No. 1 Kansas emerges with tight win over No. 11 Duke

Field Level Media|published: Tue 26th November, 23:47 2024

NCAA Basketball: Vegas Showdown-Kansas at Duke

Nov 26, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles against Kansas Jayhawks forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

LAS VEGAS -- Duane Harris Jr. tallied 14 points and nine assists while Zeke Mayo added 12 points to lead Kansas to a 75-72 win over No. 11 Duke on Tuesday night.

Rylan Griffin answered an emphatic go-ahead slam from Duke's Cooper Flagg by hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer, putting Kansas up 68-67 with 5:32 remaining. Flagg again tied the score at 71 before Mayo put the Jayhawks ahead for good with 1:57 remaining.

Duke scored just one point over the last 2:29, and Kon Knueppel's 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.

Flagg, the Blue Devils' freshman star, finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting after being held to just two points on two shot attempts in the first half.

Kansas' Hunter Dickinson was ejected on a Flagrant-2 foul call as the Jayhawks led by two with 10:26 remaining. Referees deemed that he intentionally kicked Duke's Maliq Brown in the head during an on-the-floor tangle.

Dickinson produced 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and anchored an impressive defensive effort before his ejection. Teammate AJ Storr added 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Duke's Tyrese Proctor finished with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Knueppel added 11 points on 4-of-11 success from the field despite missing all eight of his 3-point attempts.

Down by two at halftime, the Blue Devils took a 42-41 lead on a Knueppel jumper 57 seconds after the break, their first edge since they held a 3-2 advantage in the game's opening moments. Kansas answered with an immediate 9-0 run.

The Jayhawks shot 49.1 percent from the field as a team and made eight of their 17 three-point attempts (47.1 percent). Duke finished the game with 24 field goals on 48 attempts (50 percent), including 11 of their 26 attempts from beyond the arc (42.3 percent).

Kansas started the game on an emphatic 16-3 run as it drained five consecutive field goals between Duke's first and second basket. Sion James hit a 3-pointer that gave the Blue Devils a brief reprieve, but Storr answered with a thunderous dunk on the other end to put Kansas ahead 18-6.

A 16-4 Duke surge late in the half helped the Blue Devils get within 41-39 entering the break.

--Will Despart, Field Level Media

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