The No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils defeated the No. 16 seed Siena Saints 71-65 on March 19, 2026, in a first-round game of the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.[1] Siena led 43-32 at halftime, shooting 55% from the field including 45% from three-point range, while Duke made 2 of 15 three-pointers.[1]
Duke outscored Siena 39-22 in the second half, with Siena using only its five starters for the entire game.[1] Isaiah Evans' layup gave Duke its first lead since early in the first half at 63-61 with 4:25 remaining.[1] Gavin Doty's missed three-pointer with 28 seconds left sealed the outcome.[1]
Siena's leading scorers were Gavin Doty with 21 points (3-for-12 from three-point range), four rebounds and two assists; Francis Folefac with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists; and Brendan Coyle with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting.[1]
Cam Boozer led Duke with 22 points and a double-double featuring 13 rebounds, going 13-for-14 at the free-throw line.[1] Cayden Boozer added 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting, while Evans recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds.[1]
The win spared Duke from joining the rare list of No. 1 seeds to lose to a No. 16 seed in the tournament's first round. The only prior instances were UMBC's 74-54 victory over Virginia in 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson's 63-58 upset of Purdue in 2023.[2][3]
Duke, an Atlantic Coast Conference program with five national titles (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015), advances to face No. 9 seed TCU, which beat No. 8 seed Ohio State earlier on March 19, in the second round on March 21.[1][4]
Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with a capacity of 10,208, is one of 16 announced first- and second-round sites for the 2026 NCAA tournament.[5][6]
Sources
- Fox News - Sports Coverage - Accessed October 2024 - https://www.foxnews.com/sports
- NCAA - Every No. 16 seed vs. No. 1 seed first-round matchup in NCAA tournament history - March 17, 2023 - https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-17/every-no-16-seed-vs-no-1-seed-first-round-game-ncaa-tournament-history
- Wikipedia - NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament upsets - Accessed October 2024 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_tournament_upsets
- GoDuke.com - Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball - Accessed October 2024 - https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball
- NCAA - 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship first- and second-round sites announced - August 2024 - https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2024-08-14/ncaa-announces-first-second-round-sites-2026-mens-basketball-championship
- Wikipedia - Bon Secours Wellness Arena - Accessed October 2024 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Secours_Wellness_Arena
