Duke, UConn Will Have Highly Anticipated Rematch in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving Eve

There will be plenty of storylines between the Blue Devils and Huskies in its NCAA Tournament rematch

Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cayden Boozer (2) dribbles the ball as UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) defends in the first half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

It’ll be the matchup that the country wants to see again and it’s officially happening.

Duke will be getting a rematch against UConn next season — albeit with much lower stakes but still a plethora of storylines.

The matchup will take place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving Eve. It was first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

According to sources, the game has been in the works months prior to the epic Elite 8 matchup between the two teams which saw the Huskies stun the Blue Devils on Braylon Mullins’ 3-point heave in the final seconds to advance to the Final Four.

The game is expected to directly rival the Players Era Festival, which takes place the week of Thanksgiving in Vegas. This will be the third installment of Players Era although the format is expected to be quite different this season with the field expanding to 32 teams. No schedule, bracket, or format has been announced yet from the event, but its championship game last season was held the night before Thanksgiving Day.

Still, the Blue Devils and Huskies — both expected to be Top 5 teams entering the 2026-27 season — will have the attention of the college basketball world on this night.

Duke is returning several key players from its team this season, including Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Dame Sarr, and Patrick Ngongba while trying to find replacements for departing stars Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans. The Blue Devils made a major splash in the transfer portal after landing Wisconsin guard John Blackwell.

UConn also succeeded at retaining its roster as Silas Demary Jr. and Mullins spurned the NBA to return to the Huskies as Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed exhausted all of their eligibility.

The showdown will also feature the storyline of Nik Khamenia, a Duke transfer that committed to UConn this offseason, against his former team. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 5.7 points per game with the Blue Devils during his freshman season.

A tipoff time and television network will be announced at a later date, but the anticipation will continue to build for the November 25 showdown between two of the biggest brands in the sport.