No. 16 Siena nearly upsets No. 1 Duke in NCAA tournament without making a single substitution
The Saints' starting five played the full 40 minutes, and came within six points of the biggest upset in March Madness history.
Siena University came so close to March Madness history — in more ways than one. The Saints came within a few points of a massive upset over Duke, and they did it with all five of Siena’s starters playing the full 40 minutes. Though the Blue Devils entered the game as 28-point favorites, Siena quickly took control of the game, leading Duke by double-digits at halftime.
Duke ended up surging late for the 71-65 win , salvaging their March Madness run as the No. 1 overall seed. Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes Technically, Siena did make one substitution in the final seconds: With ten seconds remaining, Brendan Coyle was taken out in favor of Christian Jones, the sole bench player to make an appearance in the game.
Coyle was subbed back in two seconds later. That sub keeps the team from playing all the way through with the same starting five, though Coyle is still credited as playing 40 minutes. Still, it was a valiant effort from Siena, who nearly pulled it off despite zero rest.
Those five players were grinding for the Saints throughout the game, going a combined 25-of-65 from the field and nabbing 31 rebounds. Sophomore guard Gavin Doty lead the team with 21 points, followed by freshman forward Francis Folefac with 18 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Brendan Coyle with 12 points. Senior guard Justice Shoats and graduate center Riley Mulvey both got on the board as well.