Thanks to the likes of Russ Smith and Gorgui Dieng, Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals won 30 of their 40 contests in the 2011-12 regular season. They turned their opponents over frequently, holding them to 61 points per game against the country's fourth-hardest schedule. All that led to a nERD of 13.40.

All things considered, the Cardinals were deemed a 4 seed come March. They won four games prior to reaching the national semifinal, where they were without a key player, Kevin Ware, who had suffered a gruesome leg injury against Duke in the Elite Eight.

Thin in the backcourt, Louisville was no match for Kentucky and Anthony Davis. Davis scored 18 points and the Wildcats ended the Cardinals run to what could've been a national championship bid.