Duke trailed No. 16 Siena 43-32 at the half. It's the first time ever a No. 1 seed has trailed a No. 16 seed by double-digits at halftime, according to ESPN research.
Fortunately for Duke (and March Madness brackets across America), the Blue Devils stepped up the defensive intensity in the second half and rallied for a 71-65 victory and escaped a shocking upset.
To do it, Duke had to chip away at a 13-point second-half deficit, going ahead for good in the final 5 minutes.
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.
And yet, the Saints took it to the Blue Devils (33-2) at every turn.
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.
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 the second round.
But much of the afternoon belonged to the Saints. 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, including fans wearing Ohio State red and the lighter blue of Duke rival North Carolina eager to start jumping on the ride.
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 Gerry McNamara's team was ready for the fight in its first March Madness appearance since 2010.
Ultimately, though, the rousing shots started to slow for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion. Siena missed eight straight shots and went scoreless for nearly 7 minutes during the decisive run, part of an 8-for-34 showing (23.5%) after halftime.
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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.
Cayden Boozer added 19 points for Duke, which shot 40.7% for the game and made just 5 of 26 3-pointers. Francis Folefac had 18 points and seven boards for Siena.
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The Blue Devils played their fifth straight game without starting big man Patrick Ngongba II because of soreness in his right foot.
Now, Duke has a date with TCU on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the programs.
- The Associated Press contributed.