What do Siena and North Carolina have in common in this year’s NCAA tournament? They’ve both been eliminated in the first round. And they both hate Duke.
Siena nearly pulled off the upset of a lifetime against the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils, but midnight came early for the Cinderella hopefuls, who ultimately couldn’t keep pace with arguably the best team in the country. The Saints held a double-digit lead at halftime but struggled to make their shots in the second half en route to a 71-65 first-round loss.
After the game, Saints guard Gavin Doty was seen walking out of the arena in Greenville, S.C. and he happened to run into a member of UNC’s basketball program. Doty and the UNC staffer then shared a fleeting but priceless exchange:
“F--- Duke,” Doty said, limping next to him.
“Real s---,” the staffer appeared to say back.
Siena’s Gavin Doty to a member of UNC Basketball program as they walked in:
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) March 19, 2026
“F*ck Duke”
Program staffer:
“Real sh*t” pic.twitter.com/pVMJuFG3GA
Doty, who finished the game with a team-high 21 points in 40 minutes (Siena coach Gerry McNamara chose to keep his starters in for nearly the entire contest), didn’t actually appear to harbor any feelings of ill will toward the blue bloods, even though the loss clearly stung.
“They just grabbed some good rebounds there, and Maliq [Brown] does a great job at poking them out. And Cameron Boozer is a beast. So credit to them,” Doty told reporters postgame. “... I had full confidence that we were going to win this game. If you told me we would be up 10 at halftime, I’d have believed it. ‘Cause that’s how much faith I have in these guys, and seeing our coaching staff, they did an unbelievable job. It sucks we came up short, but I am proud of the fight we had.”
Lots of college hoops fans loved Doty’s cheeky quip:
That man played all 40 minutes, 21 pts, 4 boards, and 2 ast. Talk yo shyt https://t.co/bPwTNGvglY
— Nicole/Nicolasa (@LilNiK8) March 19, 2026
— UNC Barstool (@UNCBarstool) March 20, 2026
All of us. https://t.co/AiAUMjCK6G
— Megan Morrison (@MorrisonMegs) March 19, 2026
Go get him Hubert https://t.co/vJuGAFpJy9
— Case Beckman (@cwb1324) March 19, 2026
Doty did encounter a bit of a painful moment when he was pulled down by Duke’s Dame Sarr on a breakaway and got his ankle stepped on in the process. Hopefully it’s nothing serious for the sophomore guard, who entered Thursday’s game averaging 17.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season. Siena will be heading home after an early exit, but Doty at least got in one last laugh against the tournament favorites.
UNC’s March Madness run also came to a bitter end after the No. 6 Tar Heels suffered a meltdown against No. 11 VCU, who overcame a 19-point deficit to win 82-78 in overtime. It marked the sixth biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history.
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- SI:AM | March Recaptures Its Madness on Tournament’s Opening Day
- Road to the Final Four: March Madness Predictions, Picks for 1st-Round Games
- ‘Fins Up’: Long Island University Sharks Are the NCAA Tournament’s Feel-Good Team
- March Madness Day 1 Winners and Losers: Cinderella Keeps Dancing in Men’s NCAA Tournament
- Eight Standout Performances From the First Round of the NCAA Tournament
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Siena Player Seen Cursing Out Duke to UNC Staffer in Funny Postgame Moment.
