Updates » ady pegged him a small betting favorite.McGregor (20-3) is set to

NICEVILLE, Fla. -- Providence got physical with No, 7 Virginia and scored 52 points, the most anyone has had this season against the nations top-ranked defense. It wasnt enough.Virginia beat the Friars 63-52 to win the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday night.Virginias very, very fundamentally sound, Providence coach Ed Cooley said. They know each others strengths, weaknesses -- very, very disciplined team. One of the most disciplined teams that weve played against in a long time. ... They are going to be hell for somebody to beat.London Perrantes, selected the tournaments most valuable player, and Darius Thompson scored 11 points each to lead the Cavaliers.Virginia (6-0) had been giving up only 39.2 points per game.Providence (4-2) topped the 51 that UNC Greensboro scored against the Cavaliers, but had trouble penetrating the tight defense that denies post touches and forces contested jumpers.Mamadi Diakite added 10 points for Virginia.Jalen Lindsey led Providence with 18 points. Rodney Bullock added 16, but that was short of his 20.4 average.They are physical, really physical, offensively and defensively, Perrantes said about the Friars.He said the rough play, though, will only help the Cavaliers prepare for other tough opponents that will be coming up.Cooley also had some high praise for Perrantes, saying he may be the most poised player Ive seen in college basketball in a long, long, long time.Virginia coach Tony Bennett credited the Cavaliers balance for getting them through some challenging moments in the game including a 9-0 Providence run to start the second half that cut Virginias lead to five points.Its not who we play, its how we play, Bennett said. We played pretty solid, but we had a lapse that could be very costly.BIG PICTUREVirginia: Bolstered by strong performances from bench players Marial Shayok, the team scoring leader averaging 11.2 points going into Saturdays game, and freshman Kyle Guy, the Cavaliers have shown little affect from the graduation of four players from last seasons 29-win team.Providence: Losing to a highly touted Virginia team does nothing to take the luster off a strong early season showing. That includes a dramatic come-from-behind 60-51 victory over previously undefeated Memphis in the Emerald Coast semifinals.POLL IMPLICATIONSAfter breezing through four relatively weak opponents to open the season, Virginia did the same in its first major challenge, beating the Big Tens Iowa 74-41 in the semifinals Friday. Taking down Providence from the Big East can only enhance the Cavaliers chances of moving up from their No. 7 ranking if any of the teams ahead of them stumble.UP NEXT:Providence: The Friars host New Hampshire on Wednesday.Virginia: Host Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday. Dave Schultz Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Ivan Provorov Flyers Jersey . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/ron-hextall-jersey/ . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Dave Schultz Flyers Jersey . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Brian Propp Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Conor McGregor will attempt to make history at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, when hes scheduled to challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship.The current featherweight champ, McGregor would become the first fighter to simultaneously hold multiple UFC titles -- and oddsmakers have already pegged him a small betting favorite.McGregor (20-3) is set to open a -125 favorite over Alvarez (28-4), who comes back at -105. Odds were provided by Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsBreaker.com.It is the sixth consecutive fight in which McGregor has opened as a betting favorite. He is 5-1 in those matches, with his only loss coming via second-round submission to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March.This is a near pick em fight, Kalikas told ESPN.com. McGregor is phenomenal on the feet, especially early. His timing, power and precision should be enough to giive him an edge in the standup, despite Alvarez being an excellent boxer.ddddddddddddAlvarez should have a big edge on the ground, particularly because he has great ability to take the fight to the floor.UFC officials confirmed the 155-pound bout on Monday. The title fight will actually mark McGregors lightweight debut in the UFC. His first seven appearances in the Octagon were at 145 pounds, including a 13-second knockout over Jose Aldo to win the featherweight title last December. He is coming off back-to-back welterweight fights against Diaz.I expect two-way action on this fight, with early money coming in on McGregor, but Alvarez action should narrow the gap as the fight approaches,?Kalikas said. ' ' '