Can the Prairie View A&M Panthers Do the Impossible… Again?

On February 14, the Prairie View A&M Panthers’ record dropped to 9-16 after an 87-82 loss to Georgia Southern.

Fast forward to today, and the small HBCU is now preparing to take on the Florida Gators in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64.

The Panthers pulled off this nearly impossible feat by winning ten of their last 11 games. That run includes a stunning run through the SWAC Tournament, which earned them an automatic bid into March Madness, despite their 18-17 record. Soon after, they delivered an upset win in a First Four matchup against Lehigh, earning their first tournament win in program history.

With March Madness betting sites making the 1-seed Florida Gators the overwhelming favorite to beat the Panthers on Friday, can the small team from Texas do the impossible yet again?

Prairie View A&M’s Basketball History Is Sparse

Many basketball fans may be hearing about Prairie View A&M for the first time, but their basketball program has been in Division I since 1980. The Panthers joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference that year, where they have remained ever since.

Before this year, the team had won six regular-season SWAC titles and made two appearances in March Madness. They lost their first game in both tournament appearances, but that all changed on Wednesday night.

While the program has not had success in Division I, it does have one former player in the Hall of Fame: Zelmo Beaty. He was the third overall pick in the NBA draft in 1962, kicking off a 12-year pro career. 

The 2026 Panthers team doesn’t have any promising NBA prospects, but it still managed to deliver the biggest win in program history.

Panthers Defensive Play Saves Season

The Panthers’ incredible turnaround this season is largely due to their defensive resurgence. 

The team had been averaging 79 points allowed over its first 25 games. However, they have only been allowing 63 per game since then. That is a significant improvement that allowed A&M to make this incredible journey to the Round of 64.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers were facing one of the best mid-major players in the league. Lehigh’s Nasir Whitlock was eighteenth in the country with 20.5 points per game, but was held to just five against A&M, making just two of his 13 shots from the field. Keeping him off balance completely deflated Lehigh, leading to a double-digit win for the Panthers.

There is a large gap in offensive firepower between Lehigh and Florida, but don’t expect the Panthers to shy away from the challenge.

With Caesars Sportsbook setting the total at 155.5, it seems bookmakers believe in this upstart defense.

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Offensive Concerns Remain

While the Panthers scored 40 against Lehigh in the second half of Wednesday’s game, it was driven by three players. Cory Wells (19), Lance Williams (10), and Dontae Horne (25) were the only three to score 10+ points in the win.  However, Corey Dunning and Elijah Mitchell both went scoreless in a combined 52 minutes of play.

The Panthers don’t have much of a bench, usually relying on just two reserves. That places greater importance on the play of the starting five, which is a concern given Tai'Reon Joseph's recent play. 

The guard was one of the top scorers in the country but was plagued by injury late in the season, prompting head coach Byron Smith to rip A&M’s medical staff. He missed much of the final month for the Panthers and has managed just 23 combined points over his previous five games. 

Fortunately for the Panthers, we have seen him look more efficient over the last week. He went 4-7 from the field for 10 points in just nine minutes during the SWAC Tournament Final, and went 2-4 with a three-pointer in eight minutes against Lehigh. While his scoring totals and play time remain low, the improved efficiency is a promising sign.

Now, the Panthers will need to decide how to use the athletic star against Florida. Given the team’s top-heavy scoring, the team will need peak Joseph to come close to competing with Florida. However, will they be willing to risk his health and another ugly offensive showing?

Regardless of what the Panthers choose to do, we can’t wait to see them attempt to keep their Cinderella run alive on Friday.