Duke narrowly escapes Siena after a halftime deficit. Scheyer acknowledges Siena's tactical brilliance, revealing the intense pressure on the Blue Devils.
Duke didn't look like a No. 1 seed for most of its first-round matchup against No. 16 Siena.
The Saints took a 43-32 lead over the ACC Tournament champs into halftime. At one point, Siena had a 13-point lead over Duke.
However, the Blue Devils came back to life in the second half, outscoring the Saints 39-22 in the game's final 20 minutes to earn a 71-65 win in front of a crowd of 13,919 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Thursday.
Siena head coach Gerry McNamara received praise for his plan against Duke. For most of the contest, McNamara appeared to get the better of Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer.
During his postgame news conference, Scheyer was asked about being outreached by McNamara. Scheyer praised McNamara for getting his guys ready to play the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"A tournament's all about your competitive readiness, and Siena had that as well as any team we've gone against," Scheyer said, via USA Today. "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. I think that's a reflection on him, and that's a reflection on his players. They were big time today, and it took us everything that we had to win it."
Scheyer knew going into the contest that McNamara would have his guys prepared for the first round.
"Gerry is a tough competitor who's won at the highest level," Scheyer said. "I think the thing that you can say about his guys today, they weren't afraid at all. We knew that going in.”
"There is a reputation in the league: they were the aggressors, and that's a reflection on him and their coaching staff. That's who he's been his entire life that I've known him as a competitor."
Thursday's contest is a wake-up call for Scheyer and the Blue Devils. They have the potential to win the national championship, but they need to find ways to be more consistent outside of star freshman Cameron Boozer.
Boozer led Duke with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists.
Still, the Blue Devils are having a hard time figuring out how to replace point guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II, out with foot injuries.
Saturday's test against No. 9 seed TCU will be an opportunity for Duke to show that its performance against Siena was a fluke, but the roster as is does have issues.