It didn’t take long for Prairie View A&M to make some postseason noise.
The Panthers (18-17) were the No. 8 seed in the SWAC tournament and knocked off top-seeded Bethune-Cookman in the quarterfinals after beating Alcorn State in the second round. They went on to defeat Alabama A&M before beating Southern in the SWAC title game to earn a 16-seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to Dayton to compete in the First Four.
RELATED: 2026 March Madness Odds
Prairie View A&M has won nine of its last 10, with the only loss during that stretch coming to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Lehigh (18-16) has won eight of its last nine and earned the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tourney. It defeated Holy Cross, Colgate, and Boston en route to the conference title.
This will be the Mountain Hawks’ first tournament appearance since 2012, when they upset second-seeded Duke for their only NCAA tourney win in school history.
Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh Odds
As of this writing, Lehigh is a 3.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM against Prairie View A&M, while the Over/Under is 142.5 points.
The Moneyline for Lehigh is -166 and +140 for Prairie View A&M.
Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh on TV
The matchup between Prairie View A&M and Lehigh will be televised on truTV.
Wednesday’s game tips off at 6:40 p.m. ET.
Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh Prediction
I predict Prairie View A&M covers the spread, but Lehigh wins. I also predict this game goes over 142.5 points.
Give me Nasir Whitlock with the game on the line. The 6-foot-2 junior guard has hit multiple game-winners for the Mountain Hawks this season, with the most recent one coming against Holy Cross in the Patriot League tourney:
Whitlock has no problem taking over a game, and his eight 30-point performances are the most in the country. He led the Patriot League with 21 points per game and is also averaging 3.4 assists per game. Players like Whitlock are built for March.
Outside of Whitlock, the Mountain Hawks have a balanced scoring attack and can work the ball inside to Hank Alvey, which really spaces out the offense and creates more opportunities for Whitlock and the rest of the offense. Alvey is averaging 15 PPG and 6.9 rebounds per game, and had his own 30-piece against Colgate in the Patriot League semifinals.
Prairie View A&M has a lot of length and athleticism that could help it on the defensive end. The Panthers only allow opponents to shoot 49.4% from inside the arc, and they allowed just 61 PPG in the SWAC tourney.
They struggle guarding the 3-ball, though, where they are allowing opponents to shoot 35.1%. Lehigh’s 36.5% from deep is the 39th-best mark in the country, while Whitlock is shooting 44.5% from the outside.
Per KenPom, Lehigh has an effective field-goal percentage of 53.3% and is averaging 73.2 PPG.
Prairie View A&M has a dangerous duo of guards in seniors Dontae Horne and Tai’Reon Joseph. They’re two of the top five scorers in the SWAC, with Horne averaging 20.2 and Joseph scoring 18.2 PPG. Joseph was scoring at an even higher rate early in the season, but was sidelined for half of February. He didn’t play his usual minutes during the conference tourney, but I expect he’ll be full-go for this game.
The Panthers average 78.9 PPG, and their adjusted tempo of 70.9 (possessions per 40 minutes) is the 23rd-highest in the country. They want to get out in transition, get defenses out of position, and get to the free-throw line. Over 25% of their points come from the stripe, and they force a turnover on 19.1% of possessions.
It’ll be critical for Lehigh to control the tempo and take care of the ball. The Mountain Hawks turn it over on 17.5% of possessions, which isn’t great. They’re also allowing 74 PPG.
I think both offenses will be hard to stop in this one, and the Panthers’ ability to be disruptive defensively could lead to easy baskets and a ton of momentum. However, it’s hard not to trust Whitlock in big moments, and I think he shows up once again to set the Mountain Hawks up on a date with Florida, who is the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
