Duke Basketball Score after the first-round scare: Blue Devils edge Siena 71-65 as the Round of 32 looms
duke basketball score became the headline number on Thursday as the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils narrowly escaped the NCAA Tournament round of 64 with a 71-65 win over the No. 16 Siena Saints.
What Happened When Duke Basketball Score tightened late?
Duke spent most of the game chasing Siena. The Blue Devils trailed from the 15: 31 mark of the first half until the 4: 25 mark of the second, when an Isaiah Evans layup put Duke back in front. From there, Duke closed with a 15-4 run to seal the 71-65 result and avoid a historic upset.
The stakes were amplified by tournament history: No. 16 seeds have beaten No. 1 seeds only twice before in the men’s tournament, in 2018 and 2023. Siena pushed Duke to the edge, but the late finishing stretch flipped the game in the final minutes.
What If Siena’s hot start had held?
Siena’s first half set the tone for the upset threat. The Saints shot 17-for-31 from the field in the opening half, then cooled dramatically after the break, making eight of 34 field goal attempts in the second half. A scoring drought of more than six minutes opened the door for Duke to recover, stabilize, and eventually take control late.
Gavin Doty led Siena with 21 points, with Francis Folefac adding 18, but both cooled off in the second half along with the rest of the Saints. Siena also took a high-risk approach with its rotation, making no substitutions until the final minute of the game, nearly becoming the first team since 1979 to play its starters all 40 minutes.
What Happens Next after the 71-65 duke basketball score?
Duke advanced with the win and improved to 33-2 on the season. Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer powered the Blue Devils in the narrow escape: Cameron scored 22 points, doing much of his damage at the free-throw line with a 13-of-14 performance, while Cayden added 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
Next, Duke will face No. 9 TCU in the round of 32. TCU reached that matchup by beating No. 8 Ohio State earlier Thursday, setting up Duke’s next test immediately after a first-round scare defined by a long deficit and a decisive late run.
