Florida can now get down to the business of trying to defend its SEC regular-season title from a year ago, after beating Alabama-Birmingham 79-61 on Tuesday night in the final non-conference game for the 13th-ranked Gators.
UF won its 14th consecutive game at the O'Connell Center.
Florida (12-3) will travel to Tennessee on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN2) to open league play. The Gators were 13-3 in SEC play a year ago.
"I'm definitely excited,'' said sophomore center Patric Young, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. "We're finally in conference play, we get another opportunity to win the SEC and that's what I came here for, to win championships.''
Florida did not shoot particularly well early in Tuesday's game, taking a 12-4 lead only to trail for the only time at 16-15 on a bucket by Quincy Taylor for UAB (5-8) at the 9:86 mark. He led the Blazers with 14 points.
But it was all Gators after that as Florida fired away from behind the arc.
Erving Walker, who led UF with team-high 23 points that also was a season-best, came back with a 3-pointer and the Gators led the rest of the way.
Kenny Boynton was also sizzling hot from the arc, adding for his ninth game with 20 or more points this season. Walker and Boynton were a combined 13-of-19 from behind the arc as Florida finished with 15-of-31.
"They were almost daring us, with the way they were playing pick and rolls, to shoot 3's,'' Donovan said.
Walker had six assists to move into third place on the Gators' career list in that category.
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