January looks like the point in the college basketball season where everybody suddenly looks very, very mortal.

Duke is only human. Supremely talented and imposing, yes. But the Blue Devils did lose to Syracuse, and could have (maybe should have?) lost to Florida State.

Michigan has stumbled. Virginia still looks like a tough team when playing from ahead and very average when playing from behind.

Even top-ranked Tennessee was a couple of shaky calls and equally shaky Vanderbilt turnovers away from an inexplicable loss.

But while all of college hoops’s potential bullies are knocking each other out, don’t look now, but crawling up off the mat is somebody who looks suspiciously like Kentucky.

But it couldn’t be Kentucky, which has risen to No. 8 and takes on No. 9 Kansas on Saturday in a pivotal statement game.

You remember that the Wildcats were downed by Duke by 34 points to open the season? That in the season’s first five games, they had nights when they allowed 12, 13, and 19 3s? That they lost to previously unknown Seton Hall when again, they allowed Seton Hall’s Myles Powell to do his best Steph Curry imitation? That they opened conference play with a loss at Alabama? The same Alabama team that celebrated that win by losing back-to-back to LSU and Texas A&M?

But a funny thing happened on the Wildcats’ way to the NIT. Well, actually several funny things happened. For one thing, Kentucky generally figured out a way to stop allowing teams to hold impromptu H-O-R-S-E games behind the 3-point line. Granted, Auburn nailed 13 3s in a game that Kentucky needed every bit of offense it could muster to win. The Wildcats are 3-3 when they allow 10 or more 3s. But Kentucky is 12-0 when they don’t allow anything fewer, and they followed a mild defensive relapse at Auburn by allowing Mississippi State just 3 long-range makes out of 20 attempts in a 21-point UK victory.

For another, Kentucky is no longer the rudderless ship that they were against Duke. Freshman guard Ashton Hagans has taken the reins, and the Wildcats suddenly have gained a focus that they lacked. The turnaround began on defense. After a November when Hagans averaged 2.8 points and 0.7 steals per game, he began to see more time in December, particularly after sophomore Quade Green decided to transfer. Hagans ended up with 3.2 steals per game for the month, but was still lagging a bit offensively, managing just 6.8 points per game.

But in January, Hagans continues his strong defensive work, averaging 3.3 steals, but now adding 13.2 points per game. His SEC resume included a 23-point effort at Georgia, where he was heckled by fans still angry over his decommitment from the program in the days of coach Mark Fox. He managed 18 points against Texas A&M while taking only six shots (thanks to 10-for-11 free throw shooting).

But Hagans’s leadership went beyond steals and scores. Early in Kentucky’s critical game at Auburn, he yelled at talented freshman guard Keldon Johnson to “wake the (expletive deleted) up” after a careless early mistake. Johnson didn’t sulk, but scored 20 points to help carry Kentucky to an 82-80 victory.

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s depth is starting to become a factor. Redshirt freshman Jemarl Baker has shown a nice three point touch (33% from three-point land), and big men Nick Richards (8 points, 6 rebounds) and E.J. Montgomery (5 points, 2 rebounds, a blocked shot) both contributed in UK’s solid win over a ranked Mississippi State team.

Kentucky has slowly and steadily climbed out of the hole that their season-opening 34 point loss made. No, they weren’t the equal of Duke in November. They probably still aren’t in January. But with consecutive league wins over ranked teams and a change on Saturday to make a statement against a sagging Kansas team that’s still in the top 10, Kentucky could make a statement.

That statement might be that while Kentucky isn’t unbeatable, they’re looking a lot harder to beat than they did three weeks ago. And they might just be getting started.