LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Hometown hero Quentin Snider's 22 points led No. 10 Louisville to a 73-70 victory over No. 6 Kentucky on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

"I'm really delighted with the victory because it has been a while since we have beaten them," Pitino said, noting that Louisville broke a streak of four straight Kentucky wins in the series. "The crowd was electric and when you see college basketball like that with Kentucky and us and North Carolina, it is great for our game."

The Cardinals (11-1) got a career high from Snider, 18 points from Deng Adel and survived a 21-point outburst from Kentucky freshman De'Aaron Fox.

"I think Quentin kept attacking the rim, attacking the rim and he made some shots early on," Pitino said. "Quentin played a big-time game. Fox is one of the most difficult guys to guard and Quentin came up with two steals. He had one steal in 11 games and came up with two today."

"I know my coach believes in me and he just said to go out there and play," Snider said, agreeing with a reporter that this was his best collegiate game. "It felt great."

The Wildcats (10-2) had the ball down by three, but a final 3-point attempt by Malik Monk rimmed out and Louisville collected the rebound. He finished 1 for 9 from three-point range.

"I told Malik, 'You're not making them tonight. Just go rebound,"' Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "The biggest play of the game was the last rebound. He and Derek (Willis) don't come up with that ball. But ... It's part of the game. It's a great win for them. They'll have a better Christmas than us."

The difference for Louisville was ultimately an 8-0 run in 1:19 midway through the second half. The Cardinals went from down four to ahead four during that stretch and held on. Louisville's backcourt scored 53 points.

"Our guys did a great job of attacking the rim offensively," Pitino said. "So many teams when they play Kentucky settle on jumpshots rather than drive to the basket and it is always a four-point play or a five-point play because they beat you down the court and score in transition. We made up our mind that we were going to reverse it and attack the rim so we could get back on defense."

Conversely, Calipari wanted his team to get the ball inside more often than they did.

"We wouldn't drive it," Calipari said. "What do you think I was saying every huddle? Do not settle, drive the ball, go right at these guys. Don't get your shot blocked because if you miss it we'll rebound it. Just don't get it blocked. And we had guys shooting them underhanded. It's a tough environment. This is -- they have to go through these kind of growing pains, and then I've gotta be able to see what I have to do as a coach. ... And we're playing young guys and it's hard. It's hard."

It was a game of runs. The Wildcats missed four of their first five shots in the second half as Louisville went from down 40-39 to ahead 49-44. The Cardinals head a 51-46 lead with just under 13 minutes to go before Kentucky scored nine of the next 11 points.

The Cardinals responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. Louisville tied the score at 57 on a pair of free throws from Adel and took the lead on a layup from Mitchell with just over six minutes left. A layup from Adel put the Cardinals ahead 61-57 with 5:33 left and sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Louisville would never relinquish the lead.

"On Dec. 21, we're not good enough to go into the building of a top 10 team and win. That's just what it is," Calipari said. "They're better than us right now. But we'll get better. This will be good for us. I told them I'm a little disappointed, but I told them that's not their fault, it's my fault. I didn't sub enough."

Kentucky took an early 20-14 lead hitting three of its first four and seven of its first 13 shots. UK freshman Malik Monk, who scored 47 points in his last game, started off well, scoring six of Kentucky's first 14 points.

After missing its first four shots (and seven of the first 11), Louisville struck back with an 10-0 run that started with a three from Adel and a tip-in by Ray Spalding. The Cardinals took a 22-20 lead with 11:07 left on a three by Adel in transition. A layup by Snider pushed Louisville's run to 10 straight points.

Louisville held a 29-22 lead, but Kentucky struck back by scoring nine straight points. The Wildcats held a 40-39 lead at halftime led by 14 points from Fox. The Cardinals were led by Snider's 13.

NOTES: Kentucky had won eight of the previous nine meetings. ... Louisville won its last 18 home games versus non-conference opponents dating back to its last loss to Kentucky in 2012. ... Kentucky freshman G Malik Monk missed his first seven threes before hitting one with under a minute left. ... Kentucky was 5 for 22 from 3-point range. ... Louisville had a season-low six points from the bench.