A method handles cache misses using a Scope Resolution Tag Buffer (SRTB). A cache controller assigns each data block in L2 cache with an n-bit value, where the n-bit value describes a quantity of occurrences in which the data block has been accessed, and where the cache controller increments the n-bit value in one or more data blocks in the first level memory cache each time the one or more data blocks are accessed. The cache controller evicts a particular data block from the L2 cache, and stores a particular data block address where the particular data block is now stored in a Scope Resolution Tag Buffer (SRTB). The information in the SRTB is used to locate which cache or memory contains the particular data block in the event of a subsequent cache miss in the L2 cache.