Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is taking a leave of absence from the team and will undergo back surgery on Friday.

Krzyzewski, who will turn 70 next month, has undergone treatment for lower-back problems for a while. During the surgical procedure, a fragment of a herniated disk will be removed, according to the school. Recovery time is estimated at four weeks. Jeff Capel, the associate head coach, will lead the team in Krzyzewski’s absence.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski yells to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec 31, 2016, at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. Tech won 89-75. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)

Duke's Rebecca Greenwell battles Louisville's Mariya Moore for a loose ball in Monday night's game at Durham, North Carolina. Duke won its ninth straight, 58-55. Associated Press/Bernard Thomas, The Herald-Sun

“Dr. William Richardson, Dr. Allan Friedman, and our medical team have worked tirelessly to help manage this issue for several weeks,” Krzyzewski said in a statement.

“Together, we have determined that surgery is the best course of action at this time. During my recovery process, the team will be in the capable hands of Coach Capel, Coach Nate James and Coach Jon Scheyer. As soon as the doctors clear me to do so, I look forward to returning and giving our team 100 percent of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve.”

Krzyzewski previously underwent back surgery during the 1994-95 season, when he took leave for the final 19 games. He underwent knee surgery in April.

Duke is 12-2 and next plays Saturday against Boston College in Durham, North Carolina.

COLUMBIA 98, MAINE 73: Luke Petrasek scored 22 points, Mike Smith had 21 and the duo combined to make six of Columbia’s season-high 13 3-pointers in a win at Bangor.

Jake Killingsworth added 12 points for Columbia (5-7) and Jeff Coby grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds. The Lions, who were 13 of 29 from long distance and 21 of 30 at the line, snapped a two-game slide.

The Lions led 49-39 at the break after making eight 3-pointers and grabbing nine offensive rebounds. Petrasek had 14 points and six rebounds, and Smith added 12 points.

Danny Evans led Maine (4-11) with a career-high 16 points and Marko Pirovic added 13. The Black Bears lost their fifth straight.

POLL: Villanova’s impressive win at No. 10 Creighton kept the Wildcats at No. 1 for a fifth straight week, while Baylor made the jump from fourth to second.

Rounding out the top 5 are Kansas (12-1), UCLA (14-1) and Gonzaga (14-0).

WOMEN

(7) NOTRE DAME 55, GEORGIA TECH 38: Arike Ogunbowale scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half and Brianna Turner had nine points and 11 rebounds in a win at Atlanta.

The Irish (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) were never threatened after seeing a 35-game league winning streak end last week at North Carolina State.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE 70, (6) FLORIDA STATE 61: Ashley Wilson scored 19 points and Chelsea Nelson added 17 to help the visiting Wolfpack snap the Seminoles’ 12-game winning streak.

North Carolina State (12-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 49-46 going into the fourth quarter before going on a 10-3 run to take the lead. Nelson scored seven points in the quarter. Wilson made all 14 of her free throws as the Wolfpack were 20 of 25 from the line.

Georgia Tech (11-3, 0-1) missed 22 of its first 28 shots from the field and had 12 turnovers when consecutive jumpers by Kristina Nelson made it 34-11 at the 2:14 mark of the second.

(13) DUKE 58, (8) LOUISVILLE 55: Lexie Brown scored 17 points as the host Blue Devils won their ninth straight.

Rebecca Greenwell had 10 points for Duke (13-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which shot 44 percent and forced 19 turnovers.

Myisha Hines-Allen had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinals (13-3, 1-1), who had won seven in a row.

(14) MIAMI 82, PITTSBURGH 50: Laura Cornelius made 8 of 8 from the field, including six 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 24 points in a win at Pittsburgh.

Jessica Thomas added 10 points for Miami (12-2, 1-1 ACC), which scored 30 points off Pitt’s season-high 26 turnovers.

(18) VIRGINIA TECH 76, NORTH CAROLINA 68: Regan Magarity scored 24 points and tied a career high with 17 rebounds to help the Hokies remain unbeaten with a win at home.

POLL: UConn keeps winning in a week that saw 10 of the Top 25 teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll lose.

The Huskies remain the unanimous No. 1 team in the poll after beating then-No. 4 Maryland and Central Florida to stretch their winning streak to 88 games.

UConn was followed by Baylor, Maryland, Mississippi State and South Carolina.

Florida State was sixth while Notre Dame fell five spots to No. 7 after losing at N.C. State on Thursday. Louisville, UCLA and Stanford round out the first 10 teams in the poll.

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