March 18, 2026, 11:13 a.m. ET
BUFFALO, NY — Mikel Brown Jr. won’t play in Louisville basketball‘s NCAA Tournament opener Thursday afternoon against South Florida, the team announced in a statement Wednesday morning.
The statement also said Brown won’t be available if the team advances to the second round this weekend
The freshman point guard, who’s projected to be an NBA lottery pick later this year, has been sidelined for the Cardinals’ past four games — 12 total on the season — due to a reaggravated back injury.
Brown finished the regular season as UofL’s No. 2 scorer with 18.2 points on 41% shooting (34.4% from 3) and a team-high 4.7 assists (against 3.1 turnovers) across 29 minutes per game. His nine outings of 20 or more points are the most by a freshman during a single season in program history. He’s also shares the team lead in steals per contest (1.2) with Ryan Conwell.
Louisville enters March Madness with a 7-5 record with Brown on the bench vs. a 16-5 record when he plays. Per CBBAnalytics.com, it averages 6.4 fewer points per 40 minutes (88.1 vs. 81.7) and shoots 4.8% worse from beyond the arc (38.2% vs. 33.4%) when he’s not on the court.
Kelsey said Brown reaggravated the back injury, which initially surfaced in mid-December, by taking some hard falls during a Feb. 23 loss at then-No. 19 North Carolina. The freshman last played during a Feb. 28 loss at Clemson: five points on 2-for-10 shooting, four assists, two rebounds and two steals across 21 minutes off the bench. Since then, the focus has been on getting him back to 100%.
“He made great progress last week,” Kelsey said Monday in Louisville. “We’ll see how the next couple of days of practice go.”
Brown told reporters at the ACC Tournament he was “starting to get there. I’m slowly progressing; I’m slowly doing more day in and day out, just trying to get a feel for it. But, obviously, like coach said, the plan is: I’ll come back when I’m 100%.”
When asked, “Are you 100% positive that you’ll be back for the NCAA Tournament?” He replied, “Right now, I’m just focused on my rehab more than anything. When the time feels right, I’m going to talk to the coaching staff; and we’re going to come to an agreement.”
Last week, Brown became the first UofL player to be named to the ACC’s All-Rookie team since Jae’Lyn Withers (2020-21). However, the 6-foot-5 Orlando, Florida, native slipped from the preseason all-conference first team to third-team status — due in large part to the back injury causing him to miss 10 regular-season games.
The game between the sixth-seeded Cards and the No.11 Bulls will air on TNT.
You’ll also be able to watch the game via streaming services such as Sling TV.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
Leave a comment