Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson Ejected After Kicking Duke’s Maliq Brown in Head
In a tense matchup between the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks and No. 11 Duke on Tuesday night, Kansas center Hunter Dickinson was ejected midway through the second half after kicking Duke’s Maliq Brown in the head. The Jayhawks ultimately won the game 75-72, but the ejection of Dickinson, who was a key player for Kansas, added controversy to an already intense contest.
The incident occurred during a rebounding battle between the two players. Brown, backing into Dickinson, was called for a personal foul. However, Dickinson was assessed a flagrant-2 foul for the kick to Brown’s head, leading to his immediate ejection. Dickinson initially remained on the bench before being escorted off the court.
Kansas head coach Bill Self expressed his disagreement with the flagrant-2 call, suggesting that the situation could have been interpreted as a level-1 foul instead. He noted that the officials’ decision was based on their belief that the kick was intentional and that Brown’s head hit the floor as a result.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, on the other hand, supported the officials’ decision, stating that the video replay showed Dickinson’s kick to Brown’s face, which he believed warranted the flagrant-2.
At the time of the ejection, Kansas was leading by two points, 57-55, and Dickinson had been contributing significantly to the team’s performance, averaging 17.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Despite losing Dickinson, Kansas was able to maintain its lead, with freshman Flory Bidunga stepping up to score six points and grab eight rebounds in the remaining minutes.
Kansas forward KJ Adams acknowledged the impact of Dickinson’s ejection but praised Bidunga’s performance in filling the void. He expressed his admiration for the freshman’s poise in such a high-stakes game.
