The Prairie View A&M Panthers beat Lehigh 67-55 on Wednesday night in a First Four matchup to win the program’s first March Madness game. Their reward? A date on Friday with the No. 1 seed Florida Gators.
And oddsmakers aren’t giving them much of a chance.
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Florida opened as a 35.5-point favorite against Prairie View A&M at BetMGM, which if the line holds would mark the biggest spread in an NCAA tournament game in over 25 years. The Panthers were being listed as high as 80-1 on the money line at some sportsbooks to pull off the upset.
The last time there was a spread that big was No. 1 Duke in 1999 closing as a 46.5-point favorite against Florida A&M. The Blue Devils won 99-58, but didn’t cover the enormous number.
The 2026 NCAA tournament has seen many higher spreads than usual, with every 1 seed favored by at least 27.5 points, every 2 seed favored by at least 20 points and every 3 seed favored by at least 15.5 — and that includes No. 3 Illinois as a record 25.5-point favorite against No. 14 Penn on Thursday night.
Last year, no top-four seeds lost in the first round and only one double-digit seed (No. 10 Arkansas) made the Sweet 16.
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