Preview: #4 Duke Blue Devils (7-0, 0-0 ACC) vs #22 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1, 0-0 SEC)

CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic Chicago

#4 Duke Blue Devils (7-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #22 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1, 0-0 SEC)

Thursday, Nov. 27 • 8:00 p.m. ET

United Center (20,917) • Chicago, IL

TV: CBS

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

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 prime time tilt on Thanksgiving night, November 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.

“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 this 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 prime time TV is another great chance to showcase Duke Basketball on a national stage against a great opponent. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

TV CBS
Play-by-Play Ian Eagle
Analyst Bill Raftery
Reporter Jon Rothstein
Producer Jonathan Segal
Director Chris Svendsenk

Radio Blue Devil Sports Net.
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM

In John Calipari’s inaugural season as the head coach of the Razorbacks, he led them to a 22-14 record and a NCAA Tournament birth as a 10-seed where they beat both #7-seeded Kansas and #2-seeded S. Johns before losing to Texas Tech in the West Regional in a tough overtime game.

So far on the season, the Razorbacks boast a 5-1 record, with their only loss coming against Michigan State in a true road game. Arkansas is led in scoring by a duo of freshman guards. 6’5 guars Maleek Thomas is leading the way at 18.3 points per game, while Darius Acuff is less than a basket behind him at 16.8 points her game. The freshman are averaging 4.3 and 4.2 assists per game respectively. Senior Trevon Brazile is leading the team in rebounds at 7 per game and also rounds out the double figure scoring at 13 per game. So far on the season, John Calipari has used 4 different starting lineups.

Last Time Out:

Arkansas dismantled Jackson State completely, 115-61, for their most lopsided victory of the season. Led by Malique Ewin’s 21 points, Karter Knox’s 10 boards and DJ Wagners 7 assists, Arkansas won convincingly in every category. John Calipari’s team shot 64% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, and nearly tripled Jackson State in paint points with a 56-20 advantage.

The Blue Devils are coming off of a 35-4 season that saw them within a game of a title shot. Duke went 19-1 in conference, winning both the regular season and the ACC Tournament.

The Blue Devils welcome in a number 1 recruiting class after their Final Four run. Jon Scheyer after losing his entire starting lineup to the NBA but retaining core pieces with experience. Leading Duke are experienced returners senior big Maliq Brown and junior guard Caleb Foster, both instrumental pieces in Duke’s run this past season. Duke also returned 3 members from last season freshman class in hot shooting Isaiah Evans, who shot a team high 41.6%. Duke also brings back Darren Harris who has reshaped his body in hopes for a larger role and Patrick Ngongba who similarly has reshaped his frame, coming into this season healthy.

Duke’s freshman class includes the Boozer brothers, Cayden and Cameron, do-it-all forward Nik Khamenia and Italian import Dame Sarr. Duke also added reserves Jack Scott and Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, from Princeton and Rice, respectively. Duke also added Sebastian Wilkins, who has elected to red shirt this season.

The Blue Devils are 7-0 on the season currently, with wins over Texas and Kansas. They are led in scoring by a freshman and duo of sophomores. Cam Boozer, a freshman forward, leads Duke in scoring and rebounding at 21.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He’s also tied for the team lead in assists with his twin brother Cayden at 4 assists per game. Isaiah Evans comes in at 13 points per game so far on the season, adding 3.4 boards and 2.1 assists. Another sophomore, Patrick Ngongba also averages 13 points per game to go along with 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Last Time Out:

The Blue Devils ended this year’s Brotherhood run with a lopsided victory over the Howard Bison 93-56. Cam Boozer led the Blue Devils with 26 points on 10-12 shooting, the freshman also pulled down 12 rebounds and dished 4 assists. Patrick Ngongba added 16 points on 8-9 shooting and Isaiah Evans poured in 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

For the Blue Devils, a lot will depend on their defensive strategy, and that begins and ends with guarding the Arkansas backcourt. Maleek Thomas, Darius Acuff and DJ Wagner are all dangerous scorers, especially when they get going downhill. Duke will need to limit their ability to sniff the paint, taking care of the basketball and limiting transitions opportunities. Duke has yet to truly flex their muscle on the glass, but this is a game where they need to take full advantage of their length and size and play to that strength – both offensively and defensively. Establishing the paint will be important.