2013 NCAA Basketball: National Championship Power Rankings

2013 Louisville vs. Every Champion Since 1985
Rank	Team	Win %	Avg. PPG	Simulate vs. Louisville
1	2000-01 Duke Blue Devils	90.2	96.3	SimMatchup >
2	1995-96 Kentucky Wildcats	85.8	94.8	SimMatchup >
3	2004-05 North Carolina Tar Heels	80.3	93.8	SimMatchup >
4	1989-90 UNLV Runnin' Rebels	75.1	95.1	SimMatchup >
5	2007-08 Kansas Jayhawks	62.9	84.2	SimMatchup >
6	1997-98 Kentucky Wildcats	61.7	83.9	SimMatchup >
7	1991-92 Duke Blue Devils	61.3	93.0	SimMatchup >
8	2003-04 Connecticut Huskies	59.6	82.0	SimMatchup >
9	2001-02 Maryland Terrapins	57.5	88.6	SimMatchup >
10	2006-07 Florida Gators	57.2	84.9	SimMatchup >
11	2008-09 North Carolina Tar Heels	56.9	91.2	SimMatchup >
12	1994-95 UCLA Bruins	56.2	91.0	SimMatchup >
13	1993-94 Arkansas Razorbacks	54.2	92.7	SimMatchup >
14	1992-93 North Carolina Tar Heels	53.3	89.0	SimMatchup >
15	2005-06 Florida Gators	50.4	83.7	SimMatchup >
16	2012-13 Louisville Cardinals	48.7	78.4	National Champs!
17	1988-89 Michigan Wolverines	48.1	90.2	SimMatchup >
18	1998-99 Connecticut Huskies	44.6	83.5	SimMatchup >
19	2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats	44.0	77.7	SimMatchup >
20	1985-86 Louisville Cardinals	43.8	88.8	SimMatchup >
21	1990-91 Duke Blue Devils	43.0	89.5	SimMatchup >
22	1999-00 Michigan State Spartans	40.2	82.4	SimMatchup >
23	2009-10 Duke Blue Devils	38.9	82.2	SimMatchup >
24	2002-03 Syracuse Orange	31.8	81.8	SimMatchup >
25	1986-87 Indiana Hoosiers	29.7	86.5	SimMatchup >
26	1996-97 Arizona Wildcats	22.5	84.9	SimMatchup >
27	2010-11 Connecticut Huskies	22.3	75.0	SimMatchup >
28	1984-85 Villanova Wildcats	19.5	78.9	SimMatchup >
29	1987-88 Kansas Jayhawks	10.3	80.1	SimMatchup >

Using our college basketball simulation engine, we placed Louisville in a round-robin tournament featuring every national champion since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Every team in the tournament played every other team 51 times. The simulation generated each team's winning percentage (Win %) and average points per game (Avg. PPG).

For the second consecutive year, a team from the Commonwealth of Kentucky claimed college basketball's top prize. Like the Kentucky Wildcats in 2012, the Louisville Cardinals won as the top overall seed in the tournament. The Cardinals are just the sixth top overall team to cut down the nets since 1985.

Louisville's blend of frontcourt talent and backcourt experience thwarted opponents throughout the NCAA Tournament. The team's high-pressure defense enabled rallies against Wichita State in the Final Four (down by 12 points with 13:35 to play in the second half) and Michigan in the championship game (down by 12 points with 3:00 to play in the first half).

Using the same college basketball simulation engine that accurately predicted a six-point Louisville win over Michigan, we "played" the Cardinals against every National Champion since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The Cardinals ranked 16th in the simulation, winning 48.7 percent of simulations, while averaging 78.4 points per game. The team edged out last year's champ and in-state rival as the Wildcats finished 19th and won 44 percent of games.

Rick Pitino is no stranger to the NCAA Championship, having won while at Kentucky. His 1996 Wildcats ranked second in the simulation.

We also "played" an all-Louisville round-robin tournament, pitting the 2013 squad against Denny Crum's 1980 and 1986 National Champions in 51 simulations.

2013 Louisville vs. 1980 and 1986 Louisville
Rank	Team	Win %	Avg. PPG	Simulate vs. Louisville
1	1979-80 Louisville Cardinals	56.4	84.6	SimMatchup >
2	2012-13 Louisville Cardinals	47.5	80.0	National Champs!
3	1985-86 Louisville Cardinals	46.1	85.9	SimMatchup >

The 1980 Cardinals rank as the best champion in school history, winning 56.4 percent of simulations. The team was led by Darrell Griffith, the John R. Wooden Award winner and the 1979-80 Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Pitino's 2013 team just edged out Crum's 1986 Cardinals that featured Milt Wagner, Billy Thompson and Pervis Ellison.