Tallest college basketball player ever towers over 6-foot-8 opponent in viral March Madness moment

Not often does a 6-foot-8 hoops subordinate look tiny connected the court, but that’s what the tallest assemblage hoops subordinate ever did connected Friday night.

Florida’s Olivier Rioux entered the crippled precocious successful the team’s ascendant 114-55 triumph implicit No. 16 Prairie View A&M astatine Benchmark International Arena, and astatine 7-foot-9, helium floored his opponents with his height.

Prairie View A&M guardant Hassane Diallo, who stands astatine 6-foot-8, a afloat ft shorter than Rioux, went viral for sizing up the towering 20-year-old arsenic helium entered the game. Rioux was the world’s tallest teen earlier his day past month.

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Florida Gators halfway Olivier Rioux (32) and Prairie View A&M Panthers guardant Hassane Diallo (11) look connected during a first-round crippled of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament astatine Benchmark International Arena successful Tampa, Florida, connected Mar. 20, 2026. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)

Rioux has been small utilized passim the twelvemonth arsenic helium continues to develop, but has go a instrumentality favourite successful abbreviated order. Whenever the Gators are up large precocious successful games, the Florida assemblage chants Rioux’s sanction astatine caput manager Todd Golden, wanting to spot the gangly halfway successful action.

Rioux sent the assemblage into a frenzy erstwhile helium checked into the crippled with astir 2 minutes left. He sent them into adjacent further hysteria erstwhile helium slammed location a put-back dunk for his archetypal vocation NCAA tourney points, arsenic fans rained down "Oli! Oli!" chants.

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Florida Gators halfway Olivier Rioux (32) dunks the shot successful the 2nd fractional against the Prairie View A&M Panthers during a first-round crippled of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament astatine Benchmark International Arena successful Tampa, Florida, connected Mar. 20, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

Florida’s triumph was historic, arsenic the 59-point borderline of triumph was the second-largest successful NCAA tourney history.

Prairie View A&M was down 30 points erstwhile caput manager Byron Smith was asked by the TNT broadcast during a midgame interrogation what it would instrumentality to dilatory down Florida.

"We request immoderate assistance from the Lord," Smith replied.

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Florida Gators halfway Olivier Rioux (32) looks connected successful the 2nd fractional against the Prairie View A&M Panthers during a first-round crippled of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament astatine Benchmark International Arena successful Tampa, Florida, connected Mar. 20, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

Prairie View A&M did not extremity up getting immoderate assistance from above, arsenic the defending champions steamrolled their mode into the 2nd round.

No. 1 Florida volition play No. 9 Iowa connected Sunday astatine 7:10 p.m. ET, erstwhile Gator fans anticipation for different accidental to spot Rioux successful action.

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