The Blue Devils didn’t expect to see the Saints come storming in.
That’s the message Duke forward Maliq Brown conveyed to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson on Thursday, when the top-seeded Blue Devils trailed No. 16 Siena by 11 points in the opening half of their first-round clash of the NCAA tournament before rallying back for a 71-65 victory.
“Like I said, we thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game. So now we know what it is and we just gotta respond the way we usually do,” said Brown, who tallied six points against the Saints.
Duke became the first No. 1 seed to ever trail a No. 16 seed by double digits at halftime.
The Blue Devils ultimately stormed back in the second, putting up 39 points to punch their tickets to the Round of 32, where they’ll face No. 9-seed TCU.
“That game was ours to take,” Duke forward Cameron Boozer said afterward, according to 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 coach Jon Scheyer tipped his hat to Siena afterward, stating Saints coach Gerry McNamara “outcoached” him.
“A tournament’s all about your competitive readiness, and Siena had that as well as any team we’ve gone against,” Scheyer said. “We anticipated them trying to really do things to keep us out of the paint, and they executed great.”
Duke is seeking its first NCAA tournament title since 2015.
The Blue Devils tip off against the Horned Frogs on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET.
