GREENVILLE, S.C. – For most of Thursday, Duke looked nothing like the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Not with 16th-seeded Siena challenging the Blue Devils at every turn, determined to pull off the rarest of March Madness upsets.
And Duke barely avoided exactly that.
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The Blue Devils had to rally from 13 points down and going ahead for good in the final 5 minutes to beat Siena 71-65, a first-round game that will stand out both for how Duke looked uncharacteristically tight and shaky compared to the confidence of the upstart Saints.
“A tournament’s all about your competitive readiness, and Siena had that as well as any team we’ve gone against,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “We anticipated them trying to really do things to keep us out of the paint, and they executed great. The moments we made runs, they didn’t flinch.”
Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the East Region's headliner, which hit its first four shots yet needed a comeback against a fearless upstart playing just five players right up to the final seconds.
The No. 1 seeds entered the week with a 158-2 record against 16 seeds in the tournament, the outliers being Virginia's loss to UMBC in 2018 and Purdue's loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023.
And Duke — a blueblood with five NCAA titles — spent much of Thursday in serious danger of being added to that list before finally wrestling away control of the game in the last 8 minutes.
“He outcoached me, he outcoached us,” Scheyer said of Siena coach Gerry McNamara. “That’s one of the hardest moments for me in sport, period, to not have your best stuff.”
Gavin Doty scored 21 points to lead the Saints (23-12), with his third 3 giving Siena a 61-56 lead with 7:53 left. But Duke ran off 11 unanswered points to finally push ahead for good, securing a date against TCU in Saturday's second round.
“I'm just really proud,” McNamara said. “I'm devastated for them because we were fearless. ... I'm crushed for them because they played well enough to win."
Arena mood
The Bon Secours Wellness Arena is hosting games in the tournament's East and South regions, and fans from other schools were eager to jump on the ride as the Saints largely made the afternoon theirs.
As Doty and Brendan Coyle hit big 3s — followed by confident arms-raised celebrations as they backpedaled downcourt — the crowd grew more energized with every passing minute in the first half. That included fans wearing Ohio State red — the Buckeyes lost to TCU in the earlier game — and the lighter blue of Duke rival North Carolina.
And the Saints kept increasing their advantage, jarringly taking a 43-32 lead as Duke looked discombobulated and uncomfortable in its tournament debut.
A team that had dominated inside to reach the top of the AP Top 25 even found itself being outrebounded and outscored in the paint by halftime, a testament to how McNamara's team was ready for the fight in its first March Madness appearance since 2010.
“I think we really didn't come out ready to play today, and we've got to be better moving forward,” Boozer said.
The decisive stretch
Siena missed eight straight shots and went scoreless for nearly 7 minutes during Duke's go-ahead run, part of an 8-for-34 showing (23.5%) after halftime.
Duke, meanwhile, finally grabbed its first lead since the opening 4 minutes on Isaiah Evans' driving score at 63-61, while Evans and Boozer each hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to help Duke finally put away Siena.
“Obviously we poured our heart out, but close doesn't count for much,” said Coyle, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
The key stat
Duke did its best second-half work on the glass. The Blue Devils finished with a 30-13 rebounding advantage after the break, including 12 offensive boards leading to 15 second-chance points.
That offset 40.7% shooting for the game, including 5 of 26 from 3-point range.
Lineup moves
The Blue Devils played their fifth straight game without starting big man Patrick Ngongba II due soreness in his right foot. The Saints had four players log 40 full minutes, with Christian Jones becoming the sixth players to check in for the final seconds.
Up next
Duke: The Blue Devils’ date with the Horned Frogs on Saturday will be the first meeting between the programs.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness