On Selection Sunday, Florida found out its fate. The Gators (26-7) were named the No. 1 seed in the South Region of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. But one key element remained unclear: UF’s first round matchup.
Who Florida’s future foe will be is set to be decided Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio, as No. 16 seeds Lehigh and Prairie View A&M face off in a First Four bout.
The winner of that game will face UF in the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida Friday night at 9:25 p.m. ET.
Here’s a deeper dive into the Gators’ potential Round of 64 opponents.
Lehigh Mountain Hawks:
For the sixth time in program history, Lehigh (18-16) qualified for the NCAA Tournament, with 2026 being the school’s first appearance since 2012.
That season, the 15-seeded Mountain Hawks pulled off a massive upset, defeating No. 2 Duke 75-70 before falling to 10-seed Xavier in the Round of 32.
Now, the Patriot League Champions will look to repeat that history, this time against a No. 1 overall seed.
A major similarity to the 2012 team is a ball-dominant junior guard who can take over a game when needed. Then, it was future NBA all-star C.J. McCollum, who averaged 21.9 points per game and scored 30 points against the Blue Devils.
This season, that player is junior guard Nasir Whitlock. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, native averages 21.0 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field. The 6-foot-2 guard is on a recent hot streak, scoring 15-plus points in each of his last 17 games.
But Whitlock isn’t the only offensive weapon the Mountain Hawks have in their arsenal. Sophomore forward Hank Alvey has emerged in his second collegiate season as a go-to post threat, averaging 15 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Since Feb. 1, Alvey has scored 20-plus points in six different contests, including a 30-point performance against Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinal March 8.
Whitlock and Alvey headline an offense that shoots an effective 36.5% from 3-point range, the 38th-best rate in the nation. The Mountain Hawks also showcase good shot selection, as their 53.3% effective field goal percentage ranks No. 87 nationally.
However, Lehigh has some fatal flaws that Florida could easily exploit in a matchup.
The Mountain Hawks only grab 46.2% of rebounds, a mark that places them No. 331 in the country. The Gators, meanwhile, rank first, grabbing a staggering 59.5% of rebounds per game.
Lehigh also struggles mightily on the offensive boards, as its 22.8% rank is 351st in the nation. Florida’s 43.2% mark is second nationally, only behind SEC foe Tennessee (45.1%).
Further, Lehigh’s defensive output leaves a lot to be desired. The Mountain Hawks surrender 74 points per contest, which places them No. 189 in the country. That could leave Lehigh extremely vulnerable against Florida’s high-octane offense, which ranks No. 12 nationally with 86.8 points per game.
If the Mountain Hawks were to best the Gators, they would need Whitlock to discover some of the McCollum magic that earned Lehigh its only NCAA Tournament win in team history. If not, it might be a long Friday night for the No. 16 seed.
Prairie View A&M Panthers:
Prairie View A&M (18-17) enters its third NCAA tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country. On Feb. 15, the Panthers were 9-16 and 4-8 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Since then, PVAMU hasn’t looked back.
In their 9-1 stretch, the Panthers have boasted the No. 77 defense in the nation, per Bart Torvik. PVAMU has also held opponents to a measly 42.6% effective field goal percentage, good for No. 4 nationally in the span.
Offensively, the stretch has matched up with the emergence of senior guard Dontae Horne. The Memphis, Tennessee, native has been scorching hot recently, averaging 25.2 points per game during PVAMU’s 9-1 run. That boosted his yearly average to a team-high 20.2 points per outing, good for No. 31 nationally.
Alongside Horne, senior Tai’Reon Joseph has been a standout for the Panthers. The former Austin Peay, Radford, Southern and UTSA guard is averaging 18.2 points per game this season. However, he has struggled as of late, scoring a measly 18 points in four games in the SWAC Tournament.
The Panthers enter the tournament No. 310 in offensive efficiency and No. 231 in defensive efficiency, per KenPom. While those numbers don’t flash, one does: A 70.9 adjusted tempo rate.
That number puts PVAMU No. 25 nationally, showcasing their high-octane style of play. The Gators share that same offensive urgency, as UF’s 70.4 mark ranks No. 32 in the country.
But like their First Four opponents, Lehigh, PVAMU has struggled on the boards. The Panthers’ 45.9% rebound rate is No. 336 nationally, well below No. 1 Florida.
While Lehigh struggles more on the offensive class, Prairie View enters March Madness as one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the nation, allowing their opponents to grabbing 34.8% of offensive boards. Florida, meanwhile, is No. 7 nationally in that stat, surrendering 24.8% of offensive boards to opponents.
If the Panthers defeat Lehigh and advance to their second-ever Round of 64, the pace of play between PVAMU and UF will lead to a speed-filled matchup. However, like Lehigh, Prairie View’s lack of rebounding skill might hold them back against the powerful Gators.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @maxbernstein23.
Max is a junior sports journalism student in his seventh semester at The Alligator. He serves as The Alligator's assistant sports editor and football beat coordinator. He previously served as The Alligator's sports editor and as a reporter for football, women's tennis, volleyball, lacrosse and sports enterprise. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. Max wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and niche former Florida Panthers players (shoutout Maxim Mamin).
