When last we saw the Southeastern Conference, it wasn't pretty. The league was little more than a grease spot in the middle of the road, flattened into a road-kill patty by the Kentucky Wildcats.

This is nothing new, you say. The SEC has routinely been squashed beneath the steamroller of the one school in its membership that prefers polished wood to short grass, you declare. Kentucky has won or shared 42 SEC titles and the rest of the league combined has 41, you point out.

And you'd be right.

	“	The big mistake would be to look at Kentucky and say, 'They're not going to be as good.' That would be a big mistake on our part. Kentucky is not going to come back to us. We better get our butts in gear. ”
		— Dave Odom, South Carolina head coach

But even by SEC standards, the league's faint-hearted lay-down against the Cats in 2002-03 was weak. The only team that capitulated more easily last year than the SEC's Other Eleven was St. Bonaventure.

Kentucky rolled 19 wins -- sixteen in the regular season, three in the conference tournament -- without a loss. No team in the 70-year history of the league has done that in a single season. Not even Kentucky.

The Cats' average margin of victory was 16 points. They beat a Florida squad ranked No. 1 at the time by 15 in Rupp Arena. They beat Alabama by 17 in Tuscaloosa, less than a month after the Crimson Tide were (over)rated No. 1.

Rupp Arena also saw Auburn fall by 16 and Georgia get rolled by 20. And just for malicious glee, the 'Cats smoked defenseless Vanderbilt by 62 on Senior Night in Rupp.

They rarely had a fight on their hands in the closing minutes, and were almost never behind down the stretch. It wasn't even hard going 19-0.

Now here's the sobering reminder for the Other Eleven: This wasn't a national champ that did the damage, or even a Final Four team. This was a team that would end up authoritatively eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in a regional final by Conference USA's Marquette. Good as they were, this was not one of the truly great juggernauts the Cats have periodically loosed upon Dixie over the years.

(Imagine what the '96 or '78 UK national champions would have done to the '02-03 bunch.)

Looking in hindsight on 2002-03, the message is clear: The SEC was overrated.

Cinderella-ish Auburn, which barely made the tournament, was the only league member to join the Cats in the Sweet 16. Florida was obliterated in the second round by tenth-seeded Michigan State, LSU was blown out in Round One by Purdue, Alabama was mercifully eliminated in the first round by a staggering Indiana team and Mississippi State -- a trendy Final Four pick heading into the tournament -- was shocked in the first round by Butler. (Georgia, of course, was locked in Harrick Hades and withdrew itself from the Dance.)

Scratching Out A Win?

Which SEC team will end the Wildcats' streak? A look when and where UK plays its conference season: FLORIDA Feb. 3 in Gainesville March 7 in Lexington GEORGIA Jan. 17 in Lexington Feb. 14 in Athens SOUTH CAROLINA Feb. 7 in Lexington March 3 in Columbia TENNESSEE Jan. 20 in Knoxville Feb. 25 in Lexington VANDERBILT Jan. 10 in Lexington Jan. 31 in Nashville ALABAMA Feb. 10 in Lexington AUBURN Feb. 21 in Auburn ARKANSAS Feb. 18 in Lexington LSU Feb. 29 in Baton Rouge MISSISSIPPI Jan. 28 in Lexington MISSISSIPPI STATE Jan. 13 in Starkville

Looking in foresight on 2003-04, the mission is clear: Close the gap on the Cats, or risk further embarrassment.

"We've all got to get better," said South Carolina coach Dave Odom. "The big mistake would be to look at Kentucky and say, 'They're not going to be as good.' That would be a big mistake on our part.

"Kentucky is not going to come back to us. We better get our butts in gear."

The SEC needs a Nolan Richardson, a Wimp Sanderson, a Dale Brown (did I really type that?) who will relish the competition from Kentucky. It needs a program that lives to knock the crown off the king, instead of meekly surrendering.

"When you go 16-0, a lot of our players put them on a pedestal," Tennessee's Buzz Peterson said. "We want to try to knock them down."

Said Florida coach Billy Donovan: "Kentucky certainly has separated themselves a little bit from the pack. To win 16 in a row in our league will give you an idea how good they were. ... The challenge is there. They're the measuring stick, not only for our league but nationally."

The challenge is there, all right. Is the SEC up for it?

Can a routed league regroup and deal out some revenge?

Kentucky would seem to be vulnerable this season. It lost Keith Bogans, No. 4 scorer in school history, and two long-armed centers, Marquis Estill and Jules Camara. Without the trio, it will be hard for the Cats to replicate the suffocating defense and sizzling transition game that were their trademarks.

But Kentucky retains a simple-yet-vital asset from last year: A lot of good basketball players, who play well together. With Gerald Fitch, Cliff Hawkins, Antwain Barbour and Kelenna Azubuike, the perimeter positions are flush with experience and athleticism. With forwards Chuck Hayes (fresh off his Pan American Games experience) and Erik Daniels, Tubby Smith will have two of the smartest and toughest baseline players in the nation.

Getting Smith's callow collection of centers to provide anything is the major question. Tubby loves to go big, but unless/until someone develops, he might be better off with Hayes and Daniels as an undersized 4-5 tandem and relying on excellent team quickness.

But as Odom said, the SEC had better not count on a Kentucky backslide to close the gap.

And just about every potential contender lost a lot. No wonder nobody is looking at this league for a 2004 national champion pick.

Florida lost four-year cornerstones Matt Bonner, Justin Hamilton and Brett Nelson. Mississippi State said goodbye to Mario Austin and Derrick Zimmerman. Georgia lost Jarvis Hayes, its coach and a good portion of its soul. LSU is without Ronald Dupree and Torris Bright. Auburn lost underrated Marquis Daniels and Derrick Bird. Tennessee will sorely miss Ron Slay. Alabama was gutted, losing seniors Erwin Dudley, Terrance Meade, Kenny Walker and sophomore Mo Williams.

"The Big Ten returns a lot of people," Peterson said. "The ACC returns a lot of folks. Our league lost a lot of good players, but I think some people will be shocked by how good this league will still be."

Florida, as usual, appears to have the personnel most capable of making a run at the Wildcats. The Gators welcome back junior David Lee and sophomores Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh and Christian Drejer, plus bring in a potential immediate-impact freshman in 6-foot-10 Californian Mohamed Abukar.

But this is also something of a prove-it season for the Gators, who have now lost everyone from the Final Four run of 2000 and haven't been past the NCAA second round since losing to Michigan State in the national title game. Florida needs to show Hoopsworld that it has more than just talent; it also has the guts and unselfishness to win big when it matters most: March.

Georgia made a great hire in Dennis Felton of Western Kentucky and retains a good nucleus of talent. But there's likely still an NCAA hammer waiting to fall for the disgrace Jim Harrick and his son, Jim Jr., brought to Athens. And the Bulldogs will indeed miss those pretty jump shots by Jarvis.

LSU brings in a stellar recruiting class and brings back hard-knocking Jaime Lloreda. Arkansas has everybody back from a transition year under Stan Heath and should be much better. Mississippi will have a chance to upgrade its position in the West. Tennessee, South Carolina and Vanderbilt all have reason to believe they can make a move in the East this year.

But whether any of that translates to beating Kentucky remains to be seen. The league needs to pick itself up off the pavement and remember how to compete with the king.

Pat Forde of the Louisville Courier-Journal is a regular contributor to ESPN.com