COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- No. 9 Kentucky won its fifth SEC regular-season title in Coach John Calipari's eight seasons on Saturday. He was hardly ready to celebrate.
"We haven't peaked yet," he said following the Wildcats' 71-63 victory at Texas A&M. "That's the good news. The bad news is -- we haven't peaked yet."
Kentucky certainly appeared to be at peak performance in the second half against A&M, but that's part of what's troubling Calipari. The Wildcats overcame an early 15-point deficit to claim the SEC title outright.
A game earlier the Wildcats had rallied from 19 down to finally upend Vanderbilt. Kentucky on four occasions has come back from double-digit deficits this season.
"We've been trying to fix it," said freshman guard De'Aaron Fox, who led the Wildcats with 19 points, including 15 in the second half. "We picked up our intensity throughout the game, and this time actually took the lead before halftime, and kept it going throughout the rest of the game."
The Aggies (16-14, 8-10) leaped to a 19-4 lead eight minutes into the game, as the Wildcats (26-5, 16-2) missed nine of their first 10 shots. A&M's big lead early only seemed to ignite the Wildcats, as Kentucky closed the first half with a 28-9 run.
Admon Gilder led the Aggies with 22 points and Robert Williams added 20.
The Aggies closed the gap to 55-51 with 6:10 remaining when Kentucky's Isaiah Briscoe and Derek Willis responded with consecutive baskets, the latter a three-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim before falling through with 4:13 remaining.
The Wildcats prevailed despite the league's leading scorer, freshman Malik Monk, finishing with six points on 2-of-10 shooting. He entered the game averaging 21.7 points per game.
"Some games Malik isn't going to be on," Willis said. "We can't always depend on him to have 20-plus scoring games."
The swifter Wildcats held a 14-4 advantage on the fast break.
"Our guys were ready, and they did what we asked them to do," A&M Coach Billy Kennedy said. "We've got to give Kentucky credit, because they never broke."
In other games involving SEC men's teams Saturday, Riley LaChance's layup with 1:35 left gave Vanderbilt the lead for good, and the Commodores rallied from a 12-point deficit to upset No. 12 Florida 73-71 and sweep the Gators. With the victory, Vanderbilt (17-14, 10-8) has won five of six overall and polished up its resume for the NCAA Tournament. Florida (24-7, 14-4) goes into the SEC Tournament having lost two of its last three. ... Quinndary Weatherspoon had 18 points as Mississippi State snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 88-76 victory over LSU. Aric Holman and Xavian Stapleton each had 14 points for Mississippi State (15-15, 6-12) in the regular-season finale. Skylar Mays and Antonio Blakeney had 15 points apiece to lead LSU (10-20, 2-16). ... Admiral Schofield made a three-pointer with 1:58 left to put Tennessee ahead for good as the Volunteers erased a 16-point, second-half deficit in a 59-54 victory over Alabama. Grant Williams had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee (16-15, 8-10). Riley Norris scored 13 points and Braxton Key had 12 for Alabama (17-13, 10-8). ... Mustapha Heron scored 20 points to lead Auburn to an 89-78 victory over Missouri in the regular-season finale for both teams. Auburn (18-13, 7-11) built a 20-point lead in the first half and shot a season-best 56.1 percent. Kevin Puryear led Missouri (7-23, 2-16) with 19 points despite 4-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He made 10 of 12 free throws. ... Sebastian Saiz scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Mississippi past South Carolina, 75-70. Breein Tyree added 19 points for Ole Miss (19-12, 10-8). Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina (22-9, 12-6) with 25 points.
Sports on 03/05/2017