Hunter Dickinson ejected for kicking Duke player in head after foul

The Kansas star center was ejected on a flagrant-two foul after kicking a Duke player in the head.

The Kansas Jayhawks and Duke Blue Devils played a marquee early season matchup in Las Vegas to begin Feast Week in men’s college basketball. While presumptive No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg drew most of the attention as he took on the No. 1 team in the polls, it was Kansas’ super senior Hunter Dickinson who found himself at the center of the game’s biggest controversy.

With Kansas leading by two midway through the second half, Dickinson got tangled up with Maliq Brown with both players falling to the floor. Brown was called for a common foul on the floor for taking down Dickinson. What Dickinson did next earned him an ejection on a flagrant-two foul.

Dickinson kicked Brown in the head on his way down to the floor. The refs reviewed it and determined that Dickinson committed to flagrant-two foul, which earns an instant ejection. Watch the play here:

Dickinson had 11 points and six rebounds at the time of the ejection.

Dickinson has a reputation for borderline dirty plays, and it feels like his reputation was part of the reason for the flagrant-two call. The refs determined Dickinson’s kick was intentional. It was hard to tell intent in the moment during a bang-bang play, but the replay sure made Dickinson look guilty.

We’ll update this story as it develops.