As Josh Harrellson put the finishing touches of a 101-70 rout of Arkansas with a leaning layup in the final few seconds of Saturday’s victory at Rupp Arena – the 19th straight victory to start the season – DeMarcus Cousins raised up from the bench, waved his hands in the air and flashed his million-dollar smile.It was without parts of his two front teeth (crowns) and with blood still swishing around his mouth, but No. 1 has never looked so good.With a gritty, stingy defensive effort on Saturday, UK left no doubt on the floor – only a few teeth – as to who the No. 1 team in the nation will be when the polls come out Monday.”I don’t know (if we’re the No. 1 team in the nation), but I thought we played well,” head coach John Calipari said in his postgame news conference. “What I liked was our bench. I have a good idea of what those first five, or at least those four, are going to do. It’s those next four or five that make us from good to really good.”Maybe the best. If 360 other teams would have came to Rupp Arena and faced the Cats on Saturday, they would have suffered the same fate as Arkansas, Calipari said, because the Razorbacks simple ran into a “buzz saw.”It was the closest to a complete 40-minute game the Cats have put together this season.”If we played anyone in the country today, they were going to get smashed,” Calipari said. “I’m not trying to be arrogant; I’m just being real from what I saw. I asked them after, ‘Are we this good?’ “Although Arkansas is now just 8-11 on the season, its largest margin of defeat in Southeastern Conference play was enough to lead former Kentucky player and Arkansas coach John Pelphrey to say yes.”They’re very good,” Pelphrey said. “Their size and speed separate them. Quality frontcourt depth make them very unique at the college level. They’re very well coached. They have a chance to be the best team in college basketball team this year.””I think it’s probably by far the best team that we’ve played in terms of physical talent,” said Pelphrey, whose team has already played the likes of current No. 1 Texas.The difference Saturday, according to Calipari and the players, was defensive effort and intensity.Earlier in the week, Calipari instructed his team to practice and play like it was riding a two-game losing streak and its back was against the wall. After a complete 40-minute defensive stomping, one of the few missing keys on this UK team, one has to wonder if the Cats will even lose two – or one – for the rest of the year. “The difference was coach Cal,” said Wall, who finished with 16 points and seven assists. “He’s stepping up in practice, being even meaner and giving it to us like we lost two games. We came out here with a chip on our shoulder that we wanted to play 40 minutes of defense.”UK set the tone early with a 10-0 run to start the game, one that was fueled by offensive efficiency (Darius Miller’s career-high 18 points will unrightfully go fairly unnoticed) and defensive perfection.Rotnei Clarke, one of the quickest and most lethal triggers in the SEC, was basically a non-factor in Saturday’s rout. Although he entered the game with a 51-point boasting against Alcorn State and 66 triples on the season, he had little room to wiggle free for an open shot against UK.The Cats fought through screens and switched on picks, often times getting in Clarke’s jersey before he could even take a shot. The sophomore guard finished the game with 13 points, but it came on just 5-of-15 from the floor, 2-of-9 from 3-point range.”I’m from Oklahoma and I’ve seen him play. I’ve seen him average like 45 and 50 points, so I know the type of player that Rotnei is and know that if he does get a couple of 3s going, he won’t be stopped,” freshman forward Daniel Orton said. “He’ll be hitting everything. Just crazy shots and everything, so I knew we couldn’t let him get going.”Orton was a huge part of the defensive effort, altering shots and returning four to its original sender. After the game, Calipari called Orton the biggest factor in Kentucky’s wildest fantasies.”Daniel Orton is probably the difference for us to be that team you all want us to be,” Calipari said. “When he comes off the bench and blocks shots and he defends like he defended today, (we can be that team).”Kentucky totaled season highs in blocks (nine) and steals (nine) Saturday. At one point in the first half when the Hogs were limping to a 23.1 first-half field-goal percentage, one wondered whether UK would end up with more blocks in the first frame than Arkansas had field goals.The Hogs ended the first half with nine field goals to the Cats’ seven blocks. Cousins once again played with an unstoppable physical force. He notched his 10th double-double of the year – one short of tying Chris Mills’ UK freshman record for double-doubles in a season – with 16 points and 14 rebounds. His relentless play after Arkansas guard Courtney Fortson inadvertently elbowed him in the mouth on a layup and knocked out one of his crowns and part of another set the tone for Saturday’s tough-minded effort to snatch the top spot in the polls.”It doesn’t matter if he’s got half a tooth or no teeth,” Wall said. “He’s going to play. He’s just going to play aggressive. He got his mouthpiece in and kept playing the same way he was before.”Although the Cats didn’t talk about it much during the week, it’s clear the No. 1 ranking at hand meant something to them. After watching Texas drop back-to-back games this week, they understand it takes more than just talent to be the best in the land.”They wanted it bad,” Calipari said. “That’s why they played this well. I think it was a pride thing. I tried to tell them (that) those seven national titles are not a burden; they’re a badge of honor. No. 1 in the country is not a burden; that’s an honor. We’ll see how we respond now.”Because Kentucky, for the first time this season, both looked and played the complete role of No. 1. On Monday, they’ll rightfully earn the title.