It’s about the experience for Siena against a loaded Duke team on a national-championship-or-bust mission, looking to get in a light scrimmage before dealing with Ohio State or TCU.
Former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara’s Saints worked their way through the MAAC Tournament to get here, and there’s a little bit of history to work off of. They got to the second round in 1989, 2008, and 2009.
Meanwhile, this is Duke’s 48th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke vs Siena Game Preview: How Fast Can the Blue Devils Put This Away?
Duke vs Siena How To Watch
Date: Thursday, March 19
Venue: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
Time: 2:50 pm ET
TV: CBS
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (1) Duke 32-2, (16) Siena 23-11
Duke Rankings: KenPom 1 | NET 1
Siena Rankings: KenPom 192 | NET 183
College Football Programs: Duke won the ACC Championship, but the football team will take a step back this year after losing too many key players in the portal.
Siena doesn’t have a college football team – any success against Duke will mean everything.
– CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews
Key Stats
– Duke is second in the nation in scoring margin, winning by 19.1 points per game.
– Siena is about the defense, finishing 15th in the country, allowing just 65.7 points per game.
Why Siena Will Win: Slow Things Down, Hope For the Best
Duke will come into this banged up and looking ahead after the tough ACC Tournament run. Siena has to maximize every possession to extend the game.
It’s an interesting Saint team considering McNamara was an outside shooting god at Syracuse.
The Saints don’t make a thing from the outside, and they don’t do anything on the move – the fastbreak points are kept to a minimum. They rely on lots of passes, controlling the tempo, hitting their free throws, and not screwing up.
Why Duke Will Win: The Blue Devils Will Get Every Rebound
It’s all about the early intensity for Duke.
It can put this away immediately with a good scoring burst. Siena doesn’t have any ability whatsoever to mount a comeback, so as long as the Blue Devil focus is there, and there aren’t any second-chance points allowed, this will get out of hand fast.
The quicker Duke can get to the bench – this isn’t a deep scoring team – the better. There are already enough miles on this team’s tires.
Duke vs Siena Prediction, Betting Lines
To have any sort of a shot against the Blue Devils, you have to hit from the outside and move with a pace. Siena doesn’t do either one well.
Even so, it will come up with a mini-run early on, and then Duke will wake up and put this away. There’s too much size, too much defensive talent, and not nearly enough scoring pop from the Saints to make this competitive.
Prediction: Duke 86, Siena 52
Consensus Line: Duke -28.5, o/u: 136.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Meet the NCAA Tournament Seeds
No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6
No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 | No. 11
No. 12 | No. 13 | No. 14 | No. 15 | No. 16
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Related: Wisconsin vs High Point Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament First Round
This story was originally published by College Football News on Mar 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.