For the fifth time in six years, Duke claimed the top spot as the nation's favorite men's college basketball team, according to a new Harris Poll.

North Carolina was second in the poll after finishing first for the first time in 2007.

The Duke women's team tied for fourth place, behind Tennessee, Connecticut and Iowa. Duke has been in the top 10 in the poll all five years of its existence.

Harris Interactive conducted the poll between March 11-18, polling 2,513 adults in the United States, 611 of which followed college basketball.

MORE BASKETBALL

CAPEL GETS CONTRACT EXTENSION: Oklahoma basketball coach Jeff Capel agreed to terms of a contract extension Thursday amid speculation that he would leave the Sooners to take a job closer to home at South Carolina.

The new deal would keep Capel, who took Oklahoma to the NCAA Tournament in his second season at the helm, at the school through the 2013-2014 season.

HOFFMAN HIRED BY MERCER: Bob Hoffman, who has been successful as a college and minor league professional coach, became men's basketball coach at Mercer on Thursday.

FOOTBALL

LSU QB MAY PRACTICE SOON: LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux returned from suspension and could be allowed to practice with the team by Monday.

Perrilloux, who finished last season as heir apparent for the starting job, must make up six workouts he missed while on team suspension before he can practice, coach Les Miles said Thursday. If Perrilloux finishes those workouts by this weekend, he could get back on the field next week and might play in the Tigers' spring game on April 5.

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

NCAA MEN'S SWIMMING

AUBURN'S CIELO WINS 50 FREE: Cesar Cielo started out fast -- then just kept zooming through the opening night of the NCAA men's swimming championships.

In a span of 45 minutes, the Auburn junior and Brazilian national team star swam the two fastest 50-yard freestyle races ever. His time isn't considered a world record because it is not in the metric length of international competitions, including this summer's Olympics in which Cielo will be participating.

Cielo led off Auburn's 200 free relay with a time 18.47 seconds, then came back a short while later to win the 50 free title race in 18.52.

Cielo's performance in the relay put Auburn into the lead, and the Tigers stayed in front from start to finish to take the title in 1:15.66.

LATE WEDNESDAY MEN'S NIT

OHIO STATE 74, DAYTON 63: Kosta Koufos scored 21 points, and Jamar Butler added 12 in the host Buckeyes' victory over Dayton in an NIT quarterfinal.

The Buckeyes (22-13) will face Mississippi in the semifinals on Tuesday night in New York.