The early rounds of the NCAA tournament are about Cinderella, and she just arrived to the dance in the form of Prairie View A&M.
After a loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 21, the Panthers were 11-17. They won two straight going into the SWAC tournament, went on an improbable run to win that, then pulled an upset in the play-in Thursday against Lehigh to get to 19-17.
Next up is the defending national champion, No. 1 Florida who is such a prohibitive favorite some sports books aren’t even taking moneyline bets on them. Is March Madness this mad? Prairie View is a 35 1/2-point underdog as they look to pull the greatest upset in the history of an NCAA tourmament defined by upsets.
Prairie View A&M vs. Florida in March Madness today
The No. 16 Prairie View A&M men’s basketball team takes on No. 1 Florida in a South Region first-round NCAA tournament game in Tampa. The 7:25 p.m. MT/8:25 p.m. tip Friday, March 20, will be aired on TNT.
How to watch Prairie View A&M vs. Florida in 2026 NCAA tournament
The Prairie View A&M vs. Florida game will air at 7:25 p.m. MT/8:25 p.m. a.m. on TNT on Friday, March 20.
More: Predicting every Men’s NCAA tournament game using AI
Who does the winner of Prairie View-Florida play?
The winner of the No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 1 Florida game will play the winner of No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa in the second round on Sunday.
Prairie View A&M men’s basketball record
The Prairie View A&M Panthers are 19-17.
Florida men’s basketball record
The Florida Gators are 26-7.
Prairie View A&M vs. Florida Gators odds
Odds from BetMGM.com: Florida -35 1/2. Moneyline: Florida off, Prairie View A&M +8000. Over/under 155 1/2.
Prairie View men’s basketball vs. Florida Gators predictions, picks
The Arizona Republic: Florida 90, Prairie View A&M 60
Jeremy Cluff writes: “A No. 16 seed has only beaten a No. 1 seed twice in NCAA Tournament history. We don’t see it happening a third time here. Florida is battle tested.”
Dimers: Florida 94, Prairie View A&M 63
It writes: “After extensive simulations, our model gives Prairie View A&M a win probability of 1%, while Florida has a win probability of 99%.”
ESPN: Florida has a 99% chance to beat Prairie View A&M
The site gives the Panthers an 1% shot at defeating the Gators in the NCAA Tournament March Madness first-round game.
ESPN: Pick Florida to win vs Prairie View A&M in NCAA brackets
Jay Bilas writes: “Florida is too big and strong inside for an upset here. Take the Gators. Chomp, chomp.”
College Football News: Florida 97, Prairie View A&M 58
Pete Fiutak writes: “No, Prairie View A&M doesn’t have a prayer of getting past the defending national champions, but the Gators will have to work a bit. The home court feel of the crowd in Tampa won’t be needed, but the energy will get Florida going from the start, and this will be put away fast. The Panthers will keep pushing enough to make this look cosmetically better in the second half, but this will be over by halftime.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Prairie View A&M seeks upset vs Florida in March Madness: How to watch
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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