Kentucky finds itself once again breezing through SEC play. Saturday's 92-72 win over Auburn reinforced the notion that the Wildcats could be headed for their third unbeaten run in league play in coach John Calipari's eight seasons.
Their margin of victory against league opponents currently is 23.4 points per game, which includes a 100-58 blowout of Texas A&M.
Yes, Kentucky is that much better than the rest of the league. But could the SEC be bad for Kentucky?
Flashback to Calipari's second season at UK. The Wildcats stumbled to a 10-6 record in the league. Four of their losses were in games decided by four points, including back-to-back losses at Mississippi and Florida.
Those games help sharpen that team led by freshmen Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. The Cats finished league play by winning consecutive tight games against Vanderbilt (68-66) and Tennessee (64-58). They learned how to close and would go on to do so in their 2011 Final Four run that featured a pair of two-point wins over Princeton (59-57) in the first round and No. 1 seed Ohio State (62-60) in the Sweet 16.
They were also battle-tested on their 2014 Final Four team, going 2-4 in regular season conference play in games decided by five points or less. That came in handy during the NCAA tournament, when four of the Cats' wins were by five points or less.
According to Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology, the SEC would have four teams in the tournament -- with Florida, South Carolina and Arkansas joining Kentucky -- if the season ended today.
The Cats already dismantled the Razorbacks 97-71 in their lone meeting this season. They'll face the Gamecocks at home on Saturday, in what also will be the only time the two teams will play. UK does get to see Florida twice -- not to mention a neatly sandwiched nonconference game against Kansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28 that will reveal a lot.
Ultimately, Kentucky isn't getting challenged like most of its counterparts leading the other major conferences. Four have a margin of victory in their respective conferences that hints of close games: Notre Dame (4.6), Villanova (9.2), Maryland (7.8) and Kansas (8.6). The Pac-12 co-leaders are the only teams that come close to UK's scoring margin, with Oregon (21.6) and Arizona (15.8).
When March rolls around, scores tighten and every possession matters. What we haven't learned about Kentucky in SEC play is whether the Wildcats can play and win a half-court game when the opponent won't let them get out in transition?
In nonconference play, that's what Louisville did to beat Kentucky 73-70.
Even in their 87-81 win over Vanderbilt, the Cats had the pace that they wanted.
UK has averaged double digits in league scoring margin on four occasions. Only two of those seasons ended in the Final Four. The 2012 national title team went 16-0 in conference play and won by an average of 16.4 points. The 2015 Final Four team that flirted with a perfect season went 18-0 in conference play while winning league games by an average of 16.7 points.
It's fair to ask if this edition of Kentucky is as good as those two teams, but the answer is probably no. As good as Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox have been as a duo, they don't compare to having Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Both the 2012 and 2015 teams also had a higher number of veterans contributing.
This season's squad compares more favorably to the other two times UK averaged double digits in scoring margin.
Last season, the Cats only had two single-digit wins in the SEC and none that was five points or less. Their scoring margin was plus-11.6. UK lost to Indiana 73-67 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Back in Calipari's first season, the Cats owned a 10.1 scoring margin, with five single-digit wins in the league. They were eliminated by West Virginia 73-66 in the 2010 Elite Eight.
They don't brag about SEC titles in Lexington. The Cats have been to four Final Fours in the past seven seasons, and that 2012 national title banner is getting a bit lonely.
Calipari again has assembled enough high-end freshmen talent to win it all, but the Cats will need to be challenged more by their SEC opponents to truly get better.