Greenville, South Carolina (Reuters) - The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils defeated the 16th-seeded Siena Saints 71-65 on March 19, 2026, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Siena led 43-32 at halftime after shooting 55% from the field and 45% from three-point range. Duke made 2 of 15 three-pointers in the first half but outscored Siena 39-22 after the break. Siena used only its five starters for the full 40 minutes.
Isaiah Evans' layup with 4:25 remaining gave Duke a 63-61 lead, its first since early in the first half. Gavin Doty missed a three-pointer with 28 seconds left as Siena closed to within four points.
| Player | Team | Points | Rebounds | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Boozer | Duke | 22 | 13 | 13/14 FT |
| Cayden Boozer | Duke | 19 | - | 9/16 FG |
| Isaiah Evans | Duke | 16 | 10 | - |
| Gavin Doty | Siena | 21 | 4 | 3/12 3PT, 2 ast |
| Francis Folefac | Siena | 18 | 7 | 2 ast |
| Brendan Coyle | Siena | 12 | - | 4/9 FG |
The victory spared Duke from the third instance of a No. 16 seed defeating a No. 1 seed in tournament history. The previous upsets were UMBC's 74-54 win over Virginia in 2018[1] and Fairleigh Dickinson's 63-58 victory against Purdue in 2023[2].
Cam Boozer, a freshman forward and son of former Duke player and NBA champion Carlos Boozer, recorded a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds[3]. His brother, Cayden Boozer, another freshman forward, added 19 points[4]. Isaiah Evans, a freshman guard, contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, advances to the second round on March 21 against ninth-seeded TCU, which defeated eighth-seeded Ohio State earlier on March 19. The tournament is a 68-team single-elimination event determining the national champion.
Siena, representing the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, ends its season with the loss.
Sources
- NCAA.com
Article: "No. 16 UMBC makes history beating No. 1 Virginia in first round"
March 16, 2018
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2018-03-16/no-16-umbc-makes-history-beating-no-1-virginia-first-round - NCAA.com
Article: "No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson makes history stunning top-seed Purdue in NCAA tournament"
March 17, 2023
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-17/no-16-fairleigh-dickinson-makes-history-stunning-top-seed-purdue-ncaa-tournament - Wikipedia
Page: "Cameron Boozer"
Accessed October 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Boozer - Wikipedia
Page: "Cayden Boozer"
Accessed October 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayden_Boozer
