did duke win? Yes: the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils survived a tense NCAA Tournament opener Thursday (ET), defeating the No. 16 Siena Saints 71-65 in the round of 64.
What Happens When Did Duke Win but the margin is razor-thin?
The final score told the story of a game that stayed on upset watch deep into the second half. Duke 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 on a 15-4 run to pull away just enough to extinguish Siena’s upset hopes.
The stakes were amplified by the rarity of a 16-over-1 shock. In the men’s tournament, No. 16 seeds have upset No. 1 seeds only twice before, in 2018 and 2023. Siena pushed the game into the kind of late, possession-by-possession finish where that history can feel suddenly less distant, but Duke’s finishing stretch ultimately kept the top seed alive.
What If Siena’s hot start had held up?
Siena had two standout scorers in a losing effort. Gavin Doty scored 21 points, while Francis Folefac added 18. Their production helped fuel an efficient first half: Siena shot 17-for-31 from the field before halftime. The second half flipped sharply. Siena made only eight of its 34 field-goal attempts after the break, and at one point went more than six minutes without scoring. That drought opened the door for Duke to climb back from behind and take control late.
Siena’s rotation decisions were also unusual. The Saints did not make a single substitution until the final minute of the game, nearly becoming the first team since 1979 to play its starters all 40 minutes. The approach nearly delivered a historic result, but Siena’s offense cooled in the second half as Duke steadied itself.
What Happens Next after did duke win and Duke moves on?
For Duke, the primary takeaway is survival and advancement. The Blue Devils improved to 33-2 with the win and now move to the round of 32 to face No. 9 TCU, which defeated No. 8 Ohio State earlier Thursday. The Siena game also highlighted the specific way Duke generated offense when it mattered most: Cameron Boozer scored 22 points and did much of his damage at the free-throw line, going 13 of 14. Cayden Boozer added 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting, giving Duke a steady one-two punch in a game where momentum swung repeatedly.
Duke entered the tournament as the betting favorite to win the men’s NCAA Tournament, and Thursday’s result did not change the most important fact: the No. 1 seed is still in the bracket. But the path forward begins with a clear reminder from this opener—single-elimination games can remain unstable until the final minutes, even for the top line. For readers tracking the tournament in real time, the immediate answer remains straightforward: did duke win? Duke did, 71-65, and the Blue Devils advance to meet TCU next.
