The Wildcats face their third Southeastern Conference Western Division opponent of the season as Alabama visits Rupp Arena for a Super Tuesday showdown on ESPN. The Crimson Tide has dropped its last four games, falling to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in SEC play.
Kentucky has won five of its last six contests, including a 65-64 victory over South Carolina Saturday to claim first place in the Eastern Division. It marked UK?s third one-point victory of the season, all in SEC play. Kentucky is 7-0 this season in games decided by five points or less, the most for a UK team since the 1985-86 Cats went 8-3 in close games.
The South Carolina win also marked the Cats? sixth victory thus far over a ranked opponent.
Senior guard Gerald Fitch remains listed as day-to-day after spraining his right index finger against Florida last Tuesday. He did not dress against South Carolina.
Daniels Named SEC Player of the Week
UK forward Erik Daniels was named the SEC Player of the Week Monday after totaling 39 points and 13 rebounds in wins last week against two ranked opponents – No. 21 Florida and No. 25 South Carolina.
Daniels is enjoying a solid senior campaign, ranking second on the team in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg), assists (46) and blocks (12). The Cincinnati native leads the team in field-goal percentage, hitting 57.9% of his shots, which ranks fourth in the conference. He?s hitting 63.3% from the field in league games, ranking first in the SEC.
He is UK?s second SEC Player of the Week this season after Gerald Fitch earned the honor on Dec. 15. It?s the 20th honor for UK since the 1995 season.
The Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama visits Lexington Tuesday with an 11-8 overall record, but has dropped its last four games and six of the last nine. Last Wednesday, the Crimson Tide lost in overtime at South Carolina. Alabama is 3-5 in SEC games with victories over Arkansas, Auburn and Georgia.
Kennedy Winston leads the Tide with 16.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg. He?s shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc this season and 47.9% from the field. Earnest Shelton contributes 15.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest, while Chuck Davis adds 10.7 ppg and leads the squad with 6.2 rpg.
Head coach Mark Gottfried is in his sixth season at Alabama and holds a 178-94 career record, including three seasons at Murray State in Kentucky.
Series History
This marks the 126th meeting between Kentucky and Alabama, with the Wildcats owning a 92-33 advantage. The teams have met 56 times in Lexington, with UK leading 48-8.
Tubby Smith is 6-3 against the Tide, including a 4-3 mark at UK.
Mark Gottfried is 3-2 against Kentucky as a head coach. He?s the only SEC coach to own a winning record against the Cats. As a student-athlete for the Crimson Tide in the mid-?80s, his Alabama teams were 2-6 against the Wildcats.
Kentucky is 17-5 against Alabama in Rupp Arena. The Tide won on their last trip to Lexington in 2002.
The Tide has won three of the last five games in the series.
Two of the three SEC Tournaments held at Rupp Arena have had a Wildcat-Crimson Tide final. Alabama won the 1982 tournament with a title game win over UK, while the Cats downed the Tide in the 1986 championship tilt.
Bluegrass Connections
David Hobbs, UK?s associate head coach, spent 13 seasons in Tuscaloosa, the final six as head coach of the Crimson Tide (1992-98). He compiled a 110-76 record, including two NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT berths. Three of his Tide teams won 19 games or more.
UA Coach Mark Gottfried spent three years as the head coach of Murray (Ky.) State. Gottried was highly successful at MSU, guiding the Racers to a 68-24 record and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1996 and 1997. The Racers claimed the Ohio Valley Conference Championship every year under Gottfried?s leadership.
Alabama?s athletic trainer, John Morr, served as an assistant trainer at Kentucky from 1994-96.
