Six games in, the Kentucky Wildcats have handled their business.Save for a stray sluggish half here or there and that domination of Kansas, the Cats have comfortably dispatched opponents unable to cope with their size, talent and depth, saying the right things about taking it one game at a time along the way.But now UK is in for a step up in competition. The Cats are excited for the challenge.”We look at every game the same, but we know we have a lot of big games coming up that we have to get prepared for,” Dakari Johnson said. “So we’re going to have a great couple practices and just really go after it.”Five of UK’s seven games over the next month will come against teams currently ranked the coaches’ poll, starting with Providence (5-0) at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Friars, fresh off an impressive neutral-court win over Notre Dame in which LaDontae Henton poured in 38 points, entered the poll this week at No. 25 with a home game against Yale on Friday before this weekend’s trip to Rupp Arena.”Watching them on tape, really doing a heck of a job of iso’ing guys and putting guys in (the) best positions to score,” John Calipari said. “Playing extremely hard defensively. Playing both man-to-man and zone.”Coach Cal, who praised Providence head coach Ed Cooley as a “great coach that no one knows about yet,” expects the Friars to show both man and zone, as well as some press. Providence has caused problems for opponents with its pressure so far this season, forcing 15.6 turnovers per game and ranking 43rd nationally in turnover percentage (.237).Though guards Kris Dunn (averaging 7.4 assists) and Jalen Lindsey (7 of 14 from 3-point range) are dealing with injuries, the Friars will have Hinton, who is averaging 23.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. Providence is also the tallest team UK has faced to date, with 7-footer Carson Desrosiers in the starting lineup and 7-2 freshman Paschal Chukwu coming off the bench.All that means Kentucky, which has won games by an average margin of 36.8 points (second nationally) and none by fewer than 19 points, could be in for its first tense moments in the final minutes this season. Coach Cal says his team needs exactly that kind of test, particularly of its offensive execution in such a situation.”Well what we need is just a hand-to-hand kind of game where a team’s not afraid of us, that they make plays and continue to make them throughout,” Calipari said. “And then we got to understand, like, right now we’re probably getting 16, 17 seconds a possession. There’s got to be games where it’s gonna be in the 20s. And that’s gonna be as teams get better and you don’t get it in transition and you don’t get it and you got to pull it out.”We’re trying to create a great shot every time down, whenever that happens. Now, if it’s a late game, we probably are using 25 seconds to 30 seconds before we do anything, unless it’s a layup or a dunk.”Once again, the Cats are eager for the chance.”A close game would put a little pressure on us, see how we respond to it, you know, test us, especially the freshmen, because we haven’t been in that situation yet,” Tyler Ulis said. “The other guys were here last year, so, you know, they’ve had that before, but for us it would be a lot of help.”Johnson trying to repeat UTA performance at the lineJohnson entered UK’s game on Tuesday shooting 45.5 percent (50 of 110) from the free-throw line for his career.All he did against UT Arlington was step up and bury of 12 of 14 tries.That tells his coach something.”If he went 12 for 14, it means he’s capable of that,” Calipari said. “So what gets in the way of him making 12 out of 14? It’s those six inches between his ears.”Along those lines, Johnson didn’t attribute his big night at the line, in which he scored in double figures even though he didn’t register his lone field-goal attempt until the final minutes, to revamping his shot or anything mechanical.”Just coming down to relaxing,” Johnson said. “Just taking your time. Sometimes I rush them and think too much. Just relax and just shoot, shoot free throws.”Staying out of his own head isn’t always easy, especially when he hears opposing players say Johnson going to the line is exactly what they want. However, he’s not about to start talking trash when he proves them wrong.”I don’t do that,” Johnson said. “Yeah, I go 12 out of 14. That’s all I’m going to say.”The sophomore center will let his play do the talking. And if he keeps knocking down his free throws, he’ll be playing plenty, and when it counts too.”You’re not going to be in late if you don’t make free throws so I just try to get that down pat because I want to be in games late so I have to practice,” Johnson said.Calipari confirms UK-UCLA scheduling talksESPN’s Andy Katz reported earlier this week that UK and UCLA are in talks regarding a two-year home-and-home series that would begin next season. Coach Cal confirmed as much on Friday, saying UCLA would fill the spot normally occupied by North Carolina in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons should talks result in a final agreement.For those two seasons, UK and UNC will take a break from their home-and-home series, the reason being the Cats and Tar Heels will face off in Las Vegas as part of the 2016-17 CBS Sports Classic and continuing the series would throw off the home-road balance for the teams’ schedules for those two years.”This is all based on what we need,” Calipari said. “Don’t care about anybody else. You don’t want to play us, listen, don’t play us. So they take off two years; we’ll plug in UCLA for two years.”According to Calipari, talks to resume the UK-UNC schedule in 2017-18 are already underway