Kentucky vs. Texas: Score and Twitter Reaction for SEC/Big 12 Challenge 2014

Despite facing a tough challenge, Kentucky showed why it's the No. 1 team in the country with a 63-51 win over No. 6 Texas. 

The SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup pitted two of the most physical squads in college basketball against each other, but the Wildcats survived to move to 8-0 on the season. The Longhorns fell to 7-1 but are unlikely to drop too far in the rankings.

Willie Cauley-Stein was the star for the Wildcats on both ends of the floor, filling up the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. 

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports praised the center:

"

Willie Cauley-Stein has just been so, so good tonight. Legitimately looked like a top-10 pick.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 6, 2014"

Dakari Johnson quietly had a big game as well with 11 points and six rebounds.

Jonathan Holmes led Texas with 14 points but went just 4-of-13 from the field in the loss. Cameron Ridley was held to just one point while struggling with foul trouble.

The Longhorns outrebounded Kentucky 42-31, but they clearly missed injured point guard Isaiah Taylor on the offensive end. Not only were they held to 29.8 percent shooting from the field, but they also had 22 turnovers.

As Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports pointed out, this is not anything new against a great defense: 

From the opening tip, this game was as ugly as it gets. Both sides showcased their physical nature to fight for rebounds and work for tough baskets in the paint.

Unfortunately, the result was a lot of fouls in the early going, especially for Ridley. The junior picked up his second foul within the first three minutes, before his team even got on the scoreboard.

ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf joked about the center being forced to the bench:

While Texas was able to showcase its depth in the frontcourt, both Myles Turner and Prince Ibeh picked up multiple fouls in a sloppy first half. Mike Finger of the Houston Chronicle noted the early craziness:

The reason for Texas' success was its size, which Kentucky hadn't seen all year. Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal broke down the impact:

Kentucky's offense finally woke up, apparently fueled by a flagrant foul committed against Karl-Anthony Towns, starting an 8-0 run to take the lead. This helped get the score to 26-26 at halftime with the two sides combining to shoot just 30 percent.

Paul Biancardi of ESPN.com summed up the half statistically:

Things were much different after intermission, though, as Kentucky quickly showed what it can do on both ends of the court. The home team scored the first 10 points of the half by simply executing better, as noted by Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports:

Once Kentucky got going, ESPN's Jay Williams was quick to call for a blowout and an undefeated season for the Wildcats:

It took over five minutes for Texas to score its first points of the half, but by that point Kentucky was already starting to pull away as its defense helped create some easy scores in transition. The lead inflated to 44-28.

Still, the Longhorns were not ready to give up. They utilized their size down the stretch and scored inside while picking up plenty of free-throw attempts.

Dana O'Neil of ESPN liked the mental strength on display to keep things close:

Texas cut Kentucky's lead down to five points a few times in the closing minutes, and the score was 56-51 with under 90 seconds remaining. However, Cauley-Stein continued to make plays for the Wildcats to make sure they would hold onto an impressive win.

This victory for Kentucky will get even more people believing this team can finish the year undefeated. Of course, Texas coach Rick Barnes knows from experience that talent alone doesn't necessarily guarantee wins.

Barnes lauded the work John Calipari has done, explaining in a recent press conference:

"

I don’t think people realize it’s not as easy as you think when you do have talent, and it’s certainly not as easy as you think when you’ve got a (target) on your back every night and you’ve got bullets coming at you. I’m talking as an X-and-O guy. He’s very much underrated.

"

Considering how well Kentucky has played to start the year, you can expect its players to continue to improve and become even more dangerous in the coming months.

The Wildcats will have one day to rest before competing Sunday in a matchup against Eastern Kentucky. While their overall depth should help them bounce back after this physical battle, the schedule remains tough through December with games against UCLA, North Carolina and Louisville.

Texas gets a much-needed break for eight days until it returns home for a game against Texas State on Dec. 13. While Friday's game was by far toughest nonconference game on the Longhorns' schedule, Stanford could cause some problems later in the month.

Both teams will try to learn from this game and hope it becomes a steppingstone for a big year.

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