Duke tightens grip on No. 1 spot

Duke showed at the Champions Classic last week why so many voters had the Blue Devils atop their Top 25 ballot before the season began.

Now, even more voters have them there.

The Blue Devils, who beat then-No. 2 Michigan State 88-81 in Chicago, pulled in 54 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel in the Associated Press Top 25 released Monday. That was an increase of 20 first-place votes over the first regular-season poll released last week.

Arizona was the only other team to receive a No. 1 nod, getting 11 first-place votes and taking the Spartans’ place at No. 2. Kansas moved up to third after topping then-No. 7 Kentucky in the other game at the Champions Classic, while Michigan State and Villanova rounded out the top five .

Wichita State remained at No. 6, while Florida and Kentucky flip-flopped their spots. North Carolina was ninth and USC completed the top 10.

HOF inducts ’17 class: Tim Duncan and John Stockton, who became stars in college and icons in the NBA, headlined the 2017 class inducted into the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Mo.

Other members of the class included former Duke standout Jay Williams, Indiana’s Scott May, Purdue’s Rick Mount, WinstonSalem State’s Cleo Hill, Creighton’s Paul Silas and longtime Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

The induction occurred shortly before the start of a doubleheader at the adjoining Sprint Center, where UCLA faced Creighton and Baylor played Wisconsin in the CBE Classic.

Oregon signs Bol’s son:

Center Bol Bol, son of the late Manute Bol, signed a letter of intent to play at Oregon.

The nearly 7-foot-2 Bol, who chose Oregon over Kentucky, is considered a five-star recruit and is the highest-ranked prospect ever signed by the Ducks. Porter still out: Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr. missed his third straight game with a hip injury.

The 6-10 forward was hurt two minutes into the Tigers’ opener.