He had even called his mom and told her he was coming home. But that day against West Virginia, coach Pitino put him in and told him to play hard. He had 3 points, 2 rebounds, one steal, and played good defense in his nine minutes of action. Helping spark the Cardinals' comeback from down 11 to win by 1, when Peyton Siva hit a layup at the buzzer. After that, he decided to stay. The Cardinals reached the championship game of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament but lost to Connecticut. Louisville finished the season 25–10, 12–6 in the 2010–11 Big East season tied for 3rd in the conference. They received an at-large bid and a #4 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament where they were upset in the second round by #13 seeded Morehead State 61–62. During his sophomore year in 2011–12, Smith provided a spark off the bench. He was second in scoring despite being sixth in mins played for the Cardinals. In January 2012 he earned the nickname "Russdiculous" given to him by head coach Rick Pitino, who has named a race horse "Russdiculous" also. Smith set a school record for steals in a season with 87 steals in his 39 games played. Louisville won four games in four nights to win the 2012 Big East tournament Championship. The Cardinals advanced to the Final Four of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, upsetting #1 seed Michigan State 57–44 in the sweet sixteen and defeating #7 seed Florida in the regional final, where Smith led Louisville with 19 points in the game. Before losing in the national semifinals to arch-rival and eventual national champion Kentucky. Smith averaged 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 2.2 steals a game for the Cardinals, who finished the season with a 30–10 record. Before the start of the 2012–13 basketball season the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team was picked to finish 1st in the Big East Conference in polls done by Big East writers  and coaches. Louisville finished the regular season with a 26–5 record and 14–4 in the Big East to tie for a share of the Big East regular season championship with Georgetown and Marquette, who also finished with a 14–4 conference record. Smith learned about the death of his high school coach Jack Curran before the start of the 2013 Big East Tournament. Louisville played Villanova in their first game of the tournament, Smith scored 28 points and said "Today was definitely Coach Curran Day for me, and it will be the rest of my life" in postgame interview that aired live on ESPN.