The 2026 NCAA Tournament first round continues on Friday, March 20, with 16 games playing over 12 hours of all-day college basketball action.
No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M takes on No. 1 seed and defending national champion Florida in a South regional matchup in Tampa, Fla., at 9:25 p.m. ET on TNT.
With a 35.5-point spread, Florida is the biggest favorite in the entire 2026 NCAA Tournament first round — and the biggest favorite in decades.
Below, we’ll break down our Florida vs. Prairie View A&M prediction and picks for Friday night’s NCAA first-round game. Make your NCAA Tournament picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on NCAA game winners, spreads, and over/unders!
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Florida vs. Prairie View A&M Prediction, Spread, Over/Under for NCAA First Round
The winner of this Florida vs. Prairie View A&M NCAA first-round game advances to the second round to meet the winner of Friday’s No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 8 Clemson game, which will be settled before this game begins.
The Prairie View A&M Panthers earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament win on Wednesday night, defeating Lehigh in the play-in game in Dayton.
The Panthers were 11-17 at one point in the season, then won their last three regular-season games before winning four SWAC Tournament games in five days as the No. 8 seed.
It's Prairie View's third trip to the tournament, but this will only be its second game in the first round; the first was a 110-52 loss to Kansas in 1998.
📅 Get Friday's Updated NCAA Tournament Bracket, Schedule, and TV Channels
The top-seeded and fourth-ranked Florida Gators are looking to match the 2006-07 teams with back-to-back national titles. The Gators won the SEC regular-season crown with a 16-2 conference record.
Florida started 14-6 overall, losing close games to Duke, UConn, and Arizona, before ripping off 11 straight wins to end the regular season. After a third win over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, the Gators dropped the semifinal game to Vanderbilt.
The Gators are in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year under coach Todd Golden, and their 26th time overall. The Gators lost in the first round in 2024 and won the title last year, defeating Houston behind Walter Clayton Jr.
Florida vs. Prairie View A&M Spread, Over/Under for NCAA Tournament
No. 1 Florida enters Friday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game as a 35.5-point favorite on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win.
No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M is the big underdog, with a 33.33x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 35 states.
- Spread: Florida Gators -35.5 (1.92x payout)
- Over/Under: 153.5 (1.78x payout on Over)
- Game Winner Payout: Prairie View 33.3x | Florida N/A
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
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Prairie View A&M vs. Florida Prediction on Spread in NCAA First Round – Friday, March 20
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Prairie View A&M vs. Florida college basketball prediction on the spread in the first-round game for Friday, March 20 on PrizePicks.
- Per BetMGM, the 35.5-point spread is the largest spread in an NCAA Tournament game in over 25 years.
- The Panthers are 22-9 against the spread this season. The 71.0% cover percentage is the best in the SWAC and fourth-best in the nation.
- This includes covering in 11 straight games entering Friday.
- Prairie View is 16-6 ATS and an underdog this season. The 16 covers is third-most in the nation, behind North Florida and UL Monroe.
- Per KenPom, Prairie View is ranked 228th in the country in net rating, the lowest of any team in the tournament — with an offensive rating of 101.2 (311th) and a defensive rating of 111.9 (233rd).
- Florida is 17-16 against the spread this season, the sixth-best coverage percentage (51.5%) in the SEC with Vanderbilt.
- The Gators did not cover the spread in either SEC Tournament game after ending the regular season covering in five straight games.
- Still, they’ve covered in nine of the last 13 and 14 of the last 19 games.
- As a favorite of 20+ points this season, the Gators are 2-5 ATS.
- Per KenPom, Florida is rated fourth in the country, with an offensive rating of 125.5 (ninth) and a defensive rating of 91.8 (sixth).
- Florida leads the country in rebounds per game (45.4), margin (14.5), and offensive rebounds (16.1), and is fourth in defensive rebounds (29.3).
- Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu is second in the country in rebounds per game (11.5)
Make Your Prairie View A&M vs. Florida Prediction on PrizePicks
Can the Florida A&M Panthers pull off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history — or find a way to cover the spread? Or will the Gators begin their march to back-to-back national titles? The Prairie View-Florida NCAA Tournament game is at 9:25 p.m. on TNT.
You can make your Prairie View A&M vs. Florida picks on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money with your NCAA Tournament predictions.
Just pick college basketball players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on NCAA Tournament winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Keep tabs on the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, picks, and news.
