Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, will seek its sixth NCAA title, and the road begins with an opening-round matchup against Siena on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Blue Devils (32-2) are coming off Saturday’s 74-70 win over Virginia in the ACC championship game. Isaiah Evans, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, scored a team-high 20 points while 6-foot-4 freshman Cayden Boozer, who has taken his game up a notch lately, added 16 points. In the three ACC tournament games, Boozer averaged 13.6 points. For the season, he is averaging 7.1 points.
His twin brother, Cameron Boozer, who was named the ACC Player and Freshman of the Year, added 13 points. The 6-foot-9 Boozer is averaging 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds. Evans, a Third Team All-ACC choice, averages 15.2 points and is shooting .368 from deep.
It was the second straight ACC tournament title for the Blue Devils. Coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils to a Top 5 seed or better in each of his four seasons.
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Siena (23-11) is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010. The Saints earned their NCAA berth by defeating regular-season champion Merrimack, 64-54, in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game. Seeded No. 3 in the MAAC tournament, Siena received 23 points from tournament MVP Gavin Doty, a 6-foot-5 sophomore. Doty is averaging a team-high 17.9 points.
Siena 5-foot-11 senior Justice Shoats is the second-leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points, while shooting .350 from three-point range. Riley Mulvey, a 7-foot graduate student and transfer from Iowa, had a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds) in the championship game. That is quite a step up from his average of 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds.
In only his second year at Siena, coach Gerry McNamara has led the Saints to the NCAA Tournament. During his first season, Siena was 14-18, but that was a major improvement from a team that went 4-28 the year before McNamara’s arrival. McNamara is expected to get consideration for Power 4 coaching jobs. He won an NCAA title as a player at Syracuse in 2003.
Duke vs. Siena Odds
As of this writing, Duke is a 28.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 136.5 points.
Duke vs. Siena on TV
Tipoff for Duke vs. Siena is expected to be shortly after 2:50 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The game will be televised on CBS.
Duke vs. Siena Prediction
Despite the high point spread, I like Duke to cover.
Let’s face it, the only drama in this game seems to be who will be the point spread winner. Siena has played only one other Power 4 team and lost 81-60 at Indiana on Dec. 22.
Duke will attempt to put Siena away early, and there is nobody to stop Cameron Boozer either down low or from the perimeter, where he is a .400 three-point shooter on 3.7 attempts per game.
For such a big underdog, the key to staying close is being able to shoot from distance. Siena shoots just .304 from three-point range. Ironically, Duke holds teams to a .304 percentage, while shooting .350. Siena holds opponents to a .328 percentage.
Duke is banged up heading into the NCAA Tournament. Veteran guard Caleb Foster fractured his foot in the final regular-season game against North Carolina. Patrick Ngongba, a 6-foot-11 sophomore, was sidelined late in the regular season and in the ACC tournament with foot soreness.
It’s not known if the two will return for the NCAA Tourney, but it would be a surprise to see them against Siena.
That said, the way Cayden Boozer is playing recently, Duke appears to be playing as well as it has all season. That should continue in a big way against Siena.
