Siena's McNamara Stuns Duke, NCAA Upset Near

0:00On March 20, Sienna Saints' coach, Jerry McNamara, pulled off a stunning defensive masterclass against top-seated Duke in the NCAA tournament. His team used a tight-zone defense to disrupt the Blue Devils flow, holding them 11 points under their season scoring average and limiting them. From three point range, despite the talent gap, Sienna kept it close until the final minutes. What made it even tougher was McNamara's thin roster, with just seven scholarship players and only five seeing real action. All five starters played around 40 minutes each, showing incredible grid even as fatigue set in late. Duke's head coach openly praised McNamara's preparation, saying his squad was more ready to compete. Sienna entered as a 28-and-a-half point underdog, nearly topping the biggest potential upset in tournament history, bigger than past shocks, like UMBC over Virginia. McNamara has transformed Sienna in just two years, going from a four-win disaster to a conference champ in their first NCAA bid in 16 years. It's a far cry from his time as Syracuse's

1:04star point guard, where they got blown out by Duke recently. Now the buzz is whether McNamara returns to Syracuse's head coach, especially after their recent hiring snag. With this performance, he's got options, and the orange might need to step up big to lure him back home.