The highly anticipated Duke-Michigan non-conference matchup is off, per CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.
Originally part of a three-game series the Blue Devils would play on Prime Video this season with a landmark broadcasting deal with Amazon, the Big Ten's pushback over broadcasting rights initially led to the game being moved from Madison Square Garden to the Miami Marlins' LoanDepot Park, outside of the Big Ten footprint.
Norlander points to Dusty May's decision to leave Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks' job as part of the impetus for the change:
"With May no longer around, and with the game still coming under dispute from broadcast television partners in the past month, Duke and Michigan decided in recent days to walk away from the game due to the ongoing complexities with pulling off the matchup under unique circumstances," Norlander wrote.
The Duke-Michigan matchup was set to be one of the biggest non-conference games of the season, and while the Blue Devils had already set up a gauntlet and could afford to lose a big-time game, that wasn't acceptable for Jon Scheyer.
Instead, he moved quickly to fill the slot and move the game back to Madison Square Garden. Per Norlander, Duke has replaced Michigan with Texas Tech and the game will still air on Prime Video on December 21st:
NEWS—December's Duke-Michigan game has been axed, sources tell @CBSSports. Broadcasting complexities led to both sides walking away from the deal in the past week. Duke will now instead play Texas Tech at MSG on Dec. 21, with the game airing on Prime Video.https://t.co/N6exOxghln
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) July 24, 2026
Duke will look to avenge last season's loss to Texas Tech in Madison Square Garden
The Red Raiders represented one of just two regular-season losses for the Blue Devils last season, and it happened in a stunner at the world's most famous arena.
In an awful bit of NCAA Tournament foreshadowing, Duke blew a 17-point second-half lead against Texas Tech and lost 82-81. The Blue Devils could quickly point to poor free-throw shooting - 17-of-29 (59%) - as the main impetus for the defeat in New York City.
Scheyer will have his team motivated to avenge that defeat to Texas Tech this year in the same arena.
Duke is one of the deepest and most talented teams in college basketball heading into the 2026-27 season, with most projections pointing toward the Blue Devils opening the season as preseason No. 2 in the polls behind only Florida.
Texas Tech is a bit more of an unknown after losing Christian Anderson and with the uncertainty surrounding the return from an ACL tear for JT Toppin.
It's good work by Scheyer this late in the game with most schedules finalized that he was able to track down another quality non-conference test for Duke. It might not produce the same buzz as a matchup with Michigan would have, but last season's loss to Texas Tech will serve as plenty of motivation for Duke fans and the team.
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