LEXINGTON, Ky. — Miles Kelly scored a season-high 30 points to lead the top-ranked Auburn men’s basketball team to a 94-78 win over No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday.
The Tigers improved to 27-2 overall and 15-1 in Southeastern Conference play with their sixth straight victory and won the SEC regular-season title outright when No. 5 Tennessee edged No. 6 Alabama 79-76 in Knoxville later in the day. Auburn posted video on social media of its players celebrating on the team bus after watching Jahmai Mashack’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it for the Volunteers.
Chad Baker-Mazara followed Kelly on the scoring list with 22 points and Tahaad Pettiford added 21 for Auburn, which won in Lexington for the first time since a 53-52 triumph in 1988 when the Wildcats were ranked No. 1.
Johni Broome, who averages 18.8 points per game and is the Tigers’ leading scorer this season, had just one point in the first half and finished with nine. Despite his quiet day, Auburn got its eighth win against a top-15 foe this season, including six against teams ranked in the top five. The Tigers remained undefeated (10-0) on the road against SEC opponents this season.
Koby Brea led Kentucky (19-10, 8-8) with 21 points, Andrew Carr had 20 and Amari Williams added 13 with 14 rebounds.