of kansas jayhawks and duke blue devils kicked off a feast week for men's college basketball with a high-profile early season matchup in Las Vegas. Cooper Flagg, projected to be No. 1 overall in the NBA draft, drew the most attention as he played against the team ranked No. 1 in the polls, but Kansas super senior Hunter Dickinson was at the center of the game's biggest controversy. Ta.
With Kansas leading by two points midway through the second half, Dickinson tangled with Malik Brown and both players fell to the floor. Brown was called for a common foul on the floor for knocking down Dickinson. Dickinson's next move was a egregious two foul and he was sent off.
Mr Dickinson kicked Mr Brown in the head as he fell to the floor. The referees considered it and decided that Dickinson had committed a flagrant-two foul and was immediately ejected. Watch the play here:
Dickinson had 11 points and six rebounds at the time of his exit.
Dickinson has a reputation for last-minute dirty plays, and it feels like that was part of the reason for the flagrant two-man call. The referee ruled that Dickinson's kick was intentional. It was hard to tell intent in the moment of a bang-bang play, but replays certainly made it look like Dickinson was at fault.
We will update this story as it develops.
