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While their No. 1 seed provided a favorable path to the Final Four, the defending champion Florida Gators appear to have made a statement on Friday night: they're not done dominating.
Todd Golden's squad, looking to go back-to-back in NCAA Tournament wins, dismantled its first-round opponent, No. 16 Prairie View A&M. With a final score of 114-55, the Gators easily advanced to the second round, where they'll face No. 9 Iowa.
Florida's massive win in the 16 vs. 1 matchup was historic, as it ranked among the biggest blowouts in March Madness history.
Here's a look at the widest win margins in the history of the men's NCAA Tournament and where Florida's win on Friday over Prairie View A&M falls.
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Biggest blowouts in NCAA Tournament history
Florida's massive victory over Prairie View A&M didn't quite set the record for the biggest March Madness blowout, but it did come fairly close.
Before Friday, there had been just three men's NCAA Tournament games to have a 50-plus point margin. Florida caused the fourth, beating Prairie View by 59 points — the second-biggest blowout in March Madness history.
| Teams/Score | Point Difference | Year | Round |
| Kentucky 113, Mt St. Mary's 67 | 46 | 1995 | First Round |
| VCU 88, Akron 42 | 46 | 2013 | First Round |
| Duke 101, UConn 54 | 47 | 1964 | Elite Eight |
| Duke 84, Winthrop 37 | 47 | 2002 | First Round |
| Syracuse 81, Montana 34 | 47 | 2013 | First Round |
| UCLA 109, Wyoming 60 | 49 | 1967 | Second Round |
| Syracuse 101, Brown 52 | 49 | 1986 | First Round |
| UConn 103, Chattanooga 47 | 56 | 2009 | First Round |
| Kansas 110, Prairie View 52 | 58 | 1998 | First Round |
| Florida 114, Prairie View 55 | 59 | 2026 | First Round |
| Loyola 111, Tennessee Tech 42 | 69 | 1963 | First Round |
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
What was the spread in the Florida vs. Prairie View game?
According to Gators Wire, BetMGM had the pregame line set at Florida -35.5 for Friday's matchup.
The Gators wound up winning by 59 points.
According to Action Network's Evan Abrams, the 35.5-point pregame spread was the largest for an NCAA Tournament game since Duke in 1999, and tied for third-highest mark in the seeding era. As it turned out, the Gators exceeded those massive expectations.
Florida is a 35.5-point favorite against Prairie View A&M…
This is the highest spread in an NCAA Tournament game since Duke in 1999 & tied for 3rd-highest mark in seeding era pic.twitter.com/aQJ5hNmt68
How did Prairie View make the NCAA Tournament?
Prairie View A&M won just 19 games coming into the NCAA Tournament, but because the Panthers went on a run in the SWAC Tournament and won their conference title, they secured an automatic bid to March Madness.
Granted, because Prairie View A&M was extremely unproven against top competition and was barely over .500, the NCAA Tournament selection committee had them as one of the lowest-ranked conference champions, forcing the Panthers to play in the First Four.
They did take down Lehigh to earn the No. 16 seed in the South Region, but in their matchup against Florida, it wasn't even close. During the game, Panthers head coach Byron Smith even voiced his team's struggles to compete with the defending champions.
"We need some help from the lord," Smith said. "They're very good."
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026MORE MARCH MADNESS NEWS:
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