss at Florida State on Sunday.

Former Gators assistant Anthony Grant, now the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, called and ripped Horford for his four-point, six-rebound effort against the Seminoles.

“He really got after me,” Horford said.

He must have gotten his attention, too.

Horford scored a career-high 21 points and added 13 rebounds, helping the seventh-ranked Gators rebound from their second loss of the season with an 85-67 victory over Providence on Wednesday night.

Grant wasn’t pleased with any of Florida’s big men, the players he worked so closely with the last few years. Joakim Noah and Chris Richard responded much like Horford.

Noah had 17 points, six rebounds, four steals, four assists and three blocks. Richard made all seven of his free throws and finished with 11 points off the bench.

“He said he didn’t like the way that me and Jo and Chris looked out there,” Horford said. “I met with (assistant) Coach (Donnie) Jones as well, and they told me I had to get my mind right.”

Horford said the conversation was a wake-up call.

“I think we were playing laid back,” Horford said. “He let us know. He let us have it. He said we have to bring that intensity every night.”

Horford was 8-of-13 from the field against Providence, and Noah was 6-of-7 despite playing with a respiratory infection.

Duke's Josh McRoberts, right, attempts to block Holy Cross' Tim Clifford. Duke won, 57-45, on Wednesday night in Durham, N.C.

It was a big turnaround from how they played in Tallahassee. Horford took just two shots and didn’t play as aggressively as coach Billy Donovan wanted. Noah scored 11 points but had just four rebounds. Richard had two points.

Donovan pointed out their troubles during a painful-to-watch video session Monday.

“Sometimes film doesn’t lie, and it gave me an opportunity to be very truthful of how I feel and what I’m seeing,” Donovan said. “Any time you get on a player, or you’re coaching a player and doing it in a fashion of being called out, sometimes guys will point their finger and say, ‘It’s not me. I’m not the problem.’

“Guys on this team accept responsibility. I was probably very hard on them, but besides being hard, I was brutally honest. … Hopefully we don’t have to have a lot of sessions like that this year.”

The players agreed with Donovan’s critique. But Grant’s call may have hammered it home.

No. 2 Pittsburgh 73, Duquesne 56

Pittsburgh – Aaron Gray had 15 points and 12 rebounds despite an off shooting night, and No. 2 Pittsburgh quickly built a 20-point lead against Duquesne. The 7-foot Gray, shooting nearly 70 percent for the season, missed seven of 13 shots but was too much for a Duquesne team that is down to nine scholarship players following the on-campus shooting of five players in September.

Florida's Al Horford shoots for two points against Providence. The Gators won, 85-67, on Wednesday night in Gainesville, Fla.

No. 7 Duke 57, Holy Cross 45

Durham, N.C. – DeMarcus Nelson and Josh McRoberts each scored 13 points to lead Duke past Holy Cross. Freshman Gerald Henderson added eight points and came up with some big plays during a 20-4 second-half run for the Blue Devils (8-1), who trailed most of the way before the decisive run. Keith Simmons scored 13 points to lead the Crusaders (6-3).

No. 15 Butler 65, Ball State 41

Indianapolis – Mike Green scored a career-high 21 points, Julian Betko and A.J. Graves each had 11 and Butler ran away from in-state rival Ball State. Butler (10-0) matched the third-best start in school history and kept its perfect record intact, protecting its highest ranking since 1948-49 – the first season of The Associated Press’ poll – for the second straight game.

Tennessee 76, No. 16 Memphis 58

Knoxville, Tenn. – Chris Lofton scored a career-high 34 points as Tennessee built a big lead in the first half and stunned Memphis. The Tigers (6-2) looked vastly different than a year ago without leading scorers Rodney Carney, Shawne Williams and Darius Washington, who helped them to the Conference USA championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They struggled to hit shots while the Volunteers (7-2) relied on Lofton and their defense.

No. 19 Connecticut 81, Northeastern 53

Storrs, Conn. – Jeff Adrien scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead No. 19 Connecticut. It was Adrien’s fifth double-double this season for Connecticut (8-0), which won its 27th in a row at home.

No. 23 Maryland 79, Fordham 59

College Park, Md. – Mike Jones scored 18 points, and Maryland rebounded from its first loss of the season with a victory over Fordham. D.J. Strawberry and Greivis Vasquez each had 16 points for the Terrapins (9-1), who improved to 8-1 all-time against the Rams (4-3).