No. 19 Florida backs up HC Todd Golden's comments with dominant showing against No. 23 Alabama

The success did not stop there. Junior center Rueben Chinyelu posted his 13th double-double of the season with 14 points (4-of-12 FG) and 17 rebounds, while sophomore guard Boogie Fland had 15 points (6-of-12 FG), eight assists and eight steals, which tied a program record.

Florida reached the century mark in the game, which is even more impressive when you consider it only made three triples the entire contest. That speaks to how dominant the Gators were inside the paint and defensively, constantly disrupting Alabama and pressuring it into a mistake.

A 5-4 start to the season did not exactly kick off the title defense in the best way possible. However, when you consider that three of those losses were to Arizona, Duke and UConn — teams that are each inside the top five — it does not seem so bad, especially considering the dominance displayed by the Gators on Sunday.

At 7-2 in conference play, Florida only trails Texas A&M (17-4, 7-1 SEC) —a team that continues to be overlooked — for the top spot in the SEC. The two teams are set to face off in College Station on Saturday, setting the stage for what should be a raucous environment.

While Alabama continues to search for answers it apparently does not have at the moment, Florida's response from its slow start to the season cannot be ignored. Even on a day when the threes were not falling, the Gators had no issue putting away the Crimson Tide with their paint presence and defensive intensity leading the way.

It is one thing to remark like Golden did leading up to the game, but it is another to back it up. After a 23-point thrashing in a game that was never really in doubt, it is safe to say Florida had no trouble backing those comments up.