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The Duke Blue Devils avoided being on the wrong side of March Madness history.
The No. 1 seed rallied late to avoid an upset by 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 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 rarefied group, shocking Duke with a 43-32 halftime lead. But it was unable to hold onto that lead, and the Blue Devils took over in the second half to avoid a stunning first-round finish.
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Dame Sarr of the Duke Blue Devils reacts in the second half against the Siena Saints in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Duke outscored Siena, 39-22, in the second half as the Saints surprisingly only used its five starters through the game’s full 40 minutes. That strategy may have come back to hurt them in the end because the players looked gassed midway through the second half.
However, the effort from the Saints never wavered as they continued to fend off Duke’s comeback attempts. But 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. Siena rallied things to a four-point deficit, but Gavin Doty’s missed 3-pointer with 28 seconds left was the dagger in a hard-fought loss.
Doty was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points, although he went 3 of 12 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and two assists.
Francis Folefac (18 points, seven rebounds and two assists) also played a big role in Siena’s scare of Duke, and Brendan Coyle 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 in the second half of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Siena shot 55% as the first half ended, including 45% from 3-point territory. Meanwhile, Duke sputtered from distance, making just two of its 15 3-point attempts.
While Duke couldn’t get the three-ball going in the second half, better shot selection around the rim worked in its favor. The Boozer brothers, Cam and Cayden, led the way as they have all season for the Blue Devils. The sons of Duke and NBA great Carlos Boozer led the way, especially Cam with his 22 points to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
Cam Boozer was also 13-for-14 from the charity stripe and hit clutch shots late in the game. He finished with a double-double after grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds.
Justice Shoats of the Siena Saints shoots the ball against Nikolas Khamenia of the Duke Blue Devils in the second half of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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 face No. 9 TCU, which defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier Thursday, in the second round on Saturday.
