Duke 71-65 Siena (Mar 19, 2026) Final Score — 1 Narrow Escape
Duke narrowly avoided a historic upset, beating Siena 71-65 in the NCAA tournament on Thursday. The Blue Devils erased a 47-34 second-half deficit to survive a scare that raised memories of 16-seed upsets. Updated March 19, 2026 (ET).
Duke survives late rally, key facts
Duke trailed by 13 in the second half before mounting a comeback that carried them to a six-point victory. The program will not join the small group of top seeds felled in the first round by a 16 seed after this result, but the performance exposed roster strain: Duke was missing starting point guard Caleb Foster and starting center Patrick Ngongba with foot injuries, and played with a short, seven-man rotation. Nikolas Khamenia and Darren Harris combined for all 33 minutes off the bench as the starting five shouldered a heavy load. Siena finished third in the MAAC regular season and pushed Duke throughout the game.
Immediate reactions from the coaches and players
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he felt out-coached in the matchup, offering blunt self-assessment after the final horn. “G-mac had his guys way more ready to play than I did, ” Scheyer said. “He out-coached me. He out-coached us. And that’s one of the hardest moments for me in sport — period. To not have your best stuff. ” The comment named Siena head coach Gerry McNamara as the architect of the upset push; McNamara is a former Syracuse NCAA tournament star who led Siena to a tight game against the top seed.
What 1 close call means for Duke and the bracket
The scare frames Duke’s immediate outlook: a win preserved their place in round two, but the depth questions and injuries leave uncertainty about how the No. 1 seed responds. A first-round near-upset can act as a wake-up call that sparks a deeper run, or it can foreshadow continued vulnerability. Duke’s next opponent and the team’s rotation decisions will be watched closely as the tournament progresses.
Other headline games: North Carolina’s collapse
Thursday also produced one of the day’s most dramatic finishes when North Carolina, seeded sixth, squandered a 19-point lead and fell in overtime to No. 11 VCU, 82-78. VCU erased the deficit and Terrence Hill Jr. sealed the comeback with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 15. 1 seconds remaining in overtime; Hill finished with 34 points and shot 7 of 10 from 3. The rally stands as one of the largest comebacks in NCAA tournament history and ended North Carolina’s season in the opening round.
Expect immediate attention on injury reports, rotation adjustments and coaching responses as the field moves forward; Duke’s performance after this 1 narrow escape will be a bellwether for the top seed’s trajectory in the tournament.
