In their second SEC tilt of the year, the Kentucky Wildcats welcome the Texas A&M Aggies into Rupp Arena today. Game particulars as follows, courtesy of UKAthletics.com:

Gameday Information
Kentucky vs. Texas A&M Sat., Jan. 12 - 4:00 p.m. ET Lexington, Ky. Game Notes: UK | TAMU
Coverage
Gameday Live: Online video, audio, blog and stats TV: SEC Network Radio: UK IMG Text Updates

Both teams are coming off victories, Texas A&M against the Arkansas Razorbacks at home, and Kentucky against the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road.

What I hope to see today:

• Intensity. Kentucky lacked it last game and it cost them.
• Patience. Kentucky was patient in the first half, but lost it in the second half, along with their collective minds. The Wildcats seem to play the game without any real identity. It's not too late for them to find one.
• Find ways to offend the zone. This point needs no exposition, although it's not a sure thing that Kentucky will see a zone given Billy Kennedy's preference for man defense.
• Better shooting from three. Kentucky has had a couple of games where really poor 3-point shooting have hurt them.
• Kyle Wiltjer defending somebody. He has to start sometime.
• Alex Poythress play better basketball. Poythress' basketball IQ over the last few games has been room temperature at best.
• Something from Julius Mays. He was a complete non-factor in the last game, and repeatedly turned down open shots.
• REBOUNDING.

This is a game that, given the poor performance of Kentucky less than 48 hours ago in Nashville, you have to figure that Kentucky could lose, although Ken Pomeroy has UK favored in this game by a significant margin, 71-55. I would love to have that result, but I am not that confident in this team at the moment. They had too many issues at Vanderbilt for us not to be somewhat concerned about this game.

Go, 'Cats!