The Florida Gators were so overwhelming in their 2026 NCAA Tournament debut that an ACC football coach considered switching teams.
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney traveled to Tampa to see the eighth-seeded Tigers lose to ninth-seeded Iowa 67-61 on Friday before staying to see top-seeded Florida destroy 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M 114-55.
Swinney was so thrilled that he gave a “Go Gators” to a Florida fan as he left Benchmark International Arena at halftime—a gesture the fan then used to jokingly tease Clemson fans who were also ascending the steps.
Florida, which plays ninth-seeded Iowa in a South Regional second-round game (7:10 p. m. ET, TBS), leads the eight-team SEC group to advance to the Round of 32. That victory equals the conference record for second-round clubs, which was established last year.
Florida had a dominant victory over Prairie View on Friday, with the second-highest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history. Boogie Fland had 16 points to lead seven players in double digits, however the 59-point deficit fell short of Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 victory over Tennessee Tech in 1963.
Fland, Thomas Haugh (14 points), Ruben Chinyelu (14 points), Alex Condon (13 points), Urban Klavzar (11 points), and Xaivian Lee (10 points) were all in double digits as the Gators used 14 players.
