Florida got their 1-seed announced in the South seed on Selection Sunday but they’ll have to wait until Wednesday night to truly know their opponent as they await the winner of Lehigh and Prairie View A&M.
Given that the Gators were the lowest of the 1-seeds you thought they would potential be given one of the harder 16-seeds but as bracketology rules and geographic preferences of top seeds started setting the foundation of the bracket it just so happened that Florida was given what is quite easily argued the easiest 16-seeds of the bunch. Both teams weren’t the number one seeds in their conferences and went on runs to win their tournaments, and they do not profile as the type of teams that could give pushes to 1-seeds like Florida.
Lehigh (18-16) was the 3-seed going into the Patriot League and played excellent basketball to unseat perennial favorite Colgate in the semifinals and then surprise team Boston University in the finals. Navy and Colgate were heavy favorites to win the Patriot Tournament and Lehigh was able to play spoiler, with their defense really leading the way in those crucial games.
The Mountainhawks are known for their post up heavy offense and they have a couple of uncharacteristically big centers for that level–6’9, 250 pound Hank Alvey, and 6’10”, 235 pound Alfredo Addessa. Though they’re going to play a lot through the post to start possessions, most of them end with star guard Nasir Whitlock. Whitlock, a 6’2” junior, is putting up remarkable stats averaging 21 points and 3.4 assists per game, fueled largely by his 45% three-point stroke that makes him one of the most dangerous shooters in the country.
March is all about Cinderellas, and just to get to the 16-seed play-in game was a remarkable Cinderella run by Prairie View A&M. The Panthers were the 8-seed, yes, the 8-seed in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, not expected to do anything in the league tournament. Instead, they went on a run winning 4 games in 5 days, ultimately upsetting Southern in the championship game to earn the NCAA Tournament spot. The SWAC is a tough, physical league and PVAM was able to claw out possession after possession in order to string together upset wins, in a run that is more remarkable the more you look at each contest. In order to win in that league you’ve got to play an extreme style and the Panthers do just that, playing extremely fast offensively and putting relentless pressure on the rim, while mixing in some zone and flying around defensively to create turnovers. A pair of guards have filled it up for the Panthers offensively including Dontae Horn who is averaging 20.2 points and 3.1 assists per game and Tai’Reon Joseph who is averaging 18.2 points. Both players are not jump shooters and are always trying to race downhill, and if you don’t stop them in transition it can be layups in a hurry.
Entering Wednesday’s matchup Lehigh is 284th in KenPom while Prairie View A&M is 288th, so this should be a very even battle. Lehigh will look to leverage their size on the inside to win through their offense in a slower, composed style, while Prairie View A&M will look to make it a track meet with all kinds of excitement.
Given that both teams are in the 280’s of KenPom the Gators will likely be happy to play either team, and they are lucky to avoid some of the other 16’s that have a bit more upset potential.