In a highly anticipated matchup between the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks and the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils, the game took a dramatic turn when Kansas center Hunter Dickinson was ejected for kicking Duke's Maliq Brown in the head during the second half. The incident occurred as both players were vying for a rebound, with Brown being assessed a personal foul for backing into Dickinson.
Dickinson's kick resulted in a flagrant-2 foul, leading to his ejection from the game. Despite initial disagreements over the severity of the penalty, Kansas coach Bill Self expressed his opinion that the decision could have gone either way between a flagrant-1 or flagrant-2. The officials justified their call by deeming the kick intentional and noting that Brown's head made contact with the floor.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer supported the officials' decision, citing video evidence of the incident as grounds for the flagrant-2 call. With Dickinson averaging nearly 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, his absence could have been a significant blow to Kansas. However, freshman Flo Bidunga stepped up in Dickinson's absence, contributing six points and eight rebounds to help secure the Jayhawks' victory.
Reflecting on the situation, Kansas forward KJ Adams acknowledged the disappointment of losing a player of Dickinson's caliber but praised Bidunga for seizing the opportunity to showcase his skills on a big stage. Despite the ejection, Kansas managed to maintain their lead and ultimately emerged victorious with a 75-72 win over Duke.
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