Arkansas-Duke Headline 2025 CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic in Primetime

CHICAGO (March 6, 2025) – One of the marquee early season games of the 2025-26 college basketball season was announced today as Duke will take on Arkansas in a primetime tilt on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 27, at the United Center in Chicago. The CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic will be broadcast nationally on The CBS Television Network and available to stream live on Paramount+ at 8 pm (ET)/7 pm (CT).

Tickets for the event will go on sale later this year, but fans are encouraged to log on to www.DukeArkansasChicago.com and register to receive exclusive event information, including presale access to tickets and other opportunities to enhance the Thanksgiving weekend experience in Chicago.

The 2024 CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic between Illinois and Arkansas averaged 5.174 million viewers on CBS and is the most-watched college basketball game on any network this season.

“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.”

“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.”

The Blue Devils are enjoying another season where they’ve spent most of the season ranked in the top 10. Currently No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, Duke is led by third-year head coach Jon Scheyer, who has spent 16 seasons in Durham. Scheyer carries an 81-21 record through nearly three seasons as the program’s head coach, along with a 245-71 record as an assistant coach and a 115-29 record as a four-year starter as a player (2006-10). The Blue Devils are poised to welcome the top-ranked recruiting class next season, headlined by Cameron and Cayden Boozer, along with fellow top-25 recruits Shelton Henderson and Nikolas Khamenia. Scheyer is a product of Glenbrook North High School, located less than 25 miles from the United Center. In their history, the Blue Devils boast 46 NCAA Tournament appearances, 17 Final Four berths and five national championships.

Arkansas entered a new era this past season, having welcomed Hall of Fame coach John Calipari to the sidelines this season. One of the winningest active coaches in college basketball with 873 wins, Calipari – a 33-year coaching veteran – is one of two coaches (Rick Pitino) to take three different programs to the Final Four. The Razorbacks are in a position to make another NCAA Tournament berth this March, their fourth such appearance in the last five seasons. Arkansas will bring in the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the country next season, according to 247Sports, led by five-star and top-15 standouts Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 5) and Maleek Thomas (No. 12), in addition to four-star standout Isaiah Sealy, who is the top-rated recruit in the state of Arkansas. The Razorbacks have appeared in 35 NCAA Tournaments, with six Final Four runs and one national championship.

Arkansas holds a 3-2 all-time advantage in the series, with three of those matchups coming in NCAA Tournament action, most notably in the 1994 National Championship game won by Arkansas. The Razorbacks also won the most recent matchup, an 80-75 victory in Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 29, 2023.

Series History (Arkansas leads, 3-2)

Intersport, a sports marketing and events agency based in Chicago, will lead the operations for the event.