Texas Tech and Duke men’s basketball teams are working on playing a non-conference game in New York City, a Tech spokesperson confirmed to the Avalanche-Journal.
The game is tentatively scheduled to be played Dec. 20 in Madison Square Garden. The Field of 68 first reported the potential game on Wednesday, which has not yet been finalized, but the two programs are sorting out the paperwork. An announcement is expected at a later date.
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This would pit two projected preseason Top 10 teams playing in the World’s Most Famous Arena. The teams previously played in MSG during the 2018-19 season when No. 2 Duke defeated No. 12 Texas Tech 69-58. Most recently the teams collided in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in San Francisco.
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Duke won that game 78-73 in what was Mike Krzyzewski’s final season as head coach of the Blue Devils before retiring.
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The Red Raiders and Blue Devils are both expected to have top teams for the 2025-26 season. Tech is coming off its first appearance in the Elite Eight since that 2018-19 season and return reigning Big 12 player of the year JT Toppin. Earlier this week, Tech announced a contract extension for head coach Grant McCasland through the 2030-31 season that comes with a pay raise to put him among the highest-paid coaches in the country.
The Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four during the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will feature one of the top high school recruiting classes in the country, led by five-star prospect Cameron Boozer and four-star recruits Cayden Boozer (Cameron’s twin bother) and Nikolas Khamenia.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball, Duke working toward non-conference game in MSG
