LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer circled many areas of the stat sheet to note how the No. 2 Bulldogs did the little things against Kentucky to achieve perfection.

Their next challenge is keeping it going as the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Teaira McCowan had 20 points and 20 rebounds to match a career high, Victoria Vivians added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Mississippi State routed Kentucky 85-63 on Sunday to become the first SEC team to finish the regular season unbeaten in 20 years.

“It’s impressive because we’ve never done it,” Vivians said. “We didn’t look ahead to more games, we just took every day one step at a time. Our focus wasn’t on the 30-0 (record), it was winning the next game.”

MSU just needed to shake off a slow start to finish with a flourish for their first win in Lexington since 2009. They’ll next play Friday at noon against either Kentucky or Alabama, who play a second-round game Thursday at noon.

The Bulldogs (30-0, 16-0 SEC) matched Tennessee’s milestone in 1997-98 after erasing a 9-3 deficit with a 14-4 run led by 3-point shooting. The 6-foot-7 McCowan then took control inside on both ends of the floor before Vivians warmed up offensively after halftime.

McCowan did most of her damage in the first half with 17 points and 13 rebounds for her 22nd double-double this season. She helped the Bulldogs dominate the boards 40-23 and paint scoring 38-20. MSU also posted 24 assists and finished 10-of-18 from behind the arc, with Blair Schaefer making four 3-pointers for 12 points.

“Our focus was to come in and keep them from running the plays they wanted and pushing them out,” said McCowan, who also had five blocks. “We did, and everything else went well.”

The Bulldogs didn’t celebrate wildly, probably because the toughest work is ahead. But they and Schaefer took heart in the achievement.

“I’m just extremely proud of our program, our players and my staff, getting through this gauntlet of a league and where we are today,” he said. “Our whole help mentality and our sharing the basketball, it’s what we’ve done all year. We’ve been very, very consistent with that and today was no different.”

Maci Morris scored 16 of her 22 points in the first half for the Wildcats (14-16, 6-10), who had won two of three coming in. Kentucky’s losing mark in conference play was its first since 2008-09, coach Matthew Mitchell’s second season with the program.

The Wildcats’ quest of a .500 regular season and pulling off an upset started well with good shots and tough defense. They just couldn’t stop McCowan inside, a mission that became harder when senior forward Alyssa Rice (three rebounds, two points) picked up her third foul early in the second quarter. The foul trouble limited Rice to only 18 minutes.

“We just didn’t have an answer for McCowan,” Mitchell said, “and then Vivians got going in the second half.”

Auburn 60, Ole Miss 55

Daisa Alexander scored 21 points, and Unique Thompson finished with 15 points and nine rebounds as Auburn (14-14, 5-11 SEC) finished the regular season with a win over Ole Miss (11-18, 1-15).

Ole Miss was just 2-for-15 from the field and scored four points in the second quarter. It trailed by 12 points at halftime and never got closer than five in the second half.

Madinah Muhammad led the Rebels with 14 points, while Promise Taylor had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Taylor also blocked four shots and had three steals.

Auburn snapped a three-game losing streak and will go into the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed. It will play Tennessee Thursday at 6 p.m.

Ole Miss lost its 13th consecutive game. It is the No. 14 seed for the tournament and will play Florida Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

LSU 79, Alabama 78, OT

Ayana Mitchell had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Chloe Jackson added 31 points and eight rebounds as LSU (19-8, 11-5 SEC) edged Alabama (17-12, 7-9).

Jackson’s jumper with 2:33 left in overtime gave LSU the lead for good. Alabama did not score after Ashley Williams’ basket with 1:24 to go. The Crimson Tide missed four shots — three of them after getting offensive rebounds — in the final 18 seconds.