Bill Self, whose No. 1-ranked Kansas basketball team claimed a thrilling three-point victory over then-No. 9 North Carolina on Nov. 8 at Allen Fieldhouse, was just as elated, perhaps even more so Tuesday night.

His Jayhawks defeated No. 11 Duke 75-72 in a one-for-the-ages Vegas Showdown battle at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“That was fun. That was a toughness win,” Self, KU’s 22nd-year coach, said after the Jayhawks claimed their second marquee victim from Tobacco Road this season.

KU improved to 6-0 by overcoming a flagrant 2 ejection that sent senior preseason All-American Hunter Dickinson to the locker room courtesy of an ejection with 10 1/2 minutes to play.

“What a game for pre-Thanksgiving,” Self exclaimed in his postgame media session. “Three games we’ve played (including 77-69 win over Michigan State) … two of them were instant classics with Carolina and Duke. We’re fortunate we won both.

“That team we played today can win the national championship,” Self added of the Blue Devils (4-2). “Of course, I think we could too.”

Self — his squad led by 13 points the first half and eight in the second stanza — held a 57-55 lead when Dickinson was ejected for kicking Duke’s Maliq Brown in the head while the two were on the ground battling for the basketball.

KU was able to win despite Dickinson, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes, not being able to assist down the stretch.

“The best thing about Hunter not being in the game was that Flory was,” Self said, praising freshman forward Flory Bidunga (six points, eight rebounds, 16 minutes).

Bidunga and senior forward KJ Adams had one of the night’s biggest plays on defense. They deflected the ball from Kon Knueppel, who took the ball into the lane with just 3.3 seconds left and KU up 73-72.

The ball was recovered by junior guard Rylan Griffen, who after being credited with a steal was fouled and swished two free throws to give the Jayhawks a 75-72 lead.

KU held on when Knueppel’s last-second 3-point try, which was well-guarded by Adams and Zeke Mayo, missed.

“I said, ‘We’ll find out how tough we are,’” Self said of his message to the team following the ejection of Dickinson.

“I think there’s moments in every season — it’s too early for a pivotal moment — when you have to define an identity. We can take some pride and say we have more an identity now because we won ugly down the stretch.”

One Jayhawk who stepped up in the absence of Dickinson was junior guard Griffen.

Griffen converted a 3 to erase a 67-65 deficit with 5:31 left. Then he scored a bucket off a drive in the lane and hit a free throw at 3:33, giving KU a 71-67 advantage. Mayo’s shot in the lane put KU up for good, 73-71 at 1:55, with Griffen’s free throws the final points of the night.

This is the same Griffen who missed an ill-advised 3-pointer with 18 seconds left before halftime. His miss led to Duke sinking a 3 to cut the gap from 41-36 to 41-39 at the break.

“My teammates are the ones who kept my head straight. They told me to keep shooting it,” said Griffen, who received only encouragement at halftime.

“They said, ‘It’s not that you took that shot, it’s when you took it (at 0:18 instead of pulling the ball out for a final shot).’ They kept telling me I was OK. ‘Just shoot the next one when you get the ball.’”

Self was pleased Griffen, who finished with eight points and three boards in 17 minutes, was able to bounce back after that first-half blunder.

“Hopefully it’s going to give him some confidence. Hopefully it will because he’s been laboring. He and AJ (Storr, 11 points, 2-of-2 from 3) have been laboring with me, just finding their niche and role,” Self said.

“Rylan … the play he made at the end of the half, he forgot that and thought, ‘Next play.’ Fortunately for us. If we can get 19 points in 44 minutes out of those two (Griffen and Storr) we’ll live with that most every night.”

Self praised the work of seniors Dajuan Harris (14 points, nine assists, 36 minutes) and Adams, who held Cooper Flagg to 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Adams scored eight points with three assists, three blocks and three steals in 33 minutes.

“We are playing with a great point guard and unbelievable 4-man,” Self said. “What KJ did defensively … Cooper (Flagg) scored, but a lot after a switch. He didn’t get much on KJ.”

Of senior guard Mayo, who had 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting (2-4 from 3) including the game winning bucket that gave KU a 73-71 lead, Self said: “Although Zeke didn’t make shots, gosh his poise and pace was so good.”

Self added: “(The Blue Devils) are really talented. ... The biggest thing is we found a way.”

It’ll make for a happy Thanksgiving for the Jayhawks, who will next meet Furman at 5 p.m. Saturday at Allen.

“That was a Final Four type game,” Griffen said. “Two great teams battling it out. Nobody would have been surprised if you said this was a Final Four game — two great teams, two great programs playing. That’s one of the reasons I came to Kansas (from Alabama), games like these.”