GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Duke defeated Siena 71-65 in the first round of the 2026 men's NCAA Tournament. The No. 1 seed Blue Devils overcame a lengthy deficit to advance to the round of 32.

Duke trailed Siena from the 15:31 mark of the first half until the 4:25 mark of the second half. Isaiah Evans scored on a layup at the 4:25 mark of the second half to give Duke the lead. Duke took a 63-61 lead with a little more than four minutes remaining in the second half and finished the game on a 15-4 run.

Cameron Boozer led Duke with 22 points, going 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. Cayden Boozer added 19 points for Duke on 9 of 16 shooting. Duke's season record improved to 33-2 with the win.

The No. 16 seed Saints received strong scoring from Gavin Doty, who scored 21 points, and Francis Folefac, who added 18 points. Siena made 17 of 31 field goal attempts in the first half but struggled in the second half, making only 8 of 34 field goal attempts. The Saints went more than six minutes without scoring at one point in the second half.

Siena head coach Gerry McNamara did not make any substitutions until the final minute of the game, leaving his starters in for most of the 40 minutes. Siena nearly became the first team since 1979 to play its starters all 40 minutes.

Duke will play No. 9 seed TCU in the round of 32. TCU defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier on Thursday.

Prior to the 2026 tournament, No. 16 seeds had defeated No. 1 seeds in the men's NCAA Tournament only twice, in 2018 and 2023.