Duke Texas Tech MSG game replaces canceled Michigan matchup
Duke’s planned Dec. 21 game against Michigan in Miami is off, with Texas Tech now lined up for Madison Square Garden, CBS Sports reports.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
The Duke Texas Tech MSG rematch is back on the college basketball calendar after Duke’s planned Dec. 21 meeting with Michigan in Miami was scrapped, CBS Sports reported, citing sources.
The original Duke-Michigan game had been targeted for loanDepot Park, the Miami Marlins’ baseball stadium, after earlier plans for Madison Square Garden ran into television-rights trouble. According to CBS Sports, Duke is now working toward playing Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21, with contracts still being finalized and all sides on board.
Why was Duke-Michigan canceled?
CBS Sports reported that the matchup was tangled in broadcast complications tied to the Big Ten’s television agreements. The issue centered on whether Amazon Prime Video had the rights to air the game, with Big Ten TV partners objecting, according to the report.
The game was first revealed in late April as part of Duke’s new three-game nonconference television arrangement with Amazon, CBS Sports reported. Madison Square Garden was the first intended site, but New York City sits within the Big Ten’s television footprint, which helped push organizers to consider another location.
Michigan coach Dusty May and Duke coach Jon Scheyer had agreed in the spring to keep trying to make the game work elsewhere, according to CBS Sports. May then pursued loanDepot Park because of his relationship with the Marlins’ owner, the report said.
CBS Sports reported that a source said on June 3 the game was expected to be played at the baseball stadium unless something major changed. Nineteen days later, May left college basketball for the NBA, with CBS Sports reporting he was hired by the Dallas Mavericks.
With May gone and the broadcast dispute still unresolved over the past month, Duke and Michigan recently chose to move on from the game, according to CBS Sports.
What does Duke get instead?
Duke gets a familiar December opponent in Texas Tech, which beat the Blue Devils 82-81 at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20 last season. CBS Sports called that game Duke’s only loss through its first 22 games and one of the regular season’s top matchups.
The new meeting would send Duke back to the Garden during the week before Christmas. CBS Sports reported that Duke is expected to be a preseason top-five team, while Texas Tech could start near the edge of the Top 25 depending on the status of All-American JT Toppin, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in February.
If the game is completed as planned, Madison Square Garden would host four notable college basketball games across three days before Christmas, according to CBS Sports. The CBS Sports Classic is scheduled for Dec. 19 with Kansas against Ohio State and North Carolina against Kentucky, followed by UConn against Virginia on Dec. 20 and Duke against Texas Tech on Dec. 21.
The Texas Tech game would be the second piece of Duke’s Amazon nonconference package for 2026-27, CBS Sports reported. The Blue Devils are also scheduled to face UConn in Las Vegas on Nov. 25 and Gonzaga in Detroit on Feb. 20.
Duke’s wider nonconference schedule also includes Michigan State in Chicago at the Champions Classic, a home game against Illinois and a Jimmy V Classic game against Georgia at Madison Square Garden, according to CBS Sports.
Michigan does not yet have a replacement opponent locked in, CBS Sports reported. A source told the outlet that a backup plan is being worked on, with hopes of filling the opening in the coming days.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.