Last night, Florida Basketball delivered a beatdown against Tennessee of historical proportions. The Gators gave the worst beating of a number-one-ranked team since 1968 and held Tennessee to a platitude of other historical ineptitudes that will be a trivia question for a long time.
However, the 30-point win also gave Florida a distinction that no other school in the country can claim.
Gator Bait
Florida beat FSU in football 52-20 on January 2, 1997, to win their first-ever national title in football. That game was a rematch of their regular season meeting the Seminoles had won, which meant FSU was ranked first in the country heading into the Sugar Bowl.
What exactly does that have to do with the Gators beating Tennessee in basketball?
Well, according to Greg Harvey of Between The Numbers, Florida is now the only school that can claim a 30-point victory over the AP No. 1 in both men's basketball and football.
Florida (@FloridaGators) is the first athletic program ever to record a 30+ point win against the AP No. 1 in both college football and men’s basketball.
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) January 8, 2025
52-20 over FSU in 1997 Sugar Bowl (CFB)
73-43 over Tennessee tonight (MCBK)
That’s it ‼️ pic.twitter.com/rOcOjm1sEK
In basketball, last night's win was just the third-ever victory over an AP No. 1 team and the first since 2007 against Ohio State. Florida last beat an AP No. 1 team in football in 2008 when the Gators beat Alabama in the SEC title game en route to the national title.
Some schools claim to be an everything school (looking at you, Tennessee), while other schools like Florida actually live it.