{"id":200305,"date":"2026-03-21T10:29:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T10:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200305\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T10:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T10:29:13","slug":"florida-basketball-dominates-prairie-view-am-observations-from-ufs-march-madness-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200305\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida basketball dominates Prairie View A&M: Observations from UF’s March Madness opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA \u2014 For about seven minutes, Prairie View A&M enjoyed its March Madness matchup against Florida basketball.<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The fun didn’t last long as Florida<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The Gators closed out the game with a 114-55 win, the largest in tournament history, to advance to the Round of 32.<\/p>\n

Florida basketball owns the paint vs Prairie View A&M<\/p>\n

Florida had full control of the paint against the Prairie View A&M as the Panthers didn\u2019t score their first 2-pointer until seven minutes were left in the first half.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

By the end of the game those numbers stood at 64-10 the paint and 54-20 on the boards.<\/p>\n

Florida basketball values the ball, cuts down on turnovers<\/p>\n

It was a point of emphasis for Florida to cut down on turnovers following an early exit in the SEC tournament.<\/p>\n

In that brief two-game span, Florida committed 32 turnovers. Vanderbilt and Kentucky combined to score 42 points from those mistakes.<\/p>\n

Against Prairie View A&M, the Gators gave up just seven turnovers and recorded a season-high of 29 assists in the victory.<\/p>\n

UF also recorded 18 fastbreak points against the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Gators find groove again on 3-point line<\/p>\n

Florida started the game 0-for-3 from the 3-point line, but then made eight of their next 14.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

During the SEC tournament, Florida went a combined 8 of 37.<\/p>\n

In the win against the Panthers, Xaivian Lee knocked down three from the arc, while Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland each knocked two each.<\/p>\n

Florida finished the game 10 of 22.<\/p>\n

Reach Florida Gators<\/a> writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie<\/a>. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter<\/a> or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball thumps Prairie View A&M in March Madness takeaways<\/a><\/p>\n