Duke 71, Siena 65 — NCAA Tournament first-round recap

Thursday, March 19, 2026 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, S.C.

The takeaway: Duke survived one of the biggest scares of the opening round, rallying from an 11-point halftime deficit and a 13-point second-half hole to beat No. 16 Siena, 71-65. For most of the afternoon, the top-seeded Blue Devils looked nothing like the No. 1 overall seed, but an 11-0 run in the final eight minutes, a huge second half from Cameron and Cayden Boozer, and late free-throw execution saved Duke from what would have been a historic upset. (Duke University)

Score & line

• Final: Duke 71, Siena 65
• Halftime: Siena 43, Duke 32
• Records after the game: Duke improved to 33-2; Siena finished 23-12. (Duke University)

Key stats

Duke shot just 24-for-59 (40.7%) from the floor and 5-for-26 (19.2%) from three, but made up for it by dominating the free-throw line, going 18-for-21, and by owning the glass 43-31. The Blue Devils also turned the game physically in the second half, piling up 19 second-chance points and 36 points in the paint. Siena, meanwhile, was excellent early and finished 25-for-65 (38.5%) overall and 9-for-26 (34.6%) from deep, but cooled off badly after halftime, shooting just 8-for-34 (23.5%) over the final 20 minutes. (Duke University)

Top performers:

• Cameron Boozer (Duke): 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists — his 20th double-double of the season, and he went 13-for-14 at the line. (Duke University)
• Cayden Boozer (Duke): Career-high 19 points, plus 5 assists and a pair of late winning plays. (Duke University)
• Isaiah Evans (Duke): 16 points, 10 rebounds — his first career double-double. (Duke University)
• Maliq Brown (Duke): 6 points, 8 rebounds and some needed interior stability when Duke was wobbling. (Duke University)
• Gavin Doty (Siena): 21 points, including 16 in the first half, to spearhead Siena’s upset push. (Duke University)
• Francis Folefac (Siena): 18 points, 7 rebounds — constant pressure on both ends. (Duke University)
• Brendan Coyle (Siena): 12 points, all from three-point range. (Duke University)

Game flow — the moments that mattered

Siena set the tone almost immediately. After Duke scored first on a Cayden Boozer lob to Maliq Brown, the Saints settled in and started playing with real belief. The game was tied at 16-16, then Siena ripped off 10 straight points to take control, with back-to-back threes from Brendan Coyle and strong interior work from Francis Folefac helping build a 26-16 lead. Duke was out of rhythm, sloppy offensively, and cold from outside. (Duke University)

By halftime, the Blue Devils were in genuine danger. Siena led 43-32, becoming the first No. 16 seed ever to lead a No. 1 seed by double digits at halftime in NCAA Tournament history. The Saints shot 54.8% in the first half, hit 5 of 11 from three, and held Duke to 2-for-15 from deep before the break. Doty was sensational, and Siena’s five starters controlled the pace and emotion of the game. (Siena University Athletics)

Things got even shakier for Duke early in the second half. Siena stretched the lead to 47-34, its biggest edge of the afternoon, and the crowd started to sense real 16-over-1 history. Duke, though, finally responded with force on the glass and with defensive stops. The Blue Devils began attacking the paint instead of settling, and their rebounding edge started to show as Siena’s starters — all of whom logged 40 minutes — gradually wore down. (Reuters)

The decisive stretch came late. With Duke still trailing inside the final eight minutes, the Blue Devils put together an 11-0 run while Siena went scoreless for 6:47. That burst flipped the game completely. Duke finally got the lead back with 4:25 remaining, its first lead since the early minutes, and never gave it back. Cayden Boozer made a crucial late layup, Cameron Boozer kept living at the foul line, and Duke held firm from there. (Duke University)

Even in the final minute, it was tense. Siena stayed within striking distance, but Duke’s free-throw shooting — especially Cameron Boozer’s — finished the job. The Blue Devils ended the game 18-for-21 at the stripe, compared with just 6-for-6 for Siena, and that gap was a major reason the Saints’ upset bid came up short. (Duke University)

Player notes & lineup context

This game was a snapshot of the current 2025-26 rosters. Duke started Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer, Isaiah Evans, Maliq Brown, and Dame Sarr, with Nikolas Khamenia and Darren Harris seeing reserve minutes. Siena’s current starting five — Gavin Doty, Francis Folefac, Brendan Coyle, Justice Shoats, and Riley Mulvey — all played the full 40 minutes, an extraordinary workload for an NCAA Tournament opener. (Duke University)

For Duke, Cayden Boozer’s poise was enormous. Cameron Boozer supplied the numbers, but Cayden’s shot-making and decision-making helped settle Duke when it was unraveling. Evans’ double-double mattered too, especially because Duke got only 3 bench points and needed its starters to carry almost everything. (Duke University)

For Siena, Doty and Folefac were fearless. The Saints were not just hanging around — they were the better team for much of the game. Justice Shoats added 7 assists, Mulvey gave them toughness inside, and Coyle’s first-half shooting helped create the early separation. (Duke University)

Afterward, Jon Scheyer gave Siena full credit. ESPN reported that he said Siena had as much competitive readiness as any team Duke had faced, and other postgame coverage noted Scheyer’s blunt admission that Gerry McNamara had Duke outcoached for long stretches. That matched what the game looked like for most of the afternoon. (ESPN.com)

Why Duke won

1. Second-half defense and rebounding. Duke held Siena to 22 points after halftime and just 23.5% shooting in the second half, while turning a close rebounding game into a blowout on the glass. (Duke University)
2. The Boozer twins took over. Cameron finished with 22 and 13, Cayden had 19, and together they made the late winning plays when Duke absolutely had to have them. (Duke University)
3. Free throws. Duke’s 18 makes at the line, especially from Cameron Boozer, created the margin in a six-point game. Siena was perfect there, but only got six attempts. (Duke University)

Quick look ahead

Duke advanced to the second round and will face No. 9 seed TCU on Saturday in Greenville. Siena’s season ended, but not before the Saints pushed the No. 1 overall seed to the brink and delivered one of the best performances by a 16 seed in tournament history. (Reuters)