No. 1 seed Duke looks to refocus after surviving Siena scare in March Madness opener

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The East Region's top-seeded Duke Blue Devils are hoping they've learned a lesson after surviving a first-round scare from Siena in the NCAA Tournament: be aggressive from the start.

Siena grabbed an early lead against Duke on Thursday and led for the majority of the game before the Blue Devils began to wear down a Saints team that played just five players for 39 minutes and escaped with a 71-65 win. It allowed the Blue Devils to avoid becoming the third No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to fall to a 16 seed.

“Our competitive spirit was not there where it needed to be,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Friday before practice. "You have to go into this thing as the aggressors. That’s why we’ve been really good and we’ve had the year that we’ve had.

“For us, it’s all about getting back to ourselves, nothing other than doing what we’ve done, defending, rebounding, the whole thing. Our talk and energy, I can tell you it will be back (Saturday). I know these guys, and it will be back the way it needs to be.”

Help could be on the way for Duke (33-2).

Scheyer said he is “hopeful” that 6-foot-11 sophomore Patrick Ngongba will return after missing the Siena game with right foot soreness.

Ngonga potentially could help open up a Duke offense that struggled to find its rhythm against the Saints. Scheyer called Ngongba one of the most impactful big men in college basketball.

Regardless of whether he plays or not, the Blue Devils want to hit the floor with a different mentality.

“We have to be more aware of just we can’t start the game the way we did against Siena,” Duke forward Maliq Brown said. “Obviously every team is in the tournament for a reason. Everybody can compete with anybody who goes on that court. We’ve got to play the full 40 minutes.”

Don't expect TCU (23-11) to be intimidated.

The Horned Frogs have already played the other three No. 1 seeds in the tournament, knocking off defending national champion Florida 84-80 and losing to Michigan 67-63 and to Arizona 87-73 during the regular season.

“You see everything in the Big 12,” TCU's Jayden Pierre said. “A lot of projected lottery picks and a lot of great teams, a lot of top-10 teams, top-25 teams. I feel like we were very battle-tested. The Big 12 is the best league in the country. I feel like it’s really prepared us for this moment.”

TCU needed a layup from Xavier Edmonds with 4.3 seconds left to beat No. 8 seed Ohio State 66-64 in Round 1 after surrendering a 15-point halftime lead.

The Horned Frogs will be trying to reach the tournament's Round of 16 for the first time.

“We know that we have a chance to kind of do something special,” TCU guard Micah Robinson said. “We know that we’re kind of one game away from making TCU history. I’m not going to say that that’s like something that’s driving us, but I just feel like that’s something else that we could add to the list of good things that we’ve been able to accomplish this year.”

AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, contributed to this report.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

TCU forward Xavier Edmonds (24) celebrates scoring during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Ohio State, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Duke forward Cameron Boozer vies for the ball with Siena center Riley Mulvey during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Duke forward Cameron Boozer shoots over Siena center Riley Mulvey during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles had her 12th career triple-double with 12 points and career highs of 16 rebounds and 14 assists as third-seeded TCU beat UC San Diego 86-40 in a first-round NCAA Tournament game on Friday, giving the Horned Frogs their 43rd consecutive win at home.

Miles has the assists on the first four baskets for the Frogs as they went ahead to stay, going up 11-2 in the first 2:02 of the game. They scored the final 19 points of the game to make the final score the largest margin.

“You saw within the first four minutes of the game the pep, the pop she played with. I mean she was in attack mode,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “When Olivia’s like that, our team feeds off it and we’re at a whole different level.”

Taylor Bigby added a career-high 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting with seven 3-pointers for TCU (30-5), which also got double-doubles from Clara Silva (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Marta Suarez (11 points, 10 rebounds).

Miles became only the third player to twice have triple-doubles in women's NCAA Tournament games, with her other coming while at Notre Dame in 2022. She came out of the game right after her 3-pointer with 4:50 left for a 74-40 lead. Her 14 assists set TCU's single-game record, matching her best set at Notre Dame.

She already had a double-double at halftime with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, to go along with four points when TCU led 48-25.

“It's a different sense of urgency that I came with and I promised myself that I’d help my team out in any way that I can,” Miles said. “I know that it starts with me, and attacking the glass early so I have the ball in my hands and I can control it was favorable for us.”

Erin Condron had 12 points to lead UC San Diego (24-9), which under coach Heidi VanDerveer has made the NCAA Tournament in both seasons since gaining full Division I postseason eligibility.

“I don’t know if the score indicated how hard that we played, but the basket got big for them, and obviously they’re an excellent team,” VanDerveer said. “They have a tremendous point guard. They have shooters that spread us out, bigs inside, very complete team.”

TCU is hosting NCAA games at home for the second season in a row, after not making the tournament since 2010 before that.

While there were some empty seats at Schollmaier Arena, it was a solid and loud crowd for a Friday game that started at 11 a.m. local time. The place will be certainly be packed Sunday.

The last women's NCAA Tournament triple-double was Caitlin Cark for Iowa against Louisville on March 26, 2023, when she had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Sabrina Ionescu with Oregon in 2018 and 2019, and Nicole Powell for Stanford in back-to-back games in 2002 are the other players with multiple triple-doubles in the NCAA Tournament. Miles’ first one came with Notre Dame in 2022, when she had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a first-round game against Massachusetts.

TCU will look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row when it plays sixth-seeded Washington, which beat South Dakota State 72-54 in the other first-round game in Fort Worth on Friday.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

TCU guard Olivia Miles celebrates in the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against UC San Diego, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)