TAMPA – The University of Florida men’s basketball team defeated Prairie View A&M 114-56 in front of a pro-Gator crowd dressed in orange and blue on Friday, March 20, at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
As the Gators advance to the round of 32, their March Madness journey is in full swing.
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Top-seeded Florida (27-7) will face No. 9 Iowa on Sunday, March 22 at Benchmark International Arena. Bennett Stirtz scored Iowa State’s team-high 16 points and the Hawkeyes defeated eighth-ranked Clemson 67-61. Coming into the tournament, Iowa had lost four of its last five games. Iowa’s Kyle Combs also scored 15 points and Alvaro Folgueiras scored 14 points.
Florida Gators basketball team scores historic win
For the Gators, as they fell behind lowly 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M early in the first half, an angry PVAMU coach Byron Smith was asked in an interview on TNT what he could do to stop UF’s run.
“We need the Lord’s help,” Smith responded.
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This night, there was no divine intervention, just basket after basket rolling for the Florida Gators. Florida State set the NCAA men’s tournament record for winning margin between a No. 1 seed and a No. 16 seed (59 points), as well as the program record for points in an NCAA tournament game.
Florida went on an 18-0 run early in the game to lead 33-15, then used 10-0 and 17-0 runs late in the first half to take a 60-21 lead into halftime.
“We have the ability to make some runs, and when we do that, we’re at our best,” Florida State basketball coach Todd Golden said after the game. “I’m not a part of a team that puts three together like that at halftime. Like I said, I thought our guys did a good job of staying focused even though we were ahead by a lot and playing the game the right way.”
Florida basketball regains mojo ahead of tournament
Florida appears to be getting its mojo back after a disastrous loss to Kentucky in last week’s SEC Championship game in Nashville. Florida, which had committed 32 turnovers in its two games in the SEC Tournament, was crisp and efficient against PVAMU, dishing out 29 assists and committing only seven turnovers.
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“That’s not who we are,” Florida State center Rueben Chinyelu said of UF’s SEC Tournament performance. “We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t take care of the ball. That’s what you get when you don’t take care of something like this…
“I just know that in order to get to the next round you have to fight for the game, which is good for us, take care of the ball, play with each other and make the right decisions.”
Florida Basketball makes statement: This is the team to beat in March Madness
Florida State knew all too well how tough it was when No. 1 seed Duke faced off against No. 16 Siena in the first game of the NCAA tournament on March 19, winning 71-65. They didn’t want to get bogged down in the second half.
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“We know we’re good here,” said Florida point guard Boogie Friend, who led seven players in double figures with 16 points. “We looked at the previous games, 1-16, so to set that record, I feel like it’s a big deal and it’s definitely a statement to the world.”
Golden said what it comes down to is Florida reestablishing its identity.
“We knew what we had to go back to do,” Golden said. “We’re at our best when our identity is a really tough defensive team that can clean up the boards and drive in transition. When we do that, we’re going to be hard to beat. We were able to do that tonight.”
Florida even rediscovered its outside shooting touch, going 8-for-37 from 3-point range and 10-for-22 from 3-point range in the SEC Championship Game. The Gators began to clear their bench 10 minutes into the second half and didn’t let up, with freshmen C.J. Ingram and Alex Lloyd gaining valuable experience. A late night walk-up shot by center Olivier Rioux from 7-foot-9 was the coup de grace of the holiday night.
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You play for a seeded team during the regular season. Starting Sunday, March 22, things get tougher against No. 9 seed Iowa State (7:10 p.m., TBS) and Big Ten point guard Bennett Stietz. But Florida State will enter the game with renewed confidence.
“We played with determination tonight,” Golden said. “When we do that, we become very strong.”
This article originally appeared in The Palm Beach Post: Florida Gators release March Madness statement
