Texas Tech, Duke scheduled for neutral-site matchup at Madison Square Garden
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Over the last eight seasons, only 24 Division I programs have at least 169 wins. Two of them will face off head-to-head on one of the biggest stages in all of basketball: Madison Square Garden.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will face off with the Duke Blue Devils at the Garden, an arena sometimes referred to as the Mecca of basketball. The Red Raiders have played at MSG 10 times, once previously against the Blue Devils. Texas Tech is 4-6 in such games.
Red Raiders vs. Blue Devils. New York. You in? pic.twitter.com/GnUAuvSlHl
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 26, 2025
While Duke is one of the most historic programs in college basketball, Texas Tech has played them just twice. Both bouts have come within the last 10 years: a 69-58 loss at MSG in Dec. 2018 and a devastating 78-73 loss in the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal at the Chase Center in March 2022.
The game is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2025, and will be played at 7 p.m. CT. It bisects what was a 12-day stretch between home games against Northern Colorado and Winthrop.
The Blue Devils will be the Red Raiders' third non-conference opponent this season that made the most recent NCAA Tournament, with road/neutral-site matchups scheduled against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Nov. 11 and a game against either the Memphis Tigers or Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 21 (depending on the results at the Baha Mar Championship.
Duke went 19-1 in conference play in 2024, winning the ACC Tournament, before losing in the March Madness semifinals to Houston. The Blue Devils have been one of the winningest programs in both recent history and all-time.
The Blue Devils are expected to be led by the top recruiting class in 2025, which included twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer as well as five-stars Nikolas Khamenia and Dame Sarr. Former top recruit Caleb Foster returns, and Isaiah Evans turned down the NBA Draft with eyes of becoming a first-rounder in 2026.
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-43389ae7766a84cbb8a6c33939d17968.jpeg "Jordan Epp")
Jordan Epp is a journalist who graduated from Texas A&M in 2022 and is passionate about telling stories, sharing news, and finding ways to entertain people through the medium of sports. He has formerly worked as a writer and editor at The Battalion and The Eagle, covering football in College Station, Texas, and served as the managing editor for PFSN.
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