The highly anticipated Dec. 21 nonconference game between Duke and Michigan has been called off, sources told ESPN on Friday.
The contest was originally scheduled to be played at Madison Square Garden, but a misinterpretation of broadcast rights forced the sides to attempt to move the game to LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. However, the broadcast rights issues remained, and all parties couldn’t come to an agreement, ultimately forcing the game to be canceled.
Duke will now play Texas Tech on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden, sources told ESPN, a rematch of last year’s thrilling 82-81 Red Raiders win at the Garden on Dec. 20.
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The Duke vs. Michigan game — a rematch of a February matchup in Washington, D.C., won by the Blue Devils — was revealed in late April as part of Duke’s first-of-its-kind enterprise partnership with Amazon. The agreement also included Duke facing UConn in Las Vegas on Nov. 25 and Gonzaga in Detroit on Feb. 20, with the games streamed exclusively on Prime Video.
The other two games are set to go ahead, with Duke’s newly scheduled contest with Texas Tech also airing exclusively on Prime Video.
Duke is No. 2 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, despite the departures of consensus Player of the Year Cameron Boozer and second-leading scorer Isaiah Evans. Coach Jon Scheyer has built his deepest team in Durham, welcoming the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class and Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, the best guard in the portal this spring.
Texas Tech has gone to three straight NCAA tournaments under coach Grant McCasland, winning 74 games during his time in Lubbock. The Red Raiders have not finished lower than third in the Big 12 under McCasland and recently revealed that All-America forward JT Toppin, who suffered a torn ACL in February, is expected to suit up next season.
The agreement between Duke and Amazon represents the company’s first foray into broadcasting live college sports. Beginning next season, Prime Video will exclusively present three Duke neutral-site nonconference games per season.
Duke worked with the ACC and ESPN on future scheduling commitments in exchange for the ability to play these three neutral-site games, including participating in select ESPN-owned and operated neutral-site events in the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons.