Top-seeded Duke rallied from a halftime deficit to beat No. 16 Siena 71-65 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.[1]
Siena led 43-32 at halftime, shooting 55% from the field and 45% from three-point range. Duke made 2 of 15 three-pointers in the first half. The Blue Devils outscored the Saints 39-22 after halftime.
A Siena upset would have been the third instance of a No. 16 seed defeating a No. 1 seed in tournament history. The previous occurrences were UMBC's 74-54 win over Virginia in 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson's 63-58 victory against Purdue in 2023.[1][2]
Siena played only its five starters for the full 40 minutes. Duke took its first lead since early in the first half on Isaiah Evans' layup that made the score 63-61 with 4:25 remaining. Gavin Doty missed a three-pointer with 28 seconds left as Siena closed to within four points.
Doty led Siena with 21 points, four rebounds and two assists, though 3-for-12 from three-point range. Francis Folefac added 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Brendan Coyle scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Cam Boozer led Duke with 22 points and 13 rebounds, going 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. Brother Cayden Boozer had 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Evans recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, advances to face No. 9 seed TCU, which defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier Thursday, in the second round on Saturday.
Sources
- NCAA, "Fairleigh Dickinson upsets Purdue, first 16 over 1 since UMBC in 2018," March 17, 2023, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-17/fairleigh-dickinson-upsets-purdue-first-16-over-1-since-umbc-2018
- NCAA, "UMBC makes NCAA tournament history as first 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed," March 16, 2018, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2018/03/16/umass-baltimore-county-makes-history-beating-no-1-virginia-ncaa-tournament
