Brown Leads Louisville to Kentucky Championship Title, Freshman Heat Hits!
Mikel Brown was Louisville's second-leading scorer this season.
Louisville got some unfortunate news ahead of the team’s first-round matchup against South Florida in the NCAA tournament. Star freshman Mikel Brown will miss at least two games during the tournament due to a back injury, the school announced Wednesday. Brown, 19, will not be available for Thursday’s contest against No.
12 seed South Florida. If Louisville wins that game and advances to the second round, Brown would also miss that game. Louisville will be without star freshman Mikel Brown Jr.
in the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament, the school announced. He's been dealing with a back injury and will not play against No. 11 South Florida and will also not play if Louisville advances.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 18, 2026 The star freshman is a big reason Louisville was able to secure a No. 6 seed in the tournament. During his first season, Brown averaged 18.