GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — For most of Thursday, Duke looked nothing like the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Not with 16th-seeded Siena challenging the Blue Devils at every turn, determined to pull off the rarest of March Madness upsets.

And Duke barely avoided exactly that.

The Blue Devils had to rally from 13 points down and going ahead for good in the final 5 minutes to beat Siena 71-65, a first-round game that will stand out both for how Duke looked uncharacteristically tight and shaky compared to the confidence of the upstart Saints.

“A tournament’s all about your competitive readiness, and Siena had that as well as any team we’ve gone against,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “We anticipated them trying to really do things to keep us out of the paint, and they executed great. The moments we made runs, they didn’t flinch.”

Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the East Region’s headliner, which hit its first four shots yet needed a comeback against a fearless upstart playing just five players right up to the final seconds.

The No. 1 seeds entered the week with a 158-2 record against 16 seeds in the tournament, the outliers being Virginia’s loss to UMBC in 2018 and Purdue’s loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023.

And Duke — a blueblood with five NCAA titles — spent much of Thursday in serious danger of being added to that list before finally wrestling away control of the game in the last 8 minutes.

“He outcoached me, he outcoached us,” Scheyer said of Siena coach Gerry McNamara. “That’s one of the hardest moments for me in sport, period, to not have your best stuff.”

Gavin Doty scored 21 points to lead the Saints (23-12), with his third 3 giving Siena a 61-56 lead with 7:53 left. But Duke ran off 11 unanswered points to finally push ahead for good, securing a date against TCU in Saturday’s second round.

“I’m just really proud,” McNamara said. “I’m devastated for them because we were fearless. … I’m crushed for them because they played well enough to win.”

Arena mood

The Bon Secours Wellness Arena is hosting games in the tournament’s East and South regions, and fans from other schools were eager to jump on the ride as the Saints largely made the afternoon theirs.

As Doty and Brendan Coyle hit big 3s — followed by confident arms-raised celebrations as they backpedaled downcourt — the crowd grew more energized with every passing minute in the first half. That included fans wearing Ohio State red — the Buckeyes lost to TCU in the earlier game — and the lighter blue of Duke rival North Carolina.

And the Saints kept increasing their advantage, jarringly taking a 43-32 lead as Duke looked discombobulated and uncomfortable in its tournament debut.

A team that had dominated inside to reach the top of the AP Top 25 even found itself being outrebounded and outscored in the paint by halftime, a testament to how McNamara’s team was ready for the fight in its first March Madness appearance since 2010.

“I think we really didn’t come out ready to play today, and we’ve got to be better moving forward,” Boozer said.

The decisive stretch

Siena missed eight straight shots and went scoreless for nearly 7 minutes during Duke’s go-ahead run, part of an 8-for-34 showing (23.5%) after halftime.

Duke, meanwhile, finally grabbed its first lead since the opening 4 minutes on Isaiah Evans’ driving score at 63-61, while Evans and Boozer each hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to help Duke finally put away Siena.

“Obviously we poured our heart out, but close doesn’t count for much,” said Coyle, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers.

The key stat

Duke did its best second-half work on the glass. The Blue Devils finished with a 30-13 rebounding advantage after the break, including 12 offensive boards leading to 15 second-chance points.

That offset 40.7% shooting for the game, including 5 of 26 from 3-point range.

Lineup moves

The Blue Devils played their fifth straight game without starting big man Patrick Ngongba II due soreness in his right foot. The Saints had four players log 40 full minutes, with Christian Jones becoming the sixth players to check in for the final seconds.

Up next

Duke: The Blue Devils’ date with the Horned Frogs on Saturday will be the first meeting between the programs.

Acuff Jr. scores 24 as Arkansas breezes past Hawaii

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and seven assists, and No. 4 seed Arkansas continued its strong play after winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament, beating No. 13 seed Hawaii 97-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas moves on to face No. 12 High Point in the second round of the West Region.

Meleek Thomas had 21 points and eight rebounds for coach John Calipari’s Razorbacks, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and three blocks, and Malique Ewin had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Dre Bullock scored 21 points for Hawaii, the Big West Conference champion. Isaac Johnson had 15 points and five rebounds.

TCU 66, Ohio State 64

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Xavier Edmonds converted a layup to beat the shot clock with 4.3 seconds left, and No. 9 seed TCU held off a furious second-half rally by eighth-seeded Ohio State for a 66-64 victory to open the first round.

Bruce Thornton’s half-court heave at the buzzer hit all backboard for the Buckeyes.

Micah Robinson scored 18 points for TCU, Edmonds finished with 16 and David Punch had 16 points and 13 rebounds. John Mobley Jr. scored 15 points to lead Ohio State.

The Horned Frogs move on to face top-seeded Duke, which survived a scare from 16th-seeded Siena to advance.

High Point 83, Wisconsin 82

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Chase Johnston made his first 2-point basket of the season, a fast-break layup with 11.7 seconds remaining that gave No. 12 seed High Point an 83-82 victory over fifth-seeded Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Johnston finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers for the Panthers, who were 10 1/2-point underdogs, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. He came in shooting 64 of 132 from 3-point range but 0 of 4 inside the arc.

The Panthers will face No. 4 seed Arkansas in the second round. Nick Boyd finished with 27 points for Wisconsin.

Vanderbilt 78, McNeese 68

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Tanner had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Vanderbilt rallied to beat McNeese 78-68 on Thursday for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 2012.

The Commodores (27-8), the No. 5 seed in the South Region, will play No. 4 seed Nebraska in the second round on Saturday.

Duke Miles scored 13 points and Devin McGlockton and Tyler Nickel each added 12 for Vanderbilt, which trailed by 12 points in the first half and then took control after the break.

Garwey Dual scored 16 points and Larry Johnson added 15 for No. 12 seed McNeese, which was trying to knock off a No. 5 seed for the second straight year.

Nebraska 76, Troy 47

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Pryce Sandfort scored 23 points and Nebraska rolled to its long-awaited first NCAA Tournament victory, beating Troy 76-47.

The Cornhuskers entered March Madness as the only school from a power conference without a tournament win. They were 0-8, with many of the losses coming as the higher seed.

Sandfort helped the Huskers end the drought by making seven 3-pointers. Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence each scored 13 points and Rienk Mast added 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Huskers, who will play No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in the second round on Saturday.

Victor Valdes scored 14 points for Troy.