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The Duke Blue Devils avoided being on the wrong side of March Madness history, as the No. 1 seed rallied late to avoid a massive upset to the No. 16 Siena Saints with a 71-65 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Only twice in tournament history has a 16th-seeded team taken down a top seed in the first round – UMBC over Virginia in 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson over Purdue in 2023.
Siena was in the driver’s seat to join that rare group, shocking Duke with a 43-32 lead at halftime. But they were unable to keep that lead, as the Blue Devils took over in the second half to avoid a mind-boggling finish in the first round.
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Dame Sarr of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the second half against the Siena Saints in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Duke outscored Siena, 39-22, in the second half, as the Saints surprisingly used just its five starters through the entire 40 minutes of the game. That strategy may have come back to hurt them in the end, with players looking gassed midway through the second half.
The effort from the Saints, though, never faltered as they continued to stave off Duke’s comeback attempt. However, with 4:25 left to play in the second half, Isaiah Evans’ layup gave Duke its first lead since early in the first half, 63-61.
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From there, the Blue Devils did what it took on the defensive end to maintain their lead as the clock kept ticking down to zero. Siena got things to a four-point deficit, but Gavin Doty’s missed three-pointer with 28 seconds left was ultimately the dagger in a hard-fought loss.
Doty was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points, though he wants some of his shots back beyond the arc, going 3-of-12 from that distance in the end. He had four rebounds and two assists as well.
Francis Folefac (18 points, seven rebounds and two assists) also played a huge role in Siena’s scare of Duke, while Brendan Coyle also had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting for the Saints.
Cameron Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils battles Riley Mulvey of the Siena Saints for the ball during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Siena was shooting 55% when the first half came to a close, including 45% from three-point territory. Meanwhile, Duke was reeling from distance, making only two of its 15 three-point attempts.
But while they couldn’t get the three-ball going in the second half, it was much better shot selection around the rim that worked in their favor. It was the Boozer brothers, Cam and Cayden, who led the way as they have all season for the Blue Devils. The sons of Duke and NBA great Carlos Boozer set the tone, especially Cam with his 22 points to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
Cam Boozer was also 13-of-14 from the charity stripe, hitting clutch shots at the end of the game. He finished with a double-double after hauling in a team-high 13 rebounds as well.
Justice Shoats of the Siena Saints shoots the ball against Nikolas Khamenia of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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Cayden Boozer finished with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while Evans had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for Duke.
The Blue Devils will now go on to face No. 9 TCU, who defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier on Thursday, in the second round on Saturday.
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