Home Duke Blue Devils Duke Blue Devils rally past Siena Saints 71-65 in first-round NCAA Tournament win

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Mar 20, 2026

Duke Blue Devils rally past Siena Saints 71-65 in first-round NCAA Tournament win

The Duke Blue Devils, seeded No. 1 in their region, defeated the No. 16 Siena Saints 71-65 on March 19, 2026, in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

Siena led 43-32 at halftime after shooting 55% from the field and 45% from three-point range. Duke made just 2 of 15 three-pointers in the first half. The Saints used only their five starters for the entire game.

Duke outscored Siena 39-22 in the second half. Isaiah Evans' layup with 4:25 remaining gave Duke a 63-61 lead, its first since early in the first half. Gavin Doty's missed three-pointer with 28 seconds left sealed the win after Siena closed to a four-point deficit.

Cam Boozer led Duke with 22 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. Cayden Boozer added 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Evans recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds.

For Siena, Gavin Doty scored 21 points with four rebounds and two assists, though 3-for-12 from three-point range. Francis Folefac had 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Brendan Coyle scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

The victory avoided a third instance of a No. 16 seed defeating a No. 1 seed in tournament history. Previous upsets were UMBC over Virginia in 2018 (74-54)^[1] and Fairleigh Dickinson over Purdue in 2023 (63-58)^[2].

Duke, representing the Atlantic Coast Conference, advances to the second round to face No. 9 seed TCU, which defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier on March 19. The game is scheduled for March 21 in Greenville.

Bon Secours Wellness Arena has hosted NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in prior years, including 2024.^[3]