As expected, Duke is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and will open the Big Dance in Greenville before hopefully journeying to Washington, D.C., for the Regional semifinals and finals and then Indianapolis for the Final Four.
But the Blue Devils can't get to those spots without first taking care of business in the Round of 64. Standing first in the path of Jon Scheyer and Duke will be 16-seeded Siena, coached by former Syracuse legendary guard Gerry McNamara, who has the Saints in the NCAA Tournament in just his second season as a head coach.
Duke is predictably a heavy favorite, but the oddsmakers don't have quite as much confidence in the Blue Devils as the only other 1-seed with a confirmed matchup so far.
Duke opened on FanDuel as 27.5-point favorites for their first-round matchup on Thursday. Fellow 1-seed Arizona opened as 29.5-point favorites against Long Island.
Duke is a 27.5 point favorite at opening against 16-seed Siena in the Round of 64
In fairness, oddsmakers hold Duke in higher esteem than KenPom or Bart Torvik, which don't factor in the Caleb Foster injury like Vegas does.
KenPom projects a 26-point Duke win, 81-55, with an implied 99% chance of victory. Bart Torvik expects it slightly closer, with an 83-58 Blue Devils win and a 98% implied chance of victory.
Duke captured the ACC Tournament championship without either Foster or injured center Patrick Ngongba. Scheyer hopes that Ngongba will be back for the beginning of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, but Foster is projected to be out until at least the Final Four.
Duke should have little problem beating Siena without either, but a tricky 2nd round matchup against either Ohio State or TCU will be all the more difficult if Ngongba is unable to play.