Duke's Mentality Entering Matchup with Siena is Major Strike Against Jon Scheyer

The Blue Devil head coach did not have his team ready to play in the Round of 64

Mar 19, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer reacts in the first half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

There have not been many missteps in Jon Scheyer’s tenure as the head coach of the Duke basketball team but he nearly suffered a cataphoric loss on Thursday in Greenville as the Blue Devils needed a furious second half rally to defeat Siena in the Round of 64.

After trailing by 11 points at halftime and as many as 13 points in the second half, Scheyer’s team escaped with a 71-65 victory to keep its season alive.

Yet the most alarming thing about the game was that it was clear his team was never mentally focused to play.

"We thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game so now we know what it is, so we just have to respond back,” Maliq Brown to CBS’ Tracy Wolfson at halftime.

It was the biggest red flag a player could say. Granted, Brown should be commended for his honesty but the fact that the No. 1 overall seed, down two starters, thought it could roll through an opponent in the NCAA Tournament is concerning.

“I've known Gerry for a long time, ‘G-Mac’ had his guys way more ready to play than I did,” Scheyer said after the game. “He outcoached me; he outcoached us. That's one of the hardest moments for me in sport, period, to not have your best stuff.”

In the second half, Duke was able to hold Siena to 8-of-34 shooting in the second half after the Saints connected on 17-of-31 shots in the first half. It’s eight straight missed shots over a 6:49 stretch allowed the Blue Devils to get back in the game.

“We came out here with the mentality that it was going to be handed to us, and obviously that’s not what happened. We got punched in the mouth,” Cameron Boozer told reporters in the locker room after the game.

The game could serve as a wake-up call for the Blue Devils entering its Round of 32 matchup against TCU on Saturday or it could shed light on the concerns many had about Duke entering the NCAA Tournament without the services of Caleb Foster or Patrick Ngongba.