Florida unleashes historic 59-point victory, showcasing championship dominance. The Gators dominate defensively and offensively, silencing doubters with a statement performance.
TAMPA, Fla. — There is only one defending national champion. There is just one school — the Florida Gators — that can repeat as NCAA Tournament champs.
And based on Friday night's showing, don't put anything past them. They look the part of title-holders after destroying No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M 114-55. The 59-point margin of victory was the second-largest in national tournament history. The only bigger rout was back in 1963, when Loyola-Chicago beat Tennessee Tech 111-42.
That team won a national title, too.
“I thought we made a big (statement),” Gators point guard Boogie Fland said. “We saw a couple of games before us, 1-16 (seeds). So to set that record, I felt like it was big, and a big statement for the world for sure.”
Fland had 16 points and was one of seven players in double figures for Florida. It was a big party, too, at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, which was over-run with blue-and-orange clad Florida fans.
This game was never close after the first eight minutes. Florida had two separate runs of 18-0 and 17-0 in the first half, turning a 15-15 tie into a 60-21 halftime lead. The Gators shot 75 percent before halftime against a Prairie View team that won a play-in game on Tuesday in Dayton, and finished its season with a 19-18 record.
Florida, clearly, is nowhere near finished. They'll step forward into the second round on Sunday, when they take on No. 9 seed Iowa from the Big Ten at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Fland was 6-for-6 from the field, with Rueben Chinyelu adding 14 points and 13 rebounds, and his frontcourt mates — Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon — had 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Prairie View, a 35.5-point underdog, had no answer for Florida's inside game. And the Gators forced the issue, too. Prairie View hit some early threes — they made 5-of-7 to start, but just 1-of-15 the rest of the game — and this got very one-sided in a hurry.
“I think we had a 38-0 advantage in the paint in the first half, scoring-wise,” Golden said. “So we weren't settling. We were getting good shots. I thought we played with great purpose all night.”
Prairie View saw plenty of Power 5 basketball earlier this year, playing Texas A&M, Missouri and LSU. They also played Oklahoma State from the Big 12 earlier this season. But this was different.
Florida was just that good.
“That was a ough game,” Prairie View A&M coach Byron Smith said. "They were just a bigger, faster, quicker team. Obviously, Florida's size really caused some problems for us. They shot the ball at a really high percentage. We got down a little bit early and were playing catch-up from behind most of the night. That's a tough way to go.”
It's really interesting for me to see the national narrative on Florida. Despite seven losses, they are a No. 1 seed. But it's the other three — Duke, Arizona and Michigan — that get most of the talk about winning it all.
Florida is a bit of an after-thought at the moment, despite being defending champs. Those who do that better be careful, because this Florida team is really good.
It was nice to finally see them in person after watching Big Ten basketball all year. And it's kind of ironic that they get Iowa on Sunday, the lone Big Ten team down here in Tampa.
I've watched the Hawkeyes a lot this year, and my first thought is that they've got no chance against the Gators. Iowa likes to play slow, and muck up a game with Bennett Stirtz making a good decision late in the shot clock.
Florida isn't going to be fooled by that. They're too good defensively to give up more than 60 points to Iowa. And they're very capable of scoring 80 themselves.
I don't see anyone staying close to them all the way to the regional finals. A matchup with Illinois or Houston will be fun, but for now, I can see the Gators still marching along.
The NCAA Tournament winning streak is at seven now. No one touches that, of course.
How high will that streak get?