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Arkansas will face Duke on Thanksgiving Day in a marquee matchup between the SEC and ACC early on in the 2025-26 basketball season.
The two schools announced the game on Thursday. It’ll take place on Nov. 27 (8 p.m. ET, CBS) at the United Center in Chicago.
“In what will be one of the most watched college basketball games in the last decade, we could not be more excited to be playing Thanksgiving Day against Duke on CBS again next season,” said Arkansas head coach John Calipari. “This past year playing on Thanksgiving Day was a great experience and great exposure for our program, as well as all of college basketball. This will be an NCAA tournament-caliber game that will show us exactly where our team is at that point in the season. These high-level games help prepare you for March. Duke has had an incredible season this year and Jon Scheyer has done a great job taking the reins of that program. We are looking forward to the challenge in a highly coveted matchup.”
The 2024 CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic pit Arkansas against Illinois. It averaged 5.174 million viewers and is the most-watched college basketball game on any network this season, according to a release.
Next year’s game will be just the third meeting between the 2 programs this century. Arkansas won the most recent meeting, an 80-75 victory at home on Nov. 29, 2023. Duke won 78-69 when the 2 teams met in the Elite Eight of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Thanksgiving Day game will also be just the third meeting between the 2 sides in the regular season.
Arkansas holds the all-time series lead, 3-2.
“I’m really excited to be back in Chicago and in the United Center with our team,” said Duke head coach Jon Scheyer. “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to approach our schedule, and playing on Thanksgiving night on primetime TV is another great chance to showcase Duke Basketball on a national stage against a great opponent. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
