The Duke Blue Devils, the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), defeated the No. 16 seed Siena Saints from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) 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.

Duke trailed 43-32 at halftime but outscored Siena 39-22 in the second half to secure the victory. Siena shot 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range in the first half, while Duke made 2 of 15 three-point attempts.

The win spared Duke from becoming the third No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in tournament history, a feat achieved only by UMBC over Virginia 74-54 in 2018[1] and Fairleigh Dickinson over Purdue 63-58 in 2023[2].

Siena maintained its lead until 4:25 remaining in the second half, when Isaiah Evans' layup gave Duke a 63-61 advantage. Gavin Doty missed a three-pointer with 28 seconds left, preserving Duke's lead.

Doty led Siena with 21 points, four rebounds and two assists, shooting 3 for 12 from three-point range. Francis Folefac added 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Brendan Coyle scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Siena used only its five starters for the full 40 minutes.

Cameron Boozer led Duke with 22 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, going 13 for 14 from the free-throw line. His brother, Cayden Boozer, scored 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Evans recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Boozer brothers are sons of former Duke forward Carlos Boozer, who played for the Blue Devils from 2001 to 2004 before a 13-year NBA career[3].

Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which seats 10,081, previously hosted first- and second-round NCAA tournament games in 2024[4].

Duke advances to face No. 9 seed TCU, which beat No. 8 Ohio State earlier on March 19, in the second round on March 21.

Sources

1. NCAA, "UMBC Retrievers stun No. 1 Virginia 74-54 in first round of NCAA tournament", March 16, 2018, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2018-03-16/umbc-retrievers-stun-no-1-virginia-74-54-first-round-ncaa-tournament
2. NCAA, "No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson shocks No. 1 Purdue in NCAA Tournament first round", March 17, 2023, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-17/no-16-fairleigh-dickinson-shocks-purdue-ncaa-tournament-first-round
3. Wikipedia, "Carlos Boozer", accessed October 10, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Boozer
4. Wikipedia, "Bon Secours Wellness Arena", accessed October 10, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Secours_Wellness_Arena
5. Wikipedia, "Duke Blue Devils men's basketball", accessed October 10, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Blue_Devils_men%27s_basketball
6. Wikipedia, "Siena Saints men's basketball", accessed October 10, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_Saints_men%27s_basketball