Kelly scores 30, No. 1 Auburn rolls No. 17 Kentucky 94-78

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Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, center, celebrates with his team after defeating Kentucky in an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, left, greets supporters after defeating Kentucky in an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Collin Chandler, left, guards Auburn’s Miles Kelly, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Otega Oweh (00) shoots as Auburn’s Miles Kelly, bottom right, looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Koby Brea (4) pressures Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Auburn’s Johni Broome (4) looks for a shot near Kentucky’s Ansley Almonor, back, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (10) shoots while defended by Kentucky’s Koby Brea (4) and Amari Williams, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Otega Oweh (00) looks for an opening on Auburn’s Denver Jones (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Koby Brea, left, dunks near Auburn’s Johni Broome (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Amari Williams (22) drives while guarded by Auburn’s Johni Broome, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Amari Williams (22) reacts after being fouled during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Auburn in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Kentucky’s Lamont Butler, center, drives between Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford, left, and Chris Moore (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Auburn’s Chaney Johnson (31) pulls in a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

By KEITH TAYLOR

💬

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Miles Kelly scored a season-high 30 points to lead No. 1 Auburn to a 94-78 win over No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday.

The Tigers (27-2, 15-1 SEC) have six straight victories and won the SEC regular-season title outright when No. 5 Tennessee edged No. 6 Alabama 79-76 later Saturday. Auburn posted video on X of its players celebrating on the team bus after watching Tennessee’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to win it.

Auburn won in Lexington for the first time since a 53-52 triumph over then-No. 1 Kentucky in 1988.

Chad Baker-Mazara followed Kelly with 22 points and Tahaad Pettiford scored 21.

Koby Brea led Kentucky (19-10, 8-8) with 21 points. Andrew Carr had 20 points and Amari Williams had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Takeaways

Auburn: Leading scorer Johni Broome (18.8 ppg) finished with just nine points and had just one in the first half. 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 league opponents this season.

Kentucky: The Wildcats were without third-leading scorer Jaxson Robinson (wrist). Coming off a career-high 28 points in an 83-82 win at Oklahoma on Wednesday, leading scorer Otega Oweh (16.1 ppg) scored four points, just the second time he’s failed to reach double figures in 29 games this season. Kentucky made just four 3-pointers, compared to 12 for Auburn.

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Auburn's Johni Broome (4), Tahaad Pettiford (0), Miles Kelly (13) and Chaney Johnson (31) pause in the closing moments of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

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Key moment

Auburn gained control with a 14-2 run that turned a 7-6 advantage into a 21-8 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. Auburn closed out the first half with an 11-2 spurt for a 49-34 halftime lead.

Key stat

The Wildcats committed 18 turnovers, with the Tigers scoring 21 points off those miscues. Kentucky had four straight turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half.

Up next

Kentucky hosts LSU and Auburn plays at No. 12 Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

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