Reuben Chinyelu produced his 19th double-double to lead seven double-figure scorers and help defending national champion and No. 1 seed Florida overpower Prairie View A&M 114-55 in the first round of the NCAA South Region in Tampa on Friday.
It was a season high for points for Florida and the 59-point margin of victory was the second largest in tournament history, bettering the 58-point win by Kansas over Prairie View in 1998. The greatest margin of victory was 69 points in Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963.
The Gators (27-7) will meet ninth-seeded Iowa (22-12) in the second round on Sunday.
Chinyelu, the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 14 points, shooting 6 for 9 from the field, with 13 rebounds.
Boogie Fland had 16 points, going 6 for 6 from the field, 2 for 2 on 3-pointers and 2 for 2 at the line. Thomas Haugh scored 14 with seven assists, Alex Condon had 13 points, five assists and three blocks, Urban Klavzar scored 11 and Xaivian Lee and Micah Handlogten each scored 10.
No. 16 seed Prairie View (19-18) was led by Tai’Reon Joseph with 16 points and Dontae Horne scored 12.
The Gators were able to reset after their stunning 91-74 loss to Vanderbilt snapped a 12-game winning streak in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Florida improved to 17-1 as a No. 1 seed.
The game was tied 15-15 after Prairie View’s Cory Wells drilled a 3-pointer at 13:41. Undaunted, the Gators responded with an 18-0 run, which turned into a 45-6 run that put Florida ahead 60-21 at halftime. Florida shot 75% in the first half, making 24 of 32 from the floor.
Florida’s height was a problem all game for Prairie View, which was forced to settle for 3-pointers and jump shots. The Panthers didn’t get their first points in the paint until 17:10 left in the game; the Gators had already scored 40 points in the paint by then.
Florida dominated the boards 54-20, blocked seven shots and limited Prairie View to 27% shooting from the floor. The Gators shot 64.3% from the floor.
–Field Level Media
