TCollege basketball week kicks off with a stunning start: # 20 Florida Gators lose unrated and no wins Texas South, 69-54.
Texas Southern came into play with 0-7 recordbut playing at the Gators home site, the Tigers overwhelmed their SEC opponents and dominated almost from the opening until the final signal.
Florida had a 13-7 lead early in the first half, but soon overtook Texas Southern with eight minutes remaining. From there, the guests from Houston never lost the lead.
Tigers dominate from the field and on the boards
V reigning champions of the Southwest Athletic Conference led 35-25 at half-time and managed to increase their lead to 20 points before the Gators cut it in the final minutes.
The Tigers were good at shooting from the field – 54.4%, while their choke defense limited the Alligators to only 38%. PJ Henry became Texas Southern’s top scorer with 16 points on 7/14 shooting, while Jordan Carl Nicholas posted 14 points after all seven attempts.
Texas Southern also showed its superiority on the boards, outplaying the Gators by 2: 1, with 46 boards compared to 23 for the home team.
Power 5 program crash history
Texas Southern’s win is just the latest example of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) pulling a team out of the Power 5 Conference (Pac 12, Big 12, SEC, Big 10, ACC).
In 2018, the Tigers have accumulated three victories over the teams of the Power 5 conference, including opponents from Baylor State and Texas A&M, plus a victory over another top-20 team when they topped the then 18th Oregon with a score of 89-84.
Entering the game, Florida beat California and Ohio with their only 74-67 loss last Wednesday to the Oklahoma Suners.