By Murray Evans
The Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky is 7-0 this basketball season in games decided by five points or less, including a 3-0 mark in one-point games, numbers that lead coach Tubby Smith to one conclusion.

"It is all part of fate. That's what it's all about," Smith said Monday. "When it comes down to it, the good man upstairs is usually smiling on you."

Told that man must like Smith, the coach smiled and responded: "I don't know. But he likes Kentucky basketball."

After one-point wins against three Southeastern Conference opponents, including South Carolina on Saturday, No. 8 Kentucky (16-3, 6-2 SEC) no doubt hopes for a bit of a break today against reeling Alabama. The Crimson Tide (11-8, 3-5) has lost its last four games.

But Alabama tied a school record with 16 3-pointers and took No. 25 South Carolina to overtime before losing 90-82 on Wednesday, and the Crimson Tide has experienced recent success against Kentucky, beating the Wildcats two of the last three seasons, once in Lexington.

Sophomore forward Kennedy Winston has scored 68 points in Alabama's past three games - against Florida, Louisiana State and South Carolina - and junior guard Earnest Shelton, the Crimson Tide's second-leading scorer at 15 points per game, is back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee injury.

"When you have great character and very unselfish people, it always gives you a chance," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. "And I've said this earlier in the year: We're not very good. We've never pretended to be, but we have a great group of guys who have played their absolute tails off every night. I don't think anything will change from here on out."

Gottfried said it's easy to know why Kentucky is so successful in tight games.

"They believe they are going to win very night," he said. "I don't think there's any questioning that, whether it's close or whether it's by a big margin."

UK, which leads the SEC East division, hasn't won a game by more than 12 points since a 101-72 romp over Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 23. Included in that stretch were one-point wins over Mississippi State (the Bulldogs' only loss of the year) on a last-second shot by Erik Daniels; Tennessee, after Cliff Hawkins hit a long 3-pointer to force overtime; and South Carolina, in which Kentucky prevented the Gamecocks from scoring on the game's final possession.

Solid defense certainly has aided the Wildcats - every opponent this season has shot less than 50 percent.

"We know we have been pretty fortunate to win some close games," Smith said. "Execution has been adequate enough to pull out those games.

"We practice with that intensity. We try to make it tougher in practice. We demand that the mistakes are minimized and that they execute every time in every drill. They can't take a play off."

Daniels, a senior forward from Cincinnati, who was named the SEC's player of the week on Monday, said the Wildcats don't like living on the edge, but it seems to be working.

"It's just part of experience. We've been here a lot. We know how to find a way to win," Daniels said. "You've just got to go out there and play and you have a feel for what's going on out there.

"We want to blow teams out, but it just isn't going that way this year. But we are getting wins, so that's the good thing about it."

Kentucky likely will be without leading scorer Gerald Fitch for the second straight game. Fitch strained a ligament in his right (shooting) hand against Florida last Tuesday and did not play against South Carolina. Antwain Barbour, who scored 10 points against the Gamecocks, would make his second start of the season if Fitch doesn't play.

SEC player of week

Kentucky forward Erik Daniels received Southeastern Conference basketball player of the week honors Monday after totaling 39 points and 13 rebounds in a pair of wins last week over ranked teams.

Kentucky won 68-65 at then-No. 21 Florida on Tuesday, and beat then-No. 25 South Carolina 65-64 on Saturday.

Daniels, a 6-8 senior from Cincinnati, is No. 8 Kentucky's second-leading scorer at 15.7 points per game.

No. 8 UK vs. Alabama

Tipoff: 7 p.m. today, Rupp Arena (23,000), Lexington.

Records: UK 16-3 (6-2 SEC), Alabama 11-8 (3-5).

Radio: WSAI-AM (1530).

TV: ESPN.

Series: UK leads 92-33.

Line: UK by 10.

ALABAMA

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Earnest Shelton	Jr.	6-3	15.0
Kennedy Winston	So.	6-6	16.3
Jermareo Davidson	Fr.	6-11	5.5
Antoine Pettway	Sr.	6-0	9.8
Demetrius Smith	Sr.	6-2	2.5

Coach: Mark Gottfried (110-69, sixth season; 178-94 overall).

KENTUCKY

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Kelenna Azubuike	So.	6-5	10.0
Chuck Hayes	Jr.	6-6	11.4
Erik Daniels	Sr.	6-8	15.7
Antwain Barbour	Sr.	6-5	3.7
Cliff Hawkins	Sr.	6-1	8.9

Coach: Tubby Smith (180-50, seventh season; 304-112 overall).