No one needs to remind the LSU men’s basketball team about who has touched down in Baton Rouge. 
In fact, LSU coach Johnny Jones perhaps best described his team’s Tuesday-night foe. 
“[We] have an opportunity to play against one of the best teams ever assembled in college basketball,” Jones said.
Jones often talks about opportunity, but none is greater than the nationally-televised, sold-out matchup between the Tigers (17-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) and No. 1 Kentucky at 6 p.m. tonight in the PMAC.

Kentucky (23-0, 10-0 SEC), the nation’s leader in scoring margin (+22.1), trounced a difficult non-conference schedule, including three wins against teams currently ranked in the top 25 and two more just outside of it. The Wildcats have been tested at times during the SEC slate, including back-to-back overtime wins to start the calendar and a tight, seven-point win at Florida on Saturday night. But they remain unscathed, further adding hype to the game of the year in the PMAC. 
LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby, much like his teammates, recognized what this game means to his team’s fanbase. 
“I’ve been getting [talked to] about [playing Kentucky] for a month, and you try not to look ahead too far,” Hornsby said. “But here it is. It’s right upon us. It’s very exciting, but we can’t let the hype get to our head.”
Tuesday’s tilt comes at no better time for a rejuvenated LSU team after its 71-60 win against Alabama on Saturday night. After two straight losses to Mississippi State and Auburn — two sub-.500 teams — the Tigers came out firing on all cylinders with a new starting lineup, never trailing in a game they desperately needed to win. 
Even when the Tide cut a 17-point second-half lead to two, LSU had an answer, which is something it had been missing in its previous two games.

Much like what it did against Alabama, it’s imperative for LSU to get out to an early lead and withstand any runs against Kentucky. In the 935 minutes the Wildcats have played this year, they trailed for only 123:19 of those minutes, including being down at halftime on only five different occasions.
Kentucky’s commanding leads are in part due to its stifling defense, which ranks second in the nation in points allowed per game. The Wildcats held opponents to less than 50 points 11 different times and rank No. 1 in field goal percentage defense. 
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin said one of the keys to offensive success will be drawing fouls to put Kentucky in foul trouble. 
“[We have to] continue playing together as a team,” Martin said after Saturday’s game. “[We have to] get some defensive stops, converting on the offensive end, trying to attack the basket and playing inside-out.”
For LSU, Jones said he will consider adjusting the starting lineup again to match the Wildcat’s size, which may include starting sophomore center Darcy Malone.
Jones joked about how difficult it will be defend Kentucky’s depth.
“[We’ll] look forward to the timeouts we can use,” Jones said. “One thing [is] we can’t sign and trade. Your teams are set, and we can’t reinvent the wheel. We got to really roll it out there. … We’re in the same situation as every other team in the country is in. There’s no team out there as loaded and has as many players as Kentucky has.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.