TAMPA — For about seven minutes, Prairie View A&M enjoyed its March Madness matchup against Florida basketball.
The No. 16 seeded Panthers (19-18) knocked five straight 3-pointers to open the game and tied the Gators early on at 15-15.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
The fun didn't last long as Florida erupted for a 43-6 run to close out the half and build its largest halftime lead in the program's history of the NCAA tournament.
The Gators closed out the game with a 114-55 win, the largest in tournament history, to advance to the Round of 32.
Florida basketball owns the paint vs Prairie View A&M
Florida had full control of the paint against the Prairie View A&M as the Panthers didn’t score their first 2-pointer until seven minutes were left in the first half.
The Gators outscored Prairie View A&M 38-0 inside the paint by halftime and easily claimed an edge in the rebound battle at 25-7.
By the end of the game those numbers stood at 64-10 the paint and 54-20 on the boards.
Florida basketball values the ball, cuts down on turnovers
It was a point of emphasis for Florida to cut down on turnovers following an early exit in the SEC tournament.
In that brief two-game span, Florida committed 32 turnovers. Vanderbilt and Kentucky combined to score 42 points from those mistakes.
Against Prairie View A&M, the Gators gave up just seven turnovers and recorded a season-high of 29 assists in the victory.
UF also recorded 18 fastbreak points against the Panthers.
Gators find groove again on 3-point line
Florida started the game 0-for-3 from the 3-point line, but then made eight of their next 14.
During the SEC tournament, Florida went a combined 8 of 37.
In the win against the Panthers, Xaivian Lee knocked down three from the arc, while Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland each knocked two each.
Florida finished the game 10 of 22.
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball thumps Prairie View A&M in March Madness takeaways