Game-Changer Ejected: Kansas Center Kicks Duke Player, Changes Game

The heat of the moment. In a high-stakes basketball game between top-ranked Kansas and No. 11 Duke, things got heated. Kansas center Hunter Dickinson was kick-started from the game after an unexpected move. During a rebound battle, Dickinson laid a kick right at Duke's Maliq Brown's head. The refs saw it and didn't like it. Dickinson was booted out with a flagrant-2 foul, leaving the Jayhawks down a key player. Kansas coach Bill Self wasn't thrilled. He thought the call was a coin toss, arguing it could have gone either way. "I didn't think it was serious enough for a level-2, " he said. Duke coach Jon Scheyer, on the other hand, felt differently. "He kicked him in the face, " Scheyer noted. " That's an easy call for a flagrant-2. " Dickinson's absence could have turned the game. Before the incident, Kansas was leading 57-55. But Flory Bidunga stepped in and held his own with six points and eight rebounds. Kansas eventually won 75-72. Jayhawks forward KJ Adams appreciated Bidunga's performance. "It's amazing what Flo did, " Adams said. "Especially coming in as a freshman in a big game like that. "