The Florida men’s basketball team confirmed why the St. Johns River continues to flow north… because Georgia sucks. It cost Dennis Felton his job, but the Gators improved to 18-3 overall and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference on the strength of a 83-57 win.

In the victory, Nick Calathes recorded the third triple-double in UF history. He had a triple-double in the NIT last season too.

When he checked out of the game with 4:17 remaining and the Gators holding a 76-45 lead, the entire O’Connell Center crowd standing and cheering, Calathes didn’t even crack a smile as his teammates and coaches congratulated him.

It looked like he had just fouled out of a game in which the Gators were losing.

Smile, Nick. It’s supposed to be fun!

It’s not just him though. The whole men’s basketball team, despite leading the conference, doesn’t appear to be excited or enjoying themselves. Their body language would indicate a nervous, dejected team, not the team that is exceeding expectations and paving a route back to the NCAA tournament.

Billy Donovan has to be the Coach of the Year in the SEC for what he’s doing with this team. Without a dominant inside scoring threat, undersized players all over the court and a lack of upperclassmen to lead, Donovan is showing that he’s one of the best in the business.

The Gators look like a tough team that isn’t intimidated and will continue to win, but I feel as if they could be even better if they would release the enthusiasm and energy that are keeping bottled up. They will hit bumps in the road, there will be nights when the shots aren’t falling. To keep negative body language from becoming contagious, players need to be the spark that picks their teammates up. Whether it’s chest-pounding like Joakim Noah or jumping jacks like Tim Tebow, that kind of energy motivates others and distracts from negative feelings.

For an example of the opposite end of the spectrum, a fan doesn’t even need to leave the O-dome. Amanda Butler’s UF women’s basketball team is ranked No. 12 in the nation and second in the SEC.

The Gator women are also exceeding expectations. They are starting to draw crowds of more than 4,500 fans. The energy is spreading like electricity, which leads to fans cheering to give them a true home-court advantage that hasn’t been seen in Gainesville in recent history.

Players like Marshae Dotson, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Lonnika Thompson and Trumae Lucas aren’t afraid to show their emotions on the court. High-fives, hugs, smiles, laughs, yelling, clapping, pointing to each other or the crowd and confident strolls are all part of the body language repetoire on the women’s team.

With a little bit of positive body language, the O’Connell Center could be a lot more fun for the men’s games too.

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com for a photo gallery from the men’s basketball game vs. Georgia, and tonight’s women’s game vs. Kentucky!