No. 1 Florida State’s dominance remains prominent heading into Friday’s March Madness game.
The Gators opened their NCAA Tournament campaign with a 114-55 victory over 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M. At 59 points, that’s the second-largest margin of victory in March Madness history, and you have to go back 60 years to find the largest margin of victory.
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One loyal Gators fan agreed.
The record holder remains Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 victory over Tennessee Tech (69 points) in 1963, when the Ramblers won the title with their groundbreaking All-Black lineup.
Interestingly, Prairie View A&M was on the bad end of its last second-biggest loss, a 110-52 loss to Kansas in 1998 (58 points).
Florida’s historic victory was actually close in the first seven minutes or so. Prairie View never led, but the score was tied at 15-15 at one point in the first half. However, there are signs that one team may have the upper hand.
Florida then scored 18 points and ended the first half on a 45-6 run. In the second half, the Gators pulled off what was widely expected to be a victory, with the lead never falling below 38 points. Their largest lead was 63 points.
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None of this is surprising, as Florida State is the biggest favorite in the March Madness game since 1999.