Duke and Michigan have canceled their highly anticipated December 21 basketball game, initially set to be part of Duke’s three-game package with Amazon Prime Video. The contest was scheduled for Madison Square Garden and backed by the ACC’s rights partner ESPN. However, the Big Ten and Fox disputed the ACC's authority over the game’s broadcast rights, given the event’s location in New York—a territory traditionally aligned with the Big Ten. This dispute arose from an agreement between the conferences to alternate broadcast rights for neutral-site games, which led to the contested control over this matchup.

Following the rights disagreement, Duke and Michigan explored moving the game to a different venue, specifically loanDepot Park in Miami, where connections existed through Michigan’s former head coach Dusty May and Marlins owner Bruce Sherman. However, May’s departure from Michigan to coach the Dallas Mavericks in June weakened the prospects of the relocation. Ultimately, these combined issues made it impossible to salvage the game, leading to its official cancellation.

Instead of facing Michigan at Madison Square Garden, Duke will now play Texas Tech in a rematch from last season, completing its three-game Amazon rights deal with remote contests against UConn in Las Vegas on November 25 and Gonzaga in Detroit on February 20. The ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips, supported the Amazon deal and expressed confidence in the creative approach Duke took while negotiating with ESPN and conference stakeholders, despite concerns about setting a precedent for television rights.

Responses from Duke and the Big Ten were unavailable, and Texas Tech did not confirm the arrangement, maintaining that its only announced games are within the Players Era tournament. This situation highlights the ongoing complexity and territorial tensions inherent in college basketball broadcasting rights, especially as conferences and media partners negotiate exclusivity and access in shared markets.