LAS VEGAS – Dajuan Harris scored 14 points and top-ranked Kansas held firm the ejection of star center Hunter Dickinson to beat No. 11 Duke 75-72 in the Vegas showdown on Tuesday night.

Dickinson, who came into the game averaging 17.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, received a Fragrant 2 foul and was sent off for kicking the Blue Devils’ Maliq Brown in the head midway through the second half.

Highly touted Duke freshman Cooper Flagg took advantage of Dickinson’s absence, and the Blue Devils stayed ahead until the end.

Zeke Mayo added 12 points for Kansas (6-0), and Dickinson and AJ Storr scored 11 each.

Tyrese Proctor led Duke (4-2) with 15 points, Flagg scored 13, Kon Knueppel had 11 and Sion James finished with 10.

Mayo gave Kansas the lead for good when he jumped for a 73-71 lead with 1:57 left. Flagg hit a free throw for Duke and Rylan Griffen responded with two foul throws with two seconds left.

Kansas has won four of the last five meetings with the Blue Devils and six of eight. Nine of the last ten meetings were decided by single digits.

Takeaways

Kansas: Overcoming the loss of Dickinson could serve the Jayhawks well later in the season.

Duke: Flagg had six points when Dickinson went out, but then had two dunks, a layup and a free throw in four trips to the lane.

Key moment

Knueppel had a 3-point try-rim at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.

Key statistics

Duke shot 50% from the field and 42.3% from 3-point range. Kansas shot 49.1% overall and 47.1% from 3.

Next

Kansas hosts Furman on Saturday. Duke plays Seattle at home on Friday.