ALBANY, N.Y. – Gerry McNamara scored 29 points and Hakim Warrick grabbed 15 rebounds to lead No. 4 Syracuse past Siena 78-56.

Syracuse (5-0) won its 29th straight against in-state opponents and sent Siena (0-5) to the worst start in school history.

Warrick and Josh Pace each scored 13 points for Syracuse, which held Siena to 32 percent shooting and outrebounded the Saints 54-29.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for Syracuse senior center Craig Forth, who starred in high school in nearby East Greenbush. Forth, whose father bought tickets for a whole section, finished with seven points and eight rebounds.

(5) Illinois 89, (24) Gonzaga 72

INDIANAPOLIS – Fifth-ranked Illinois appears to be ready for No. 1 Wake Forest.

Deron Williams scored 20 points to lead Illinois to a 89-72 win over No. 24 Gonzaga on Saturday in the John Wooden Tradition at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Illini (4-0) set the tone from the opening tip, using superior 3-point shooting and suffocating defense to dominate the Bulldogs (3-1) and set up an early season showdown with the Demon Deacons in Champaign, Ill., next week.

(6) Oklahoma St. 73, Sam Houston St. 57

STILLWATER, Okla. – Joey Graham scored 25 points, John Lucas III added 17 and No. 6 Oklahoma State recovered from another subpar first half to beat Sam Houston State 73-57.

Graham scored 18 points in the second half, and Lucas had 14 of his 17 after the break to help the Cowboys (3-0) overcame a six-point halftime deficit.

(9) Duke 98, NC-Greensboro 44

DURHAM, N.C. – Shelden Williams had 16 points and 11 rebounds Saturday night to help No. 9 Duke rout North Carolina-Greensboro 98-44.

Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick also scored 16 points for the Blue Devils (3-0), who built a 20-point lead midway through the first half and were never challenged by their in-state neighbor from the Southern Conference.

Kyle Hines scored nine points for the Spartans (2-1).

(10) Michigan St. 102, Nicholls St. 52

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Led by Maurice Ager’s 19 points, No. 10 Michigan State scored more than 100 points for the third straight game in a 102-52 win over Nicholls State on Saturday.

Michigan State had a 52-29 rebounding edge and used a 17-2 start and a 20-2 run near the end of the first half to lead 48-16 at the break.

(16) Pittsburgh 93, Loyola, Md. 57

PITTSBURGH – Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft dominated much-smaller Loyola, Md., inside at both ends of the floor and No. 16 Pittsburgh cruised to its third consecutive victory against weak opposition, winning 93-57 Saturday night.

The 6-foot-10 Taft and the 6-foot-7 Troutman were in control from the start against Loyola (0-3), which hasn’t had a winning season since going to the NCAA tournament in 1994 under current Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser.

(23) Florida 84, Providence 66

MIAMI – Matt Walsh scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, helping No. 23 Florida defeat Providence – the alma mater of Gators coach Billy Donovan – 84-66 Saturday in the Orange Bowl Classic.

Anthony Roberson had 17 points, David Lee added 16 and Taurean Green 13 for the Gators (3-0).

, who never trailed.

Ryan Gomes had 17 points for Providence (4-2), which was playing its third game in four days.

Tuukka Kotti had a career-high 17 – 16 in the first half – for the Friars, who lost to No. 1 Wake Forest in Wednesday’s Preseason NIT semifinals.

, beat Michigan in Friday’s consolation game at Madison Square Garden, then boarded a charter flight to Miami and faced the Gators 17 hours after landing.

And until the final minutes, Providence hung tough against a team that hadn’t played since Tuesday.

Dwight Brewington’s two free throws with 8:25 left brought Providence within 62-55, but the Friars didn’t score again for over three minutes – and Florida pulled away with a quick 8-0 run.

Lee hit two free throws and Walsh then connected on back-to-back 3-pointers for a 70-55 lead with 6:02 left. Another Walsh basket with 3:45 left pushed Florida’s margin to 74-57, then its largest of the night.

Gomes hit a pair of 3-pointers within a 22-second span, cutting the margin to 74-63, but the Friars didn’t seriously threaten the Gators again.

It was the first time Donovan coached against Providence, the school he led to the 1987 Final Four as a player. Donovan, a 1999 inductee to the Friars’ Hall of Fame, averaged 20.6 points that season for Rick Pitino’s club, won the team’s MVP award twice and still ranks among Providence’s top 15 in career scoring.

The weary Friars could have used some of his spark down the stretch Saturday. Providence managed only two field goals in the final 8:55.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Roberson and Green gave Florida a 20-13 lead with 9:27 left in the half.

Providence got within three points on three occasions later in the half, largely because of Kotti, whose previous career high was 15. He had two straight baskets that drew Providence within 20-17, and a strong move inside cut Florida’s lead to 30-27 with 2:39 left before halftime.

But Roberson scored the next five points, helping Florida push its margin to 37-29 at intermission.

Donnie McGrath had 12 points and Brewington added 11 for the Friars – with both getting all their points after halftime.

AP-ES-11-27-04 1914EST