Louisville basketball: Relive the best UofL game from each round of the NCAA Tournament

Championship game

2013 National Championship vs. Michigan

Yeah, Louisville basketball has three national titles, but you didn’t really think we were going to include any other game, did you?

This game will always be one of the greatest memories of my life, regardless of what is to come.

The team was so beloved, the run was so magical, and this game was everything you’d ever want in a national title game.

There were the players. Michigan boasted a starting five that all still have NBA roster spots to this day. Louisville wasn’t bad in its own right. Obviously Russ Smith went on to be the national player of the year in 2014, but Gorgui Dieng (Memphis), Montrezl Harrell (LA Clippers) along with Peyton Siva, Luke Hancock, the Wayne and Chane show, and so many others formed one of the most talented and complementary teams of the last decade.

There were so many narratives on this squad. There was the crazy three-game losing streak mid-season, the insane comeback against Syracuse in the final Big East Championship (as we knew it), and the freak accident to Kevin Ware that sent shock waves across the nation.

This Louisville team was destined to be in this spot, and they delivered on the biggest stage.

There were the runs. The first half alone was enough to give a fully healthy man a seizure. Spike Albrecht, a little-known back-up caught fire when Michigan’s own POY Trey Burke was called for two early fouls.

Then, there was the Louisville runs. Four Luke Hancock threes and a Montrezl Harrell alley-oop put Louisville ahead for the first time. They took the lead for good early in the second half, and the rest was history.

My own personal story of how I arrived at the title game in Atlanta, how my brother and I managed to find tickets, and the jubilation at that moment was more perfect than I can even express, and I’m sure thousands of others felt that way.

1980 was the first, 1986 may have been the best, by 2013 will always live in my heart as the most rewatchable and enjoyable game in Louisville basketball history.

It’s going to be okay, guys. Good times are on the horizon, and delayed gratification will only make the next one sweeter.

Looking for a way to pass the time? We ranked the 50 greatest Louisville football players of all-time and told the story of how they became a part of Cardinal lore.