Louisville will be significantly shorthanded to begin the 2026 NCAA Tournament, with star point guard Mikel Brown Jr.'s back injury set to cost him the team's first two games.
Brown, who has not played since Feb. 28, will miss the Cardinals' opening-round matchup against South Florida, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported. He will also sit out of the team's ensuing game against either Michigan State or North Dakota State, should Louisville get past the Bulls.
Brown is second on the team with 18.2 points and leads Louisville with 4.7 assists per game. Without him, sophomore guard Adrian Wooley will remain in Pat Kelsey's starting lineup to begin the NCAA Tournament.
Injuries have limited Brown all season, causing Kelsey to hold his point guard out of the ACC Tournament to preserve him for March Madness. Kelsey claimed that Brown was “really close” to returning after Louisville's March 11 win over SMU.
While Brown has been a solid 1B option to leading scorer Ryan Conwell, he found a second gear in February to elevate Louisville into a perennial top-25 program. A 45-point explosion against NC State on Feb. 9 kick-started a scorching hot five-game stretch, during which he averaged a team-high 29.2 points per game.
Louisville's fast-paced offense has taken a step back without Brown, averaging just 76.0 points in its last four games. Conwell has notably seen his efficiency take a hit without his primary running mate. The veteran guard is averaging 21.3 points in his last four, but on just 42 percent from the floor and 29.2 percent from three-point range.
The shorthanded Cardinals now have to face a streaking USF team that enters the NCAA Tournament riding an 11-game win streak. The Bulls are sixth in the country with 87.0 points per game and are adept at pressuring opposing guards into turnovers and low-percentage shot attempts.
