The No. 1 overall seed Duke Blue Devils nearly suffered one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
Duke trailed the No. 16 seed Siena Saints 43-32 at halftime, but the Blue Devils found a way to sneak out a hard-fought 71-65 win on Thursday at The Well in Greenville, S.C.
After the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer had an honest statement about Siena’s performance and head coach Gerry McNamara.
“G-Mac, he outcoached me,” Scheyer said. “They were more ready to play.”
"G-Mac, he outcoached me."
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 19, 2026
Jon Scheyer told @TracyWolfson that there's a lot Duke can learn from this game. pic.twitter.com/DHUzWEkMRM
McNamara is in his second year as Siena’s head coach, and the Saints won the MAAC conference tournament after finishing third in the regular season. And, McNamara is a well-known name in March Madness circles. He was part of Syracuse’s team that won the 2003 national title with Carmelo Anthony.
Duke entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and a popular pick to win it all, especially with star freshman and potential top-3 NBA Draft pick Cameron Boozer.
But McNamara and Siena came out firing on all cylinders, and the Saints even had a lead until right before the 5-minute mark in the second half.
In the end, Duke was too much for Siena, and even more surprising was that Siena used just one sub all game, and it came in the final minute.
Siena's first bench substitution comes in with 10 seconds left in the game.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 19, 2026
Siena’s season has come to an end, but McNamara has been commonly linked to the Syracuse job, and this performance might’ve helped tip the scales in his favor.
Duke will now face the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday after they beat the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes in a wild finish.
