NCAAT Preview: #1 Duke Blue Devils (32-2, 17-1 ACC) vs. Siena Saints (23-11, 13-7 MAAC)
Thursday, March 19 • 2:50 p.m. ET
NCAA Tournament First Round • Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,000) • Greenville, SC
TV: CBS
Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD
The #1 seed Blue Devils face the #16 seed Siena Saints in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, SC.
Broadcast Information TV
TV CBS
Play-by-Play Ian Eagle
Analyst Grant Hill
Analyst Bill Raftery
Reporter Tracy Wolfson
Producer Ken Mack
Broadcast Information Radio
Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM 208 or 201 & SiriusXM app
Siena Saints
Siena enters the tournament on a 4-game winning streak and fresh off of a MAAC tournament championship, having taken down the 1 seed, Merrimack, by 10 points in the final. The Saints amassed an overall record of 23-11 and a conference record of 13-7, they are 5-0 on neutral courts this season. Siena has won an NCAA Tournament game in four of its six previous appearances in The Big Dance (1989, 2002, 2008, 2009), including three of its past four trips. The Saints are 4-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, including three wins against top-eight seeds. Siena ranked second in the MAAC and 15th nationally for scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.7 points per game. Siena is sixth in the nation in fewest fouls per game (13.7).
Sophomore guard Gavin Doty leads the Saints in scoring at 17.9 per game; he also rebounds the ball at a 7 per game clip from the guard spot. The Saints boast 2 other double-figure scorers in guard Justice Shoats at 13.3 points per game (he also leads the team in assists at 4.4 per contest) and Francis Folefac at 11.1 points per game.
Last Time Out:
Seven players. A seventh title. Seventh heaven. Siena Basketball hit the jackpot on the boardwalk as the third-seeded Saints defeated regular season champion Merrimack 64-54 in the Air Force Reserve Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Game at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. MAAC Tournament MVP Gavin Doty scored 18 of his 23 points during a masterful second-half performance for the Saints, which coupled the clutch play of its sophomore guard and a suffocating defense as the recipe for a title.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke is No. 1 in NET rankings and owns 17 Quad-1 wins, tied for the most in the nation. (Mar. 15) They have secured 12 top-25 victories, including the most in the regular season (11) in ACC history and tied for the most in a regular season in AP poll history. Duke is the only team ranked in the top-four nationally in both offensive efficiency (128.0, 4th) and defensive efficiency (89.1, 2nd) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils are second in the nation in scoring margin (+19.1). Duke ranks third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.1 ppg) and are ninth nationally with an ACC-best field goal percentage defense of 39.2%. They top the conference and ranks fifth in the country in rebounding margin (+10.9).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s ninth-leading scorer with 22.5 points per game and is tied for fourth in the nation with 19 double-doubles, while topping the ACC in rebounding (10.2 rpg), is 12th in assists (4.2 apg), 14th in steals (1.5 spg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.565). Isaiah Evans is averaging 14.9 points per game and is coming off of a career high in points with 32 in Duke’s quarterfinal game against Florida State. Duke is without the services of injured starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II.
Last Time Out:
No. 1 Duke took home its 24th ACC Tournament title by holding off No. 10 Virginia, 74-70, at the Spectrum Center. The title is the second consecutive for the Blue Devils and the third in four seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Stats Comparison
| G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 34 | 40.0 | 28.6 | 58.4 | .490 | 19.5 | 32.5 | .601 | 9.1 | 25.9 | .351 | 16.0 | 22.1 | .724 | 12.5 | 27.8 | 40.3 | 16.9 | 7.8 | 3.3 | 10.5 | 15.7 | 82.3 |
| Siena | 34 | 40.1 | 25.3 | 55.4 | .457 | 19.9 | 37.7 | .528 | 5.4 | 17.7 | .304 | 14.6 | 18.9 | .769 | 10.2 | 24.2 | 34.4 | 13.4 | 5.8 | 3.1 | 10.3 | 13.7 | 70.5 |
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils
G Cayden Boozer 6’4, 205lbs Fr.
G Isaiah Evans 6’6, 180lbs So.
G Dame Sarr 6’8, 190lbs Fr.
F Cameron Boozer 6’9, 250lbs Fr.
C Maliq Brown 6’9, 225lbs Sr.
Siena Saints
G Justice Shoats 5’11, 180lbs Sr.
G Gavin Doty 6’5, 190lbs So.
F Francis Folefac 6’7, 245lbs Fr.
F Brenden Coyle 6’7, 200lbs Sr.
C Riley Mulvey 7’0, 240lbs Gr.
Final Thoughts
This game for the Blue Devils comes down to managing the moment. It’s going to be the first time a lot of them have played in an NCAAT game but not the first time they’ve played in high-stakes games. The Blue Devils need to be crisp on offense; Siena is a defensive juggernaut. They defend the ball really well; they deny well, and they’ve done it all season long. Affording them turnovers will keep the game close; the closer it remains, the tighter Duke becomes. Cayden Boozer has shown he can lead this team as the primary ball-handler, so as long as he remains on that trajectory and keeps turnovers to a minimum and attacks the paint as he has these last few games of the season, Duke should be good.