Florida's Olivier Rioux makes 'huge' basket in NCAA tournament
It was his lone hoop but Florida Gators sophomore Olivier Rioux can now say he is the tallest player to make a basket in an NCAA tournament game.
The biggest story in the Men's NCAA Tournament isn't about who is winning what game or how anyone is doing in their bracket. Rather, it is Florida sophomore Olivier Rioux, who became the tallest player to score in an NCAA tournament game on Friday with a dunk against Prairie View A&M . Rioux is a 7-foot-9 sophomore for the Gators.
He doesn't see a ton of action, but when he does, the crowd is ready to rock should he roll the ball into the hoop. This time, he corralled a rebound and dunked it, hardly jumping, which is quite a feat. Olivier Rioux with the slam and the bench goes wild!!!
pic. twitter. com/FGuAljK0bF ā CBS Sports College Basketball š (@CBSSportsCBB) March 21, 2026 Rioux, a Canadian, played two minutes and was 1-of-3 from the field with two offensive rebounds.
This season, the sophomore played in 11 games and scored seven points. He's a project, but so many times when a player is extra large, fans of the team and basketball in general take a special liking to him. In 2021, Rioux was 7-foot-5 and the Guinness Book of World Records named him the world's tallest teenager.