Ball brothers to play in Lithuania

LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball reached an agreement to sign professional deals with Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas, ESPN reported Monday.

Vytautas coach/GM Virginijus Seskus and Ball family agent Harrison Gaines confirmed the deal.

The franchise is hoping the Ball brothers — and father LaVar — can be a publicity boon to the fledgling organization. There are already concerns about whether the American teens can fit into the Vytautas on any level.

LiAngelo and LaMelo are the younger brothers of Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball. LiAngelo withdrew from UCLA after the school suspended him following a shoplifting incident on the team’s tour of China. LaVar said he would have LiAngelo and LaMelo bypass college basketball and planned to search out pro jobs overseas. LaMelo was a junior in high school but dropped out.

Villanova’s unbeaten start now includes a No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25, while Arizona State (9-0) is making a rapid rise into the top 10.

After a tumultuous week in which unanimous No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Kansas lost, the Wildcats (10-0) earned 41 of 65 first-place votes to hop over Michigan State and reach the top for the third straight season.

Arizona State (9-0) is off to its best start since the 1974-75 season. Now at No. 5, the Sun Devils — who won at then-No. 2 Kansas and also have a win against Xavier this season — have their highest ranking since reaching third during the 1980-81 season.

Wichita State climbed three spots to No. 3, followed by Duke, Arizona State, Miami, North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Xavier.

Texas will be without leading scorer Andrew Jones (15.3 ppg) for several games because of a fracture in the guard’s right wrist . ... Wisconsin freshman G Kobe King will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury . ... Former Yale captain Jack Montague, who was expelled from the Ivy League school in 2016 for sexual misconduct, has enrolled at Belmont University in Tennessee.

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