The brackets are set; Gators will open with Prairie View in Tampa

Prairie View A&M (19-17) won its ninth straight game Wednesday night, taking down Lehigh (18-17), 67-55, in a matchup of 16^th-seeded teams in the NCAA’s First Four in Dayton. The reward for the Panthers, eighth during the regular season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference but winners of the league tournament is a Friday night date with the Florida Gators, reigning NCAA champions and the No. 1 seed for the South Regional.

The Panthers earned their win with a scrambling defense that completely stifled Nasir Whitlock, who came into the game averaging 20.5 per game and with eight games of 30 or more points under his belt. Against the quick Prairie View defense, Whitlock scored only five points, going 1-8 on 2-point shots and 1-7 on threes. Without Whitlock’s scoring to inject energy into the offense, Lehigh struggled to get into any kind of rhythm.

Down at the other end of the court, Lehigh had no answers for Georgia Southern transfer Dontae Horne, who lit up the Mountain Hawks for 25 points and was equally effective defensively with four steals and a blocked shot. Despite being undersized and the tallest player on the floor for the Panthers at 6-7, Corey Wells dominated on the inside with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.

The Gators (26-7) have been established as 35.5-point favorites as they begin their quest for a second consecutive NCAA championship at Tampa’s Benchmark Arena (9:25, TNT).

From a purely analytical standpoint, Florida is fourth in both the kenpom.com and barttorvik.com analytics. At kenpom.com, the Gators are the No. 9 offensive team and No. 6 defensive team in the nation. The barttorvik.com analytics rank the Gators 11^th offensively and fourth defensively.

Prairie View is No. 280 at kenpom.com and No. 281 at barttorvik.

The winner of the Friday night encounter between the Gators and Prairie View advances to a second round game Sunday against the winner of No. 8 Clemson and No. 9 Iowa.

TOMMY HAUGH NAMED TO TWO MORE ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

Tommy Haugh added to more awards to his growing list of accomplishments Wednesday when he was named second team All-America by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and third team United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Previously, Haugh was named second team All-America by The Sporting News and third team by the Associated Press.

NABC All-America teams

First team: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas; Cameron Boozer, Duke; AJ Dybantsa, BYU; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Braden Smith, Purdue

Second team: Tommy Haugh, Florida; Kingston Flemings, Houston; Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State; JT Toppin Texas Tech; Keaton Wagler, Illinois

Third team: Jaden Bradley, Arizona; Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina

USBWA All-America teams

First team: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas; Cameron Boozer, Duke; AJ Dybantsa, BYU; Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan; Baden Smith, Purdue

Second team: Kingston Flemings, Houston; Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State; JT Toppin, Texas Tech; Keaton Wagler, Illinois; Caleb Wilson, North Carolina

Third team: Tommy Haugh, Florida; Christian Anderson, Texas Tech; Jaden Bradley, Arizona; Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State; Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama

THURSDAY’S NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES

(SEC teams bold face)

East/Greenville, SC (CBS)

12:15: 9 TCU (22-11) vs. 8 Ohio State (21-12)

2:50: 16 Siena (23-11) vs. 1 Duke (32-2)

East/Buffalo (TNT)

1:30: 11 South Florida (25-8) vs. 6 Louisville (23-10)

4:05: 14 North Dakota State (27-7) vs. 3 Michigan State (25-7)

South/Oklahoma City (truTV)

12:40: 13 Troy (22-11) vs. 4 Nebraska (26-6)

3:15: 12 McNeese (28-5) vs. 5 Vanderbilt (26-8)

7:35: 10 Texas A&M (21-11) vs. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5)

10:10: Idaho (21-14) vs. 2 Houston (28-6)

South/Greenville, SC (TNT)

6:50: 11 VCU (27-7) vs. 6 North Carolina (24-8)

9:25: 14 Pennsylvania (18-11) vs. 3 Illinois (24-8)

West/Portland (TBS)

1:50: 12 High Point (30-4) vs. 5 Wisconsin (24-10)

4:25: 13 Hawaii (24-8) vs. 4 Arkansas (26-8)

7:25: 11 Texas (19-14) vs. 6 BYU (23-11)

10:00: 14 Kennesaw State (21-13) vs. 3 Gonzaga (30-3)

Midwest/Buffalo (CBS)

7:10: 16 Howard (24-10) vs. 1 Michigan (31-3)

9:45: 9 Saint Louis (28-5) vs. 8 Georgia (22-10)

FRIDAY’S NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES

South/Tampa (TNT)

6:50: 9 Iowa (21-12) vs. 8 Clemson (24-10)

9:25: 16 Prairie View A&M (19-17) vs. 1 FLORIDA (26-7)

Midwest/Saint Louis (CBS)

12:15: 10 Santa Clara (26-8) vs. 7 Kentucky (21-13)

2:50: 15 Tennessee State (23-9) vs. 2 Iowa State (27-7)

Midwest/Tampa (truTV)

12:40: 12 Akron (29-5) vs. 5 Texas Tech (22-10)

3:15: 13 Hofstra (24-10) vs. 4 Alabama (23-9)

Midwest/Philadelphia (TBS)

1:50: 14 Wright State (23-11) vs. 3 Virginia (29-5)

4:25: 11 Miami OH (32-1) vs. 6 Tennessee (22-11)

West/San Diego (TNT)

1:35: 16 Long Island University (24-10) vs. 1 Arizona (32-2)

4:10: 9 Utah State (28-6) vs. 8 Villanova (24-8)

West/Saint Louis (truTV)

7:35: 15 Queens (21-13) vs. 2 Purdue (27-8)

10:10: 10 Missouri (20-12) vs. 7 Miami (25-8)

East/San Diego (CBS)

7:10: 12 Northern Iowa (23-12) vs. 5 St. John’s (28-6)

9:45: 13 California Baptist (25-8) vs. 4 Kansas (23-10)

East/Philadelphia (TBS)

7:25 10 UCF (21-11) vs. 7 UCLA (23-11)

10:00: 15 Furman (22-12) vs. 2 UConn (29-5)

REGION BY REGION ANALYSIS

South (1. Florida; 2. Houston; 3. Illinois; 4. Nebraska)

Florida, Houston and Illinois will score easy first round game wins. Nebraska might struggle a little bit early with Troy’s style, but should pull away in the second half. Potential first round upsets include No. 11 VCU over No. 6 North Carolina and No. 10 Texas A&M over No. 7 Saint Mary’s.

Second round predictions: 1 FLORIDA vs. 9 Iowa; 2 Houston vs. 7 Texas A&M; 3 Illinois vs. 6 VCU; 4 Nebraska vs. 5 Vanderbilt

East (1. Duke; 2. UConn; 3. Michigan State; 4. Kansas)

Duke, UConn, Michigan State and Kansas will have no trouble advancing past the first round. Two potential upsets are No. 11 South Florida over No. 6 Louisville and No. 10 UCF over No. 7 UCLA.

Second round predictions: 1 Duke vs. 9 TCU; 2 UConn vs. 10 UCF; 3 Michigan State vs. 11 South Florida; 4 Kansas vs. 5 St. John’s.

Midwest (1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Viginia; 4. Alabama)

Michigan, Iowa State and Virginia will win big. Alabama should win but may have focus issues after the arrest of second leading scorer Aden Holloway on drug charges back on Monday. Minus JT Toppin, No. 5 Texas Tech is vulnerable against No. 12 Akron. It is a bad matchup for No. 7 Kentucky and No. 10 Santa Clara. Put the Mildcats on upset alert. Georgia-Saint Louis will be a track meet but depth favors Georgia. The crowd in Philadelphia will be very Pro-Miami (OH), but Tennessee should end the storybook season for the Red Hawks.

Second round predictions: 1 Michigan vs. 8 Georgia; 2 Iowa State vs. 10 Santa Clara; 3 Virginia vs. 6 Tennessee; 4 Alabama vs. 5 Texas Tech

West (1. Arizona; 2. Purdue; 3. Gonzaga; 4. Arkansas)

Arizona, Purdue, Gonzaga and Arkansas score easy first round wins. Texas won’t be able to handle No. 6 BYU and AJ Dybantsa. No. 9 Utah State will win the matchup with No. 8 Villanova. No. 10 Missouri’s size will overwhelm No. 7 Miami.

Second round predictions: 1 Arizona vs. 9 Utah State; 2 Purdue vs. 10 Missouri; 3 Gonzaga vs. 6 BYU; 4 Arkansas vs. 5 Wisconsin