Hunter Dickinson Gets Last Laugh in Longtime Feud With Indiana

Hunter Dickinson has antagonized the Assembly Hall crowd since his days playing for Michigan, and that continued Saturday, this time in a 75-71 win as a Kansas Jayhawk. It's likely the last time Dickinson will play at Assembly Hall, and he finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The sight of Hunter Dickinson elicits an instinctual “boo” from most Indiana fans. See him one time at Assembly Hall, and that’s the nicest thing you’ll hear directed at the 7-foot All-American.

He knows it. And he embraces it.

“I could probably save a baby out here in Bloomington, and they’d still boo me the next game,” Dickinson said. “But, you know, that’s how it is. They’re not going to ever like me out here, and so it’s like why try to be like a nice guy on the court? Like, who cares if they’re going to boo you? As long as my Kansas Jayhawks back in Allen [Fieldhouse] like me, that’s all I need.”

Four years of matchups against Dickinson dating back to his time at Michigan culminated Saturday with his new team, the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks, defeating Indiana, 75-71. It’s likely the last time Indiana will face Dickinson, barring a matchup in the NCAA Tournament or sometime next season. Dickinson is now 3-3 all-time against the Hoosiers, winning his first two matchups and snapping a three-game losing streak with Saturday’s victory as a Jayhawk.

“Hopefully it’s a lot easier for guys when, you know, a lot of the boos are at me, so I hope that takes a little bit of pressure off of them,’’ Dickinson said. “But it’s a tough place to play, that’s why they’re really good at home. They’re really well-coached, and they’ve got a lot of talent on the team. But you know, we’re a damn good team, too.”

Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Though he got off to a slow start, Dickinson got the last laugh against Indiana, finishing with 17 points on 8-for-17 shooting and 14 rebounds. He added an assist, a block and a steal, while also limiting Indiana center Kel’el Ware to 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting, though Ware grabbed 15 rebounds.

Dickinson walked out of the Assembly Hall tunnel for pregame warmups with a grin on his face, pink shoes on his feet and boos in his ears. He’s been excited about this matchup since transferring to Kansas in May, saying, “I can't wait to go back to Indiana. Playing at Assembly Hall is crazy. I love that atmosphere.''

Crazy it was. With fans donned in alternating cream and crimson attire based on section, mimicking Indiana’s candy stripe pants, it was arguably the most rowdy atmosphere of the Mike Woodson era.

“I think this place reminds me of KU,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “History, tradition, people respect it. That’s two true bluebloods out there today, and I think you can kind of sense it’s different here than most places where you have to manufacture the atmosphere. Here you don’t, and you don’t have to at Kansas either. So it just felt a little different in that way. Fun game to be a part of.”

The crowd surely instilled confidence in the Hoosiers and perhaps threw the Jayhawks off their plan during the early moments of their first true road game of the season.

As Dickinson’s name was announced during starting lineup introductions, jeers rained down from the stands and the Kansas big man raised his arms to egg on the Hoosier fans. That seemed to draw even louder displeasure.

“If you don’t like it and it annoys you and it can get to you, then you’re going to obviously not play as well,” Dickinson said. “So I don’t try to fight it at all, I just embrace it because, you know, it’s not going to go away any time soon.”

Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) and guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (15) celebrate in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Dickinson scored the Jayhawks’ first bucket, but Self called a timeout after Indiana jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead. The Hoosiers led by as much as 12 points in the first half, ultimately going into the halftime locker room with an eight-point advantage.

At that point, Indiana limited Dickinson to nine points on far less efficient shooting than the 63.7% rate he had entering the game. Self thought Dickinson labored in the first half and that his 4-for-11 shooting could have easily been eight or nine makes. He also critiqued the big man’s ball-screen defense in the first half.

Dickinson shot an airball near the 12-minute mark of the second half, giving the Indiana crowd the opportunity to scream “airball” chants as loud as you’ll ever hear. They repeated it any time Dickinson touched the ball until the final buzzer.

Perimeter players Kevin McCullar Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. played key roles in the Jayhawks’ comeback, but two of Dickinson’s second-half layups came in crucial moments.

Self candidly said he doesn’t often call plays after a live rebound, but following a missed 3-pointer by Malik Reneau and a rebound by Dickinson, Self instructed his team to run their “Utah” play, a suggestion during a previous timeout by assistant coach Kurtis Townsend.

Dickinson set a screen for McCullar under the basket, allowing McCullar to curl around the defense and catch a pass from Harris at the top of the key. Immediately after screening, Dickinson sealed Ware at the top of the restricted area. Whenever Dickinson catches the ball that deep, it’s game over.

A lefty hook over the long arms of the 7-foot Ware gave Kansas its first lead of the game, 62-61, as the clock ticked below five minutes. Dickinson let his opponents hear it as he ran back on defense.

After Indiana and Kansas traded a few more baskets, Dickinson hit a turnaround left-handed push shot at the Big Ten logo, just below the free throw line, which gave Kansas its biggest lead of the game, 69-65, with 2:33 to play. The camera panned to Dickinson talking even more trash after the clutch bucket, and deservedly so.

It was plays like that from Dickinson and company that Kansas made, and Indiana didn’t, down the stretch. Kansas outscored Indiana 17-10 in the final six minutes to stun the Assembly Hall crowd.

“The two buckets Dickinson hit in the paint was kind of the difference in the game coming down the stretch,” Woodson said. “I don't know if Ware was tired at that particular time, but he just didn't battle him like he did the first half and throughout the first half.”

As he walked off Branch McCracken Court for likely the last time, Dickinson wore the same grin as he did during pregame warmups. Nothing fans could say would mean a thing now, as Kansas improved to 10-1 on the season and looked like a national title contender.

“That makes it more fun when it’s a loud atmosphere like that and pointing at the crowd,” Dickinson said. “I think that’s what we play for. That’s fun going on the road, and that’s why it’s so fun to win on the road because it’s just you guys in the huddle. Everybody else doesn’t want you to win. It’s just those guys in the huddle really in the trenches battling, so I think that’s why road wins are so special for guys.”

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