Duke-Kentucky headlines Classic field

Duke will open its 2018-19 college basketball season Nov. 6against Kentucky, the school announcedWednesday.

Opening night will be a few days earlier than usual. The NCAA Division I Council approved moving up the start of the men’s and women’s college basketball season to the Tuesday before the second Fridayin November.

The Duke-Kentucky matchup will be part of the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. Michigan State and Kansas will play in the other gameof the Classic.

“It’s incredibly exciting that they’re going to start the basketball season on such a high note and on a different date,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

TCU

Point guard Jaylen Fisher could miss the rest of the seasonfor No. 24 TCU after injuring his right knee in practice. Fisher is scheduled to have surgery Thursday. He was averaging 12.1 points a game and was fifth in the Big12 with 5.4 assists a game.

South Carolina women

Coach Dawn Staley expects All-American forward A’ja Wilson to miss her second game in a row with a sprained right ankle when the 10thranked Gamecocks play Thursday at Vanderbilt. Wilson, a two-time Southeastern Conference player of the year, got hurt in the final minute of awin Jan. 11 against Auburn.

Elsewhere

Barbara Stevens of Division II Bentley became the fifth women’s coach to reach 1,000 victories with a win Wednesday against Adelphi in Waltham, Mass. Stevens (1,000-275) joined North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell and Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma in reaching the milestone this season.