Duke Basketball Survives Inexplicable Upset Scare Versus Siena

Duke basketball, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, overcame an 11-point halftime deficit against the No. 16 seed Siena Saints at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., on Thursday afternoon and wound up emerging, 71-65, to reach the Round of 32.

Appearing slugglish, Duke fell behind Siena, 12-10, at the first media timeout. And the hot-shooting Saints gradually built their lead to 22-16 by the second break in action, as the Blue Devils, at that juncture, had often settled for outside looks rather than attacking the basket with their typical ferocity.

Duke basketball guard Isaiah Evans — Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans (3) reacts after being called for a foul Thursday, March 19, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first round game against the Siena Saints at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Siena then continued to score with ease from inside and out to extend its run to 10-0 and seize a 26-16 advantage.

Scheyer's fourth Duke basketball collection (33-2 overall), still within reach of setting the program's all-time season wins record should the Blue Devils win the national championship, just never woke up to establish any dominance across the first 20 minutes of action and entered the locker room with a shocking 43-32 deficit in tow.

got some work to do

Cam: 13 points
Cayden: 8 points, 3 assists pic.twitter.com/26ZSnz1TP2
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 19, 2026

That score marked Duke's largest halftime deficit of the season.

Blue Devil freshman twins Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer accounted for 21 of Duke's 32 points in the first half.

Duke Basketball Battles Back in Second Half

Duke didn't show much energy in the first few minutes of the second half either, trailing by as many as 13 against the undersized Saints. However, two missed dunks by Siena on the same possession ultimately translated into a fastbreak dunk by sophomore wing Isaiah Evans on the other end, seemingly giving the Blue Devils the spark they needed.

Evans' bucket ignited an 11-0 Duke run, as the Blue Devils began employing a zone and knocked back the Saints to pull within two at 47-45 with 14:17 to play in the game.

Cayden: 17 pts
Cam: 17 pts
Slim: 12 pts

Need stops pic.twitter.com/rvBJVgL83x
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 19, 2026

And despite several made threes by Siena across the next few minutes, the Blue Devils slowly but surely figured things out, finally taking the lead at 63-61 with just over four minutes left on the clock after Evans completed a layup in traffic.

That marked the heavy favorite's first lead since early in the first half. And the battle-tested Blue Devils made enough clutch plays down the stretch to escape with the victory.

Only three Duke basketball talents finished the contest with double-digit points: Cameron Boozer (22 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, one block), Cayden Boozer (19 points, two rebounds, five assists, two steals), and Isaiah Evans (16 points, 10 rebounds, one assist).

The Blue Devils, riding a 12-game winning streak dating back to the road loss against the UNC Tar Heels in early February, will now gear up to face the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs in Greenville on Saturday (time and channel to be announced).

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