TAMPA, FLORIDA — Florida defeated Prairie View A&M 114-55 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night. The game marked the second-largest victory margin in NCAA tournament history.

The 59-point margin was second only to Loyola Chicago's 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963. Florida's 114 points were the most scored in an NCAA tournament game since Tennessee scored 121 against Long Beach State in 2007 in the round of 64.

Florida led 60-21 at halftime after scoring consecutive runs of 18-0 and 17-0 in the first half. The Gators shot 75% from the field in the first half and 64.3% for the game. Florida had a 38-0 scoring advantage in the paint in the first half.

Seven Florida players scored in double figures in the game. Boogie Fland scored 16 points and made all six of his shot attempts. Tai'Reon Joseph scored 16 points off the bench. Rueben Chinyelu had 14 points and 13 rebounds and scored nine points during Florida's 18-0 run.

Prairie View A&M made five of its first seven 3-point attempts in the game, and the score was tied at 15-15 early in the first half. However, Prairie View A&M did not make a 2-point field goal in the first nine minutes of the game.

"I think we had a 38-0 paint advantage in the first half, scoring-wise. So we weren't settling. We were getting good shots. I thought we played with great purpose all night," said Todd Golden, head coach of the Florida Gators.

"Obviously, Florida's size really caused some problems for us," said Byron Smith, head coach of Prairie View A&M.

Florida entered the game as the No. 1 seed with a record of 27-7, while Prairie View A&M entered with a record of 19-18. Prairie View A&M qualified for the NCAA tournament after finishing the previous season with a 5-27 record and defeated Lehigh in the First Four to reach the main tournament field.

The game was played in Tampa, Florida, in front of a sellout crowd. Florida will face Iowa, the No. 9 seed in the South Region, in the second round on Sunday.