This Tuesday, Duke basketball faced off against Kansas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in a highly anticipated Top 11 matchup as part of the Vegas Showdown. With the Blue Devils (4-1) coming off a road win at Arizona and the top-ranked Jayhawks (5-0) continuing their strong start, the clash between these two powerhouse programs drew considerable attention.

Historically, Kansas has held an edge in their series, with a 4-1 record over the last five meetings and an 8-6 overall advantage. However, Duke’s history of upsetting top-ranked teams, such as their 2021 victory over then-No. 1 Gonzaga, raised hopes for another thrilling outcome. But, those hopes seemed to have shattered for Kansas as they lost a key player mid-game.

As Duke trimmed its deficit to just two points, tensions flared. Kansas center Hunter Dickinson and Duke forward Maliq Brown went up for a rebound, leading to a physical entanglement. While initially appearing routine, things escalated when Dickinson seemingly kicked Brown in the head as they went to the floor.

The incident resulted in Dickinson receiving a Flagrant 2 foul, leading to an automatic ejection with 10:26 left in the second half. Dickinson has a bad reputation for borderline dirty plays, and this recent move felt influenced by that reputation, which may have contributed to the flagrant call.

Even though it was hard to discern intent in the moment during the bang-bang play, the referees determined Dickinson’s kick was intentional. The replay only reinforced the perception of guilt. As soon as the footage aired, it garnered significant attention online.

People couldn’t resist joining the conversation

When the clip reached Coach Bill Self’s feed, he couldn’t resist diving into the comment section on X himself. Visibly upset, he appeared to mouth, “This is f-ckin bullsh-t,” as he defended Dickinson despite his 11 points and game-high six rebounds at the time of ejection. Self’s comment ignited intense criticism of Dickinson’s actions.

“Every time I watch Kansas, Hunter Dickinson is always doing something ridiculously unacceptable. The Matthew Dellavedova of college basketball,” one person remarked, comparing him to the notoriously physical NBA guard. Fouls are nothing new for Dickinson. In the second game of the season against the North Carolina Tar Heels, he drew four personal fouls, just one short of an ejection.

“HUNTER DICKINSON EJECTED NO WAY LMFAOAOOAOAAO,” added another user. “Hunter Dickinson has been ejected. Thank Christ,” penned another. In today’s showdown against Duke University’s men’s basketball team, he accrued three personal fouls and three turnovers.

“Ooph. Hunter Dickinson just kicked Maliq Brown in the face. Guessing they call this a technical. Heck of a game in Vegas,” commented another user. While Dickinson did contribute 11 points to the team’s total, his absence didn’t affect the outcome. Kansas still handed Duke University a 75-72 defeat.