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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah basketball took a major step back into the national conversation last year under head coach Larry Krystkowiak, advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual champion Duke.
The game was so much fun, the two schools are doing it again — sooner rather than later.
The Utah men's basketball team will face "the other Coach K" and the Blue Devils on Dec. 29 at Madison Square Garden, the school announced Thursday. The game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.
"This is an opportunity to play one of the elite programs in college basketball in one of the most recognizable basketball venues in the country. We think it will be a terrific opportunity and test before we start conference play less than two weeks later," Krystkowiak said in a statement. "This will be a marquee preseason game, and the national exposure for our program will be invaluable."
Utah lost to Duke 63-57 in the NCAA South regional semifinal in Houston on March 27, the first game between the two schools since 1970.
The Utes are 1-3 all-time against the defending champion Blue Devils, with the lone 79-75 win coming in the 1970 National Invitational Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Duke won the first game of the series, 63-52, in the Dixie Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina, during the 1959-60 season.
The game will be the Blue Devils' second regular-season game against a team from the Beehive State in 2015-16. Utah State will play at Duke on Nov. 29, the Aggies' first-ever game in Cameron Indoor Arena in program history. That game will be televised on ESPNU.
