The Cardinals earned a trip to the school's tenth Final Four and defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Championship.

All wins and championships from this season were later vacated as a part of NCAA sanctions levied against the University of Louisville in response to the 2015 University of Louisville basketball sex scandal and the team's championship banner was removed, it was replaced by a new banner in 2013 that instead honors the teams #1 rank in the final coaches poll.

2 team in the preseason polls and were picked to win Big East conference by the media and the coaches.

They played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament[9] where they defeated #13 Missouri by 23 before losing to #5 Duke in the championship game.

[11] The Cardinals opened Big East play with four victories, and were voted #1 in both AP and Coaches Polls in week 10.

[14] Senior co-captain Peyton Siva was named 2013 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

A 20-point performance by Luke Hancock, and two timely three-point shots by walk-on Tim Henderson, kept the Cardinals in the game, which they won, 72–68, to advance to face Michigan in the National Championship.

The Cardinals rallied behind a 22-point effort by Final Four MOP Luke Hancock, 18 points and 5 assists from senior captain Peyton Siva, and 15 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore Chane Behanan to win, 82–76, giving Louisville basketball its third NCAA Championship and giving coach Rick Pitino his first title at Louisville.

Based on revelations provided by the local self-described escort, Katina Powell, the book detailed striptease dances and acts of prostitution that Powell and McGee arranged and organized in Minardi Hall over approximately a four-year period.

In June 2017, the NCAA announced that the university would lose four basketball scholarships over the course of four seasons, but there would be no further postseason ban.