Duke avoided what would’ve been one of the most shocking upsets in recent NCAA Tournament history, but it did what it had to do to win the game.
For stretches, Siena looked more than capable of pulling it off, putting all the pressure on a Duke team that entered the game as nearly 30-point favorites. The Blue Devils found themselves in a position no one saw coming, and a lot of it was due to being unprepared or not ready for the moment.
However, when it mattered most, Duke did just enough.
“That game was ours to take,” Duke’s Cameron Boozer said, per ESPN. “The first half, we put ourselves in that position. We knew we were going to be able to come out of it. We just had to come together, do what we do.”
Duke began to settle in and play more like the team it had been all season in the second half. With about five minutes left, Duke’s talent just took over. It wasn’t anything that Duke did that changed a whole lot, but the reality is that Duke is a better team than Siena.
“We knew that, once we get stops, we can run,” Duke’s Isaiah Evans said. “I knew once we see it, instead of just saying it, we just fall into line with everything we're trying to do.”
While a win is a win for Duke, we have to give a lot of credit to Siena. Coming out the MAAC, no one expected the Saints to have a chance.
Head coach Gerry McNamara praised his team’s effort, as he only had five guys playing.
“You're looking at a guy that played 40 minutes a lot,” McNamara said. “We just got here from [the MAAC tournament in] Atlantic City doing pretty much the same thing. ... And I asked them, not that they would tell me the truth when I say, 'Are you good?' They tell me 'Yeah.' I would tell my coach the same thing, I'm fine regardless. They gave us everything.”
As long as Duke wins in the NCAAT, there isn’t much of a worry here. Duke can win every game by one point, but as long as it wins it all, no one will care how it looks.