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Counting down the best Louisville basketball teams of the last 12 years

By Alan Thomas

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 08: (L-R) Russ Smith #2, Wayne Blackshear #20 and Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate after they won 82-76 against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2013 NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at the Georgia Dome on April 8, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 08: (L-R) Russ Smith #2, Wayne Blackshear #20 and Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate after they won 82-76 against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2013 NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at the Georgia Dome on April 8, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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#3: 2011-2012

“The unexpected run to the Final Four”

None of us saw it coming. Louisville had a mediocre regular season at best. Yes, they got off to a great start (12-0), but we had no idea about the capabilities this team had inside.

This team picked up steam in the postseason. After winning the Big East Tournament, they earned a 4-seed in the NCAA Tourney. No one expected more than a Sweet 16 at maximum. But there we were. We had knocked off Florida to advance to the Final Four. There they met archrival Kentucky and after a hard-fought game, the Cards folded 69-61. To this day that’s the best Kentucky team I’ve ever seen, and we almost had them. Louisville finished the season 30-10 (10-8 Big East).

That season, the Cardinals boasted the #7 recruiting class, the West Regional MOP (Chane Behanan), and the Big East Tournament MOP (Peyton Siva). Senior Kyle Kuric led the team in scoring (12.6 ppg).

#2: 2008-2009

“That team was LOADED”

Oh, where to begin? Let’s see…Dick Vitale had us as a preseason Final Four contender, we were the #3 ranked team in preseason polls, Edgar Sosa hit that buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat UK, the list goes on.

The Cards went 31-6 (16-2 Big East), won the Big East regular season and conference tournament, and earned the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. After marching all the way to the Elite Eight, things were looking way up. Unfortunately, they hit a snag against a well-coached Michigan State squad and lost a heartbreaker 64-52.

Louisville had the #5 incoming recruiting class and finished the season #5 in the Coaches Poll and #1 in the AP Poll. Earl Clark led the team in scoring (14.2 ppg).

#1: 2012-2013

“The 2013 NCAA Champs”

We won that title. There is an entire article to be written about this team, but I’ll just touch on it.

They went 35-5 (14-4 Big East) and were Big East regular season and conference tournament champions. Smith and Siva earned a spot on the Big East First Team. Dieng won Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and Smith made the Sporting News 3rd-team All-American. Russ led the team in scoring (18.7 ppg).

It was the best team I ever saw. Every time they were counted out or it looked like they couldn’t do it, they did it – Syracuse in the Big East Championship and Wichita State in the Final Four come to mind quickly. The team was a true brotherhood, which was more than evident when Kevin Ware went down with the worst injury I’ve ever seen in my entire life during the Elite 8 against Duke.

They had scoring, rebounding, defense, athleticism, flash, grit, depth, shooting, leadership, unlikely heroes (looking at you Tim), swag, and were led by a coach who knew how to win on the biggest stage.

No matter what happened after that – winning the National Championship is a moment that all Louisville fans will never ever forget.

Next. The most underrated players of the 21st century. dark

My real question to you, the reader is this: now that Jordan Nwora and Steven Enoch have returned, where do you see the 2019-2020 squad on a list of the last 13 seasons? Where will they be on a list of the all-time best teams? Honestly, they might end up being higher than we think.

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