The streak is over and the nets are coming down.
No. 1 Auburn beat No. 17 Kentucky 94-78 Saturday to clinch at least a share of the SEC regular season championship and end a 20-game losing streak at Rupp Arena.
"I’m so happy for the kids,” AU coach Bruce Pearl told the Auburn Network. “We played like champions. We truly did. The guys have been locked in all year. The league is so good.”
The Tigers, which improved to 27-2 overall and 15-1 in the conference, win the sixth league title in program history and the third in 11 seasons under Pearl.
Miles Kelly led Auburn with a season-high 30 points including 9 of 14 3-pointers. Chad Baker-Mazara added 22 points and Tahaad Pettiford had 21.
“It feels great. These are the moments I came to Auburn to do stuff like this,” Kelly told the Auburn Network. “Everything I was putting up in shoot-around was going in so I knew in the game Ive just got to take my time and knock the shots down.
“And I just went up there and knocked them down. My teammates did a great job of finding me.”
Auburn finished the first half on a 10-2 run to lead 49-34 at the break. AU held UK without a field goal for the final 7:12 of the first half and first 3:40 of the second, building a 22-point lead with 14:31 left in the game.
AU led by 13 or more points for the final 21 minutes of the game.
The Tigers scored 21 points off 18 turnovers and out-scored the Wildcats 29-5 off the bench. UK made just 4 of 17 3-point while AU hit 12 of 26.
It’s AU’s first win in Lexington since 1988 and only the third-ever in 54 games.
All-American Johni Broome was held to just nine points and six rebounds and starting point guard Denver Jones injured his ankle with 8:33 left in the first half and did not return.
“We got an X-ray. It’s a bone bruise on his ankle,” said Pearl. “We’ll see how quickly he coms back but obviously’s not a season ending-type injury.
“To not to able to have your staring point guard, the best defensive guard in the league, and to not have Johni Broome on his best night offensively — our guards were incredible.”
Auburn plays at No. 12 Texas A&M Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT and closes out the regular season against No. 6 Alabama next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN.
