Maliq Brown Says Duke Viewed Siena as 'Cakewalk' Before 16-Seed's March Madness Upset Bid

The top-overall seed in the NCAA men's tournament, Duke, shockingly trailed Siena 43-32 at the half during the first round on Thursday. It was the classic case of the overwhelming favorite looking past the underdog.

"We thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game," Duke's Maliq Brown admitted during the CBS broadcast at halftime.

Some things are better left unsaid.

Granted, Duke was without a pair of starters due to injury, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster. On the other hand, Siena didn't use a single substitute in the entire first half, so there wasn't a depth advantage for the Saints.

Siena also shot a blistering 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from three, while Duke was a shocking 2-for-15 from three in the opening frame. So there were plenty of factors that played into the surprising first half.

But ultimately, Duke was expected to wipe the floor with Siena and clearly underestimated their opponent. There are few things more rare than a 16-seed upsetting a 1-seed, and Siena pulling off the feat would have busted most brackets.

You can't blame Duke for being confident—or in this case, overconfident—ahead of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils were 32-2 and won both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles, beating some of the top teams in the nation along the way. Siena was expected to be the fly splattered on Duke's windshield as it raced toward the Final Four.

The Saints proved to be more of a roadblock than anybody expected, including a very honest Brown.