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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 of 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 defeated the top seed in the first round – UMBC vs. Virginia in 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Purdue in 2023.
Siena was in the driver’s seat to join that rare group, shocking Duke with a 43-32 halftime lead. But he failed to maintain that lead and the Blue Devils took over in the second half to avoid a stunning first-round result.
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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 Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on 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 their five starters for the entire 40 minutes of the game. This strategy may have ended up hurting them, as the players looked gassed midway through the second half.
The Saints’ efforts, however, never wavered as they continued to fend off Duke’s comeback attempt. However, with 4:25 left in the second half, Isaiah Evans’ layup gave Duke its first lead since the start of the first half, 63-61.
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From there, the Blue Devils did what they needed to do on the defensive end to maintain their lead. Siena brought things back to a four-point deficit, but Gavin Doty’s missed three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining was the dagger of a hard-fought defeat.
Doty was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points, although he made 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 against Duke, and Brendan Coyle scored 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 of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, SC (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Siena was shooting 55% at the end of the first half, including 45% from 3 points. Meanwhile, Duke was faltering from distance, making just two of its 15 3-point attempts.
Although Duke couldn’t make the triple 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 set the tone, including Cam with his 22 points to lead the Blue Devils to victory.
Cam Boozer was also 13 of 14 from the charity stripe, hitting game-clinching shots late in the game. He finished with a double-double after grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds.
Judge Shoats of the Siena Saints shoots the ball against Nikolas Khamenia of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on 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, who beat No. 8 Ohio State earlier Thursday, in the second round on Saturday.
