Duke-North Carolina Showdown Is Set

Duke and North Carolina did their parts, holding onto the top two spots in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll and setting up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup for Thursday night.

Duke (20-1), which is No. 1 for the third consecutive week, will play at North Carolina (22-1) in the 14th meeting of the poll’s top two teams since 1980.

Duke received 54 first-place votes and 1,734 points, 41 more than North Carolina, which was No. 1 on 16 ballots.

The end of Stanford and Utah’s unbeaten records last week caused a shake-up in the rest of the Top Ten. Kansas moved two places to third, Arizona went to fourth, and Utah fell to fifth.

UCLA moved to sixth, and Stanford fell from fourth to ninth.

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Alabama officials said Coach David Hobbs will be fired at the end of the season.

Athletic Director Bob Bockrath said the decision was made after consultation with the coach, who has faced increasing criticism from fans and empty seats at Coleman Coliseum.

Hobbs, in his sixth season with the Crimson Tide, has a record of 104-72 but has come under fire in recent years, particularly after a 94-40 loss to state rival Auburn this season. That was the worst loss in school history.

The Crimson Tide is 9-12.

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Richard Hamilton scored 29 points and passed the 1,000-point mark as No. 7 Connecticut, 20-3 overall and 10-2 in the Big East Conference, posted an 80-65 victory over Villanova (9-11, 6-6) at Hartford, Conn. . . . No. 21 Xavier (15-5, 7-3), behind 21 points, nine rebounds and five steals by James Posey, recorded a 91-59 victory over La Salle (7-12, 3-7) in an Atlantic 10 game at Philadelphia. . . . In a Western Athletic Conference game at Honolulu, Fresno State (12-7, 5-1) was a 91-76 winner over Hawaii (14-5, 3-4).