Louisville vs. Kentucky: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2015-16 Regular Season

The No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats bolstered their status as potential title contenders Saturday as they defeated the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals 75-73 in a thriller at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Sophomore guard Tyler Ulis registered 21 points and eight assists to lead the Wildcats to a huge victory over their in-state rivals.

It was a much-needed effort from Ulis as the Wildcats were without Isaiah Briscoe, who turned his ankle during warm-ups, per ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman.

With the win, Kentucky head coach John Calipari made some Wildcats history, surpassing a mark previously held by current Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, according to ESPN Stats and Info:

Prior to the contest, ESPN's Jay Williams stressed the importance of Kentucky coming out on top due to the fact that it already had a pair of losses on its record:

The Wildcats certainly seemed to have some urgency in the early going as they jumped out to a 13-4 lead against a flat Louisville squad. The Cardinals made just one of their first nine attempts from the field, but they turned things around thanks to the play of Damion Lee and Trey Lewis.

Lee and Lewis combined for 25 of Louisville's 36 first-half points, and they helped the Cards surge out to a 24-19 lead with under seven minutes to go in the first half.

But the Wildcats battled back. Kentucky closed the half on a 14-2 run, and according to ESPN Stats and Info, it scored on each of its final 13 possessions leading up to the break:

Ulis was the spark plug for Kentucky with 15 points, which was well above his usual offensive production, per ESPN Stats and Info:

As pointed out by Goodman, though, senior forward Alex Poythress was a major factor as well:

In addition to dropping eight points in the first half, Poythress was also a defensive force, as he registered three blocks and dominated Ray Spalding and Chinanu Onuaku in the paint.

Kentucky entered the locker room with a 44-36 lead as Louisville shot under 38 percent from the field despite the production that Lee and Lewis provided.

Kentucky's pressure defense was a huge reason behind its strong finish to the first half, according to Seth Davis of CBS Sports:

Calipari and Pitino each picked up a technical foul in what was an emotional first half.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports believes they are a big part of what makes the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry so great:

Both coaches had an opportunity to cool off during the break, but Kentucky's shooting certainly didn't as it scored eight unanswered points in the first two minutes of the second half to seize a commanding 52-36 lead.

Louisville managed to keep things from getting out of hand by going on an 11-3 run immediately after. Jamal Murray accounted for Kentucky's points during that stretch with a three-pointer he desperately needed.

Murray had missed all eight of his attempts before that, and as pointed out by Peter Yannopoulos of RDS, he was far too reckless with the ball:

The trifecta didn't change that as he followed it up with three more turnovers, but he did nail another three at around the eight-minute mark to extend Kentucky's lead to nine. 

Following two made free throws by Louisville's Donovan Mitchell, the suddenly red-hot Murray was true from long range once again nearly 30 seconds after his previous make to restore Kentucky's double-digit lead.

Sloppy play allowed the Cardinals to get right back into it as they went on a 9-0 run by taking advantage of two missed shots by Murray and a turnover by Ulis.

Lee's trey with five minutes and 30 seconds remaining in regulation made it 65-64 Kentucky and prompted Calipari to call a much-needed timeout.

That proved to be a smart move as Ulis nailed a three-pointer right out of the timeout to give Kentucky breathing room. 

The Wildcats held a 75-70 lead with just under two minutes left after trading baskets, but Lewis completed a three-point play with 1:39 left to shrink the advantage to just two points.

According to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, the Wildcats made things extremely difficult for themselves by failing to maximize their possessions down the stretch:

"

Just some abysmal end-game possessions by Kentucky here. Defense gonna have to bail them out

— Jeremy Woo (@Jeremy_Woo) December 26, 2015"

Louisville had a chance to tie or take the lead with under one minute left, but Lewis turned it over. After a Kentucky turnover, the Cardinals had one last chance; however, Lee's step-back three attempt was way short, which allowed the Wildcats to escape with a win.

It wasn't a perfect game for Kentucky by any means, but it was an impressive win nonetheless considering the absence of Briscoe as well as the struggles of freshmen Murray and Skal Labissiere.

Beating a rival team that is ranked in the Top 25 despite facing so much adversity is something the Wildcats should be able to build upon moving forward.

On the flip side, Louisville very nearly pulled off a furious comeback against one of the nation's most-talented teams on the road, which should bode well for its chances of making a deep run this season.

Calipari managed to beat the Cardinals for the eighth time in nine tries at Kentucky, however, and he may very well have the Wildcats believing once again that they can win it all.

Postgame Reaction

The media eagerly anticipated comments from both Calipari and Pitino following such an exciting and tightly contested game, but only one of them took the podium Saturday.

According to Kent Spencer of WHAS, Pitino opted against speaking and instead sent assistant Ralph Willard to the press room.

As expected, Calipari was far more talkative after his team held off a late Louisville rally to pick up its 10th win of the season.

Coach Cal was extremely complimentary of his players, but he was especially happy with the way Ulis and Poythress performed, according to Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal:

Per Alex Forkner of 247sports, Calipari loved the manner in which Ulis attacked and imposed his will on Louisville throughout the contest:

Calipari also addressed the situation involving Briscoe. It would have been easy for the Wildcats to fold after finding out that one of their best players would have to sit just prior to the start of the game, but that ultimately wasn't the case.

According to Tucker, Calipari shrugged it off and implored his players to rise to the occasion in Briscoe's absence:

While Calipari didn't provide any specifics regarding Briscoe's ankle ailment, he doesn't expect it to be a long-term injury, per Dan Bodner of KY Sports Connection:

Kentucky lost a lot of talent from last year's team, and it is once again a very young squad. But its remarkable depth was on display once again Saturday.

Winning without a player of Briscoe's caliber says a lot about just how good the Wildcats can be when they are at full strength.

Calipari seems to realize that, and his lack of panic on the heels of Briscoe's injury may have been the difference between the Wildcats winning and losing against Louisville.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.