TAMPA, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Dontae Horne, Cory Wells and the rest of the Prairie View A&M basketball program didn鈥檛 get much time to celebrate the school鈥檚 first NCAA Tournament victory.
Fresh off on Wednesday night in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, the Panthers (19-17) were getting ready quickly for a monumental task.
They鈥檙e the 16th seed in the South Region and will face top and defending champion Florida on Friday night in the first round.
鈥淚t still feels surreal,鈥� Wells said Thursday. 鈥淐an鈥檛 really put into words but we have another game (Friday), so it鈥檚 time to lock back in and look forward.鈥�
Horne, who led the way with 25 points against Lehigh, said his phone has been blowing up since the win. This is the third NCAA Tournament appearance for Prairie View A&M, a historically Black school located outside Houston, following losses in 1998 and 2019. The Panthers were 5-27 last season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been crazy. Haven鈥檛 had much sleep,鈥� Horne said. 鈥淏ut we have to hurry up and lock in.鈥�
It鈥檒l take one of the greatest upsets in tournament history to advance. The Gators (26-7) are 35 1/2-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna throw the kitchen sink at them. All we know how to do is play hard, see where the cards fall,鈥� guard Lance Williams said.
Prairie View A&M coach Byron Smith understands the challenge facing his team. He called the Gators a team that appears 鈥渙n pace to make a run at cutting the nets down.鈥�
鈥淵ou love watching them, obviously, when you don鈥檛 have to play them,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎 well-coached team. They鈥檝e got size. They have athleticism. They have playmakers. They run good offense. They鈥檙e tough defensively. They鈥檙e big. They鈥檝e got everything. … They pose problems for any team they play.鈥�
Florida enters the matchup coming off a 17-point loss to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals. The Gators had won 12 straight before that loss.
Last year鈥檚 team was led by a backcourt of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard. They鈥檙e in the NBA now and this version of the Gators relied mainly on the frontcourt to get earn a top seed.
Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu were the returning starters.
Thomas Haugh stepped up to lead the team with 17.1 points per game. Chinyelu averaged 11.2 points and 11.5 rebounds, and Condon is scoring 18.5 points over the last 10 games.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 take anybody for granted,鈥� Haugh said. 鈥淓verybody in this tournament is a good team. They made it here. They deserve to be here.鈥�
Condon talked about the team staying hungry for another title.
鈥淵ou lose one game and you鈥檙e out,鈥� Condon said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing a lot of winning. We can鈥檛 get complacent. It鈥檚 a different year.鈥�
In the other South Region matchup at Benchmark International Arena, No. 8 seed Clemson (24-10) takes on ninth-seeded Iowa (21-12).
Dynamic guard Bennett Stirtz leads the Hawkeyes after helping Drake beat Missouri in the first round of last year鈥檚 tourney. Stirtz averages 20 points and is shooting 49.2% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range.
鈥淭hey have one of the most electric guards in the country in Stirtz,鈥� said R.J. Godfrey, who is averaging 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Tigers. 鈥淗e can really score. They鈥檙e very disciplined on both ends. They guard well and they get to the paint well.鈥�
Clemson reached the Elite Eight two years ago and was bounced in the first round last year by McNeese. Iowa is back in the tourney for the first time since consecutive first-round exits in 2022 and 2023.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e super well-coached and play the right way,鈥� Stirtz said of Clemson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna have our hands full. They鈥檙e guards can get downhill pretty much at will. We鈥檙e going to need to stop that. … They鈥檙e balanced and have strengths in different aspects.鈥�
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