Louisville Faces South Florida in NCAA First Round Without Brown

Louisville will enter the NCAA Tournament as underdogs in their own right when they face South Florida in the first round on Thursday, without star freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. due to a lingering back injury. The No. 6-seeded Cardinals tip off against the No. 11-seeded Bulls at 1:30 p.m. ET at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, marking Louisville's second tournament appearance in seven years.

The University of Louisville announced Wednesday that Brown, a top-10 projected pick in the 2026 NBA draft, will miss the opener and remain sidelined through the rest of the week if the Cardinals advance to the second round. The 6-foot-5 guard has not played since February 28, missing his fifth straight game after reaggravating a lower back issue that first sidelined him for eight contests earlier in the season. Brown averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 21 appearances this year, powering an offense that ranks in the top 25 nationally in efficiency. The Cardinals are 16-5 in games he has played, averaging 88.1 points, but just 7-5 and 81.7 points without him.

Coach Pat Kelsey declined to elaborate on Brown's status beyond the first round, but the team prioritized his...