LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville's star freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. will miss Thursday's NCAA Tournament opener against South Florida and the Cardinals' second round game Saturday, if they make it that far.
The University of Louisville said Wednesday that Brown's back injury remains an issue, and while they hoped he'd be available for the start of the tournament, he'll continue to sit out.
Brown, who returned from a back issue that sidelined him for eight games and then averaged 29.5 points over a five-game stretch, has missed the past four games because of a recurrence of those problems. Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey said Brown sat out of the ACC Tournament "with the goal of having him 100 percent for the NCAA Tournament."
A few shots of Mikel Brown during Louisville’s public shootaround. Could be the last we see of him on the court in Louisville gear unless the team were to advance beyond this weekend pic.twitter.com/545uJlDuEF
— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) March 18, 2026
Brown's importance is difficult to overstate. He averaged 18.2 points per game this season and tied a Louisville men's single-game scoring record when he poured in 45 points against North Carolina State. Over his last 10 games, Brown averaged 25.5 points per contest, giving Louisville a level of offensive creation that few teams in the field can match when he is healthy.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
Even without him, Louisville has shown balance.
Senior transfer Ryan Conwell, who arrived from Xavier, led the Cardinals in scoring at 18.7 points per game and gave them a reliable scoring threat all season. J’Vonne Hadley has been one of the team’s steadiest pieces, and over Louisville’s past 10 games has played some of his best basketball, averaging 15 points while shooting 64.5% from two-point range and 55.2% from three. Isaac McKneely also finished the regular season in double figures at 10.6 points per game.
Louisville will will face former Conference USA and American Athletic Conference foe South Florida (25-8), the No. 11 seed in Buffalo at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The Bulls, AAC champions, have won 12 straight games. The winner will get the winner of No. 3 seed Michigan State and No. 14 seed North Dakota State.
The Cardinals take a 23-10 record into the tournament, with a résumé strong enough to earn at-large security well before Selection Sunday. Louisville posted eight Quad 1 wins in the NCAA’s NET ratings and challenged itself with an ambitious schedule, facing road games at Tennessee and Arkansas, neutral-site matchups with Cincinnati and Indiana, and a February trip to Baylor.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
