Prairie View A&M coach goes viral for asking for ‘help from the lord’ during Florida game
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For a No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed, you need some things to go your way. Had Siena gotten a few kinder rolls in its matchup with Duke, the Saints may have been able to topple the Blue Devils. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything Prairie View A&M was going to be able to do to beat Florida on Friday.
The Panthers hung tough early in the game, tying the Gators 15-15 on a three-pointer with 13:41 remaining in the first half. Florida went on an 18-0 run from there, though, to lead 33-15 at the under-8 media timeout. That’s when Prairie View head coach Byron Smith called upon the heavens to help his team remain competitive.
“We need some help from the lord,” Smith told reporter AJ Ross during his in-game interview. “They’re very good. They’re very good. We just gotta keep defending, try to switch our defenses… but they’ve been very efficient.”
The Panthers did end the 18-0 spurt after the timeout, but the Gators wound up leading 60-21 at halftime. Fans on social media respected the candid nature of Smith’s comments.
Prairie View was the No. 8 seed in the SWAC. Winning that conference tournament in itself, and then beating Lehigh in the First Four, was a heck of an accomplishment. They may not have knocked off Goliath, but they won the first NCAA Tournament game in school history and provided multiple fun moments during their time in the Big Dance. As a fan, you can’t ask for more than that.
Florida won big in Round 1! Can the Gators keep it going in the Round of 32? Kalshi is taking action on UF vs. Iowa!
