LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Something is happening here, something very special. Sure, we know, you're going to point out that we have said this before.

	Kentucky's Gerald Fitch, left, and the rest of the Wildcats put on a defensive clinic Tuesday night.

About Arizona.

About Texas.

About Pittsburgh.

About Kansas.

About Maryland.

About Duke.

About Alabama.

About Mississippi State.

About Florida, even.

But there is something different about Kentucky that makes Tuesday night's 70-55 undressing of the newly top-ranked Gators mean something more than just a convincing mid-season homecourt win. This was bigger than Kentucky's win streak being extended to 11 or the Wildcats' unblemished SEC record improving to 7-0.

"We have that feeling,'' Kentucky senior guard Keith Bogans said. "The way we're playing right now, we'll be tough to beat. If we continue to get better defensively then I'm pretty sure we can make it to the Final Four. We'll make it to the Final Four.''

Dare we say we can see both Kentucky and Louisville in the Final Four, both No. 1 seeds, against each other in New Orleans…

We're a bit ahead of ourselves. But, this game wasn't an aberration. The Wildcats laid the groundwork for this win back in December after getting humbled by Louisville an hour-plus drive west of here.

That's when Kentucky coach Tubby Smith made one of the best adjustments of the season, possibly of his Kentucky career. What he did was remind his team of the defensive basics.

"Coach challenged us to get out and defend people and get in people's faces,'' Kentucky guard Cliff Hawkins said. "(Seniors) Keith (Bogans) and Jules (Camara) called meetings without the coaches. We all sat down and talked and became as one.''

"Everything we did was to focus more on defense,'' Camara said. "We started to click on the court the way we were off the court. Everyone was hanging out with each other. That's where we started to be unselfish. No one cares about the credit.''

The easy way to take the star quality off the team is to focus on defense and not about who is putting up points.

Camara said there were slide drills. Apparently, there were five on five drills, geared strictly toward defense with the purpose for a stop, not a score. If Kentucky was going to be a contender nationally, let alone the SEC, then the Wildcats had to defend.

Boy, have they.

They held Vanderbilt to 16 points in a half. They smothered Alabama for just 10 field goals (23 percent) in Tuscaloosa and gave up only 46 points. Kentucky was giving up only 57 points a game before Tuesday.

Florida scored 55. The Gators made just six first-half field goals. They finished with 17. Florida entered the game averaging an SEC best 75.4 points game.

Kentucky also switched from man-to-man to a zone defense. Florida coach Billy Donovan didn't say Kentucky was the sole reason for the Gators' poor play, but conceded the Wildcats' defense forced the Gators to shoot too quickly and go one-on-one too often.

And then the Gators "hung their heads when shots didn't fall,'' Donovan said. "We didn't get back on the break. There was too much individual play. Give Kentucky credit because our mindset was too much on offense and scoring. We didn't get back and defend the way we needed to.''

Kentucky did from the outset.

And that will be the difference between a deep NCAA run and an early-round exit. Sure, the Wildcats were dominant offensively making 7 of 12 3-pointers (Bogans and Gerald Fitch made their three 3s in the first half) in the first 20 minutes and working the offensive backboard for second chances (see extra effort by Erik Daniels, Marquis Estill and Chuck Hayes). But the defense was the difference.

The Wildcats generated offense by shutting down Florida, ripping down rebounds and running and frustrating the Gators nearly every trip down the court.

"We've just been more intense and get in everyone's face,'' Fitch said. "We've taken teams out of their normal offense. Give credit to Cliff who pressures the ball at the top. He's the one who gets everyone rattled.''

Donovan said his seniors, not his freshmen, were the ones taken aback by the Kentucky defense and the raucous Rupp crowd.

And apparently senior Brett Nelson (2 of 8 to nearly match senior Matt Bonner's 2 of 9 effort) let his friend and rival Bogans know just how much of an effect Kentucky was having on their team. Bogans said, "Brett ran up beside me and said 'my team is playing scared.' I was surprised to hear him say that. I could sense they were frustrated.''

The amazing thing about Tuesday night was the atmosphere. This series has morphed into the best rivalry in the SEC. Why? Both teams shared the SEC championship in 2000 and '01 and tied for the SEC East title the last three seasons. Kentucky's top rival is Louisville and Indiana isn't too far behind. But in the SEC it's Florida. For the Gators, Kentucky is their measuring stick.

And that's why it was so surprising to see the reaction to a top-ranked Florida coming into Rupp. This was a big deal, even more so for the players. They talked about what it was like to play a No. 1 team and beat one. But it was still just Florida, a team that they see at minimum twice a season.

But there's something about a No. 1 team that generates even more enthusiasm for a big-time game. The buzz surrounding the matchup against Florida was akin to last season's game against Louisville and the return of Rick Pitino.

Maybe it was due to the fact Indiana was the last top-ranked team to play in Rupp Arena, and that was in 1979.

"We were almost too hungry in practice the last few days,'' Smith said. "I was concerned that we might be too up. But we had the No. 1 team in the country here. It was the perfect scenario for us. We had national TV (ESPN). We were pumped up for that. But we do play a lot of big games.''

But never have they played defense as well as they did in the first half, building a 45-22 lead. If the Wildcats can mimic that half defensively on a consistent basis, then this run is far from over.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.