No. No. 1 Kansas jumped out of the gate early, overcoming a second-half takedown of All-America center Hunter Dickinson for a thrilling 75-72 victory over 11th-ranked Duke Tuesday night.

The Jayhawks earned the high-profile win in Las Vegas while limiting Duke’s Cooper Flagg to 13 points and forcing the freshman phenom into four turnovers. Flagg’s supporting cast led several runs to keep things close before the tone of the game took a dramatic turn midway through the second half.

With Kansas leading 57-55, Dickinson grabbed an offensive rebound in traffic and was undermined by Duke’s Maliq Brown. Both players fell to the ground with their bodies tangled. While on the ground, Dickinson kicked Brown in the head with his right foot, and a brief scuffle ensued.

Officials assessed Brown a personal foul on the floor and then went to the monitor. After a lengthy review, they issued a flagrant second technical foul to Dickinson, a penalty that carries an ejection. Dickinson’s night was over and he had to leave the Kansas bench.

Dickinson remained on the bench before the officials noticed he was still there at the next break. Ultimately, he was escorted off the field.

Kansas holds strong after Dickinson’s expulsion

The game was a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the game before Duke got a chance to go green in the final seconds of the game while trailing 72-71. But Kansas defenders forced Kon Knueppel into a turnover in the lane with 3.3 seconds left, and Kansas guard Rylan Griffen came away with the ball.

Griffen hit two free throws at the other end to extend the lead to three, and Duke couldn’t respond on its final possession with 3.3 seconds left. Knueppel took one last look at a three-pointer, but it rolled off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

It made for another strong performance by Kansas against a top opponent, improving to 6-0. The win was the Jayhawks’ second over a top 11 opponent after weathering a second-half rally from then-No. 9 North Carolina at home on November 8.

On Tuesday, Kansas kept its composure without its best player down the stretch.

Jayhawks fend off multiple Duke runs

The Jayhawks seized control on the opening tip and raced out to an early 16-3 lead. They met Flagg repeatedly with double teams, physical play and a strong one-on-one defensive effort from senior forward KJ Adams Jr.

But Duke held on and cut the Kansas lead to 41-39 at halftime, thanks in part to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from junior guard Tyrese Proctor. The Blue Devils kept pace despite only getting two points from Flagg in the first half.

Duke then took its first lead since the opening minute of the game with a 42-41 lead at halftime. But Kansas struck back. The Jayhawks went on a 9-0 run to reassert control of the game with a 50-42 lead.

Duke responded with a 15-7 run before Dickinson’s glaring error changed the tenor of the game. But the Jayhawks didn’t budge.

A dunk by Flagg gave Duke a 67-65 lead with 5:53 remaining. But Griffen responded with a personal 6-0 run to regain the Kansas lead at 71-67. Duke would tie the game at 71-71, but Kansas never trailed again, surviving two attempts to take the lead from Duke in the final four seconds of the game.

Kansas got a balanced offensive effort, led by 14 points from Dajuan Harris Jr.. Dickinson had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals at the time of his ejection. Adams was a force on defense, scoring eight points, two rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. The Jayhawks shot 49.1% from the floor and 8 of 17 from 3 (47.1%) while hitting 11 of 12 free throws.

Proctor led Duke with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Flagg added five rebounds and three assists to his 13 points. One of his four turnovers occurred when Duke appeared to take the lead with 48 seconds left.

Duke shot 50% from the field and 42.3% from 3, but it wasn’t enough to beat a resilient Kansas team.