It's UConn's world. We're just living in it.

It’s that time of year when you can’t escape NCAA Tournament talk. Well, get ready for non-stop bubble discussion in the coming weeks because for once, the bubble might actually have a bunch of teams who are unhappy come Selection Sunday.

Let's get to the news.

1. UConn’s No. 1, and it’s not close

It’s a season where two teams have stood out from the pack for their consistent excellence. But even before No. 2 Purdue’s 73-69 loss Sunday to Ohio State, UConn cemented its position as the team to beat in March.

Yes, the reigning champs are ranked No. 1. Yes, they’re 24-2, with the nation’s longest win streak (14 games). And yes, they’ve consistently handled nearly every Big East team for the last six weeks.

But Saturday’s 81-53 dismantling of No. 4 Marquette? It marked the largest-ever margin of victory between Top 5 teams in the same conference.

It was 18 all after 11 minutes. Then UConn shifted into gear, outscoring Marquette by 29 over 25 minutes, and held the Eagles (19-6, 10-4 in Big East) to just 37% from the field, 21.7% from deep and .83 points per possession. It wasn’t just a case of Marquette missing shots, either. It got dusted, and saw its kenpom ranking jump Purdue by virtue of its efficiency margin increasing a full point. By this time of the season, that’s nuts.

“You play elite offense, you play elite defense and you’re a great rebounding team and you play harder than the opponent, it doesn’t give them a lot of places to go,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

You’d expect Rob Dauster to extol the virtues of UConn — he did in this video — but he’s not alone in elevating UConn above everyone else.

Not that Purdue (23-3, 12-3 in Big Ten) will just roll over. The Boilermakers still have the nation’s top player (Zach Edey went for 22 and 13), an experienced roster and an elite coach. They ran into a motivated Ohio State team that was due for a big win (and played a style that seemed to impress at least one potential recruit). Maybe Ohio State AD Gene Smith always had a plan for interim coach Jake Diebler?

The Buckeyes (15-11, 5-10) had lost nine of 11, and coach Chris Holtmann was fired on Wednesday. On Sunday, Bruce Thornton (22 points) and Jamison Battle (19) led a team that was focused on winning. Purdue represented an opportunity.

“We fought hard to be in this position,” coach Matt Painter said. “When you say you’re going to get everybody’s best shot, you think that’s kind of a folk tale. But you get everybody’s best shot."

That’ll also be the case in March. Purdue’s recent NCAA tourney woes are well known, and will be one of the main storylines heading into the Big Dance. How they respond will solidify the difference between them and UConn.

2. SEC revelations!

So. Turns out Auburn can lose at home. Perhaps more surprising, Kentucky can play defense.

No. 13 Auburn was riding a 16-game home win streak, and had won every home game this season by an average of 22 points. Yet it was No. 22 Kentucky that came away from Saturday with a 70-59 road win by holding the Tigers (20-6, 9-4 in SEC) to just 30.9% from the floor, and a miserable 18.2% from beyond the arc.

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