The No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils overcame a 43-32 halftime deficit to beat the No. 16 seed Siena Saints 71-65 in the first round, known as the round of 64, of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 19, 2026, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.[1]
Duke outscored Siena 39-22 in the second half. Siena, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, relied solely on its five starters for the entire 40-minute game. It was Siena's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010.[2]
Isaiah Evans' layup with 4:25 left gave Duke its first lead since early in the first half at 63-61. Gavin Doty's missed 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining preserved the win for Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) power from Durham, North Carolina, which has won five NCAA titles.[3]
Siena led at halftime after shooting 55% from the field and 45% from three-point range. Duke made 2 of 15 three-pointers in the first half.
| Player | Team | Points | Rebounds | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavin Doty | Siena | 21 | 4 | 2 assists, 3/12 3PT |
| Francis Folefac | Siena | 18 | 7 | 2 assists |
| Brendan Coyle | Siena | 12 | - | 4/9 FG |
| Cam Boozer | Duke | 22 | 13 | 13/14 FT |
| Cayden Boozer | Duke | 19 | - | 9/16 FG |
| Isaiah Evans | Duke | 16 | 10 | - |
The victory spared Duke from joining the rare list of No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16 seed. The only prior instances were UMBC's 74-54 upset of Virginia in 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson's 63-58 win over Purdue in 2023.[4][5]
Duke, coached by Jon Scheyer since 2022, advances to face No. 9 seed TCU, which beat No. 8 seed Ohio State earlier on March 19, in the second round on March 21.[3]
Sources
- Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Wikipedia. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Secours_Wellness_Arena
- Siena Saints men's basketball. Wikipedia. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Saints_men%27s_basketball
- Duke Blue Devils men's basketball. Wikipedia. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Blue_Devils_men%27s_basketball
- NCAA.com. "A look back at UMBC, FDU and the only 16-vs.-1 upsets in March Madness history." March 17, 2024. https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2024-03-17/look-back-umbc-fdu-only-16-vs-1-upsets-march-madness-history
- ESPN. "Fairleigh Dickinson stuns No. 1 seed Purdue, second 16-over-1 upset in tourney history." March 17, 2023. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/35767862/fairleigh-dickinson-stuns-purdue-first-no-16-beat-no-1-since-umbc
