Marquette Had Its Shot at Duke's Amazon Deal and Blew It: Here's What Went Wrong

Duke just pulled off something nobody else in college basketball thought to do first, and it's a brutal reminder of how fast things can fall apart in this sport.

Back in early May, Duke announced they were scheduling three non-conference games against UConn, Michigan, and Gonzaga, with all three getting broadcast exclusively through Amazon Prime Video. It's a unique flex, a next-level move that shows how sharp Duke's brass really is. And according to CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish, other major programs immediately asked themselves the same question: why didn't we see this coming?

When Marquette Was the Guy Duke Called

Here's the thing that stings for Marquette fans. This could have been them.

In March 2024, Shaka Smart's Golden Eagles earned their second consecutive number two seed in the NCAA tournament. That's the best tournament seeding Marquette has ever gotten since the NCAA started seeding brackets the way they do now. Fast forward to November 2024, and Marquette cracked the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. They stayed there for eight straight weeks. By February 2025, they were sitting pretty at 18-3 overall and 9-1 in Big East play, with a 74-20 overall record and 40-10 in conference since the start of that tournament run. That's a .787 winning percentage overall and .750 in Big East regular season games.

Those numbers put you in the conversation. Those are the kind of credentials that land you partnerships with major programs looking to boost their non-conference profile. If Marquette had kept riding that wave, they probably get that Duke call.

Then Everything Changed

Marquette is 17-28 since February 2025.

That's it. That's the whole story. You don't make the cut for a Duke/Amazon partnership when you throw away your goodwill like that. Parrish said it best on the CBS Sports Eye on College Basketball podcast with Matt Norlander: Duke is the program that actually thought outside the box and asked "why not" instead of "we can't." Other coaches of big programs woke up the next morning kicking themselves, wondering what they missed. Marquette had the resume. They just couldn't keep it.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.