LEXINGTON, Ky. _ As Kentucky coach John Calipari might say, Immanuel Quickley showed Saturday night that he's not a robot or a computer. But that doesn't mean UK is a loser.
Quickley, who was coming off back-to-back career-high scoring games, made only 3 of 10 shots against Auburn.
But Kentucky won, 73-66, to clinch the program's 49th Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.
Maybe making it a more delicious victory, Kentucky had to prevail in yet another possession-by-possession test. But this time without Quickley's scoring as a trump card.
It was the 23rd time in 29 games that the margin was seven points or fewer inside the final seven minutes, and it was the 15th time a single possession could tie the score inside the final six.
Kentucky, which improved to 24-5 overall and 14-2 in the SEC, made 6 of 6 free throws inside the final six minutes.
Quickley made two of two in that span. He made 11 of 11 in the game and led UK in scoring with 18 points despite making only 3 of 10 shots, including one of five from 3-point range.
Auburn, which has never beaten Kentucky twice in a season, fell to 24-5 overall and 11-5 in the SEC. UK improved its record against Auburn in Lexington to 49-2.
With Maxey scoring 12 of his 17 points in the first half, Kentucky led 40-37 at the break.
The first half did not follow the script that Calipari laid out on Friday. He had said both teams played "downhill," meaning each made drives to the basket a foundational piece of their offense.
That was the case in the first game when UK and Auburn combined to get whistled for 49 fouls and shoot 68 free throws.
But, in the first half in Rupp Arena, Auburn appeared to be playing uphill. Of the Tigers' 29 shots, 18 came from 3-point range. That 62.1% of its shots came from beyond the arc contrasted with the 42.3% taken from that range in earlier SEC games.
Auburn came into the game ranked last in 3-point shooting accuracy in league play (27.4 percent).
But the Tigers made their first four 3s en route to taking a 16-9 lead. Danjel Purifoy, who had missed all eight of his 3-point shots in the last three games (and was 3 for 20 in the last six), made three inside the first five minutes.
While the inevitable cool down in Auburn's 3-point shooting ensued, Kentucky stuck to the role of the team playing downhill. Only four of UK's 29 shots in the first half were 3-point attempts.
UK did not take a 3-point shot until Quickley missed with 10:47 left before the break.
While Auburn twice led by nine points, Kentucky used a 12-0 run midway through the half to get ahead. UK's first lead came with 7:40 left when Quickley made two free throws to make it 25-23.
Kentucky twice expanded its lead to eight points.
But, as in the game at Auburn, momentum swung back and forth. Auburn had it late, which an improbable flip shot from the post by Anfernee McLemore with two seconds left setting the halftime score.
Auburn came into the game having rallied from deficits of 17, 19, 11 and 15 to win league games.
The mountain Kentucky built in the second half never got steeper than seven points until two Maxey free throws put UK ahead 73-64 with 1:28 left.
