Florida Gators play the Prairie View A&M Panthers in first round of NCAA Tournament

Prairie View A&M Panthers (19-17, 13-9 SWAC) vs. Florida Gators (26-7, 17-3 SEC)

Tampa, Florida; Friday, 9:25 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Gators -35.5; over/under is 155.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 Florida and Prairie View A&M square off in the NCAA Tournament opening round.

The Gators are 17-3 against SEC opponents and 9-4 in non-conference play. Florida leads the SEC in rebounding, averaging 42.2 boards. Rueben Chinyelu leads the Gators with 11.5 rebounds.

The Panthers’ record in SWAC action is 13-9. Prairie View A&M is fourth in the SWAC giving up 75.5 points while holding opponents to 43.5% shooting.

Florida averages 86.8 points, 11.3 more per game than the 75.5 Prairie View A&M gives up. Prairie View A&M averages 6.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than Florida allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Thomas Haugh is shooting 46.4% and averaging 17.1 points for the Gators. Urban Klavzar is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Cory Wells is averaging 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Panthers. Dontae Horne is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Gators: 9-1, averaging 88.0 points, 40.7 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 50.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.9 points per game.

Panthers: 9-1, averaging 73.0 points, 34.2 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 6.5 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 63.1 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up