What happened to Mikel Brown Jr? How injury is impacting Louisville's NCAA Tournament run
Here is more on Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. and why he is missing the opening weekend of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
What happened to Mikel Brown Jr? How injury is impacting Louisville's NCAA Tournament run originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Louisville Cardinals will take on the Michigan State Spartans in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but will have to do so without one of their best players. Freshman guard Mike Brown Jr. had dominated during the regular season.
Even as a true freshman, he played in 21 games and averaged 18. 2 points, 3. 3 rebounds and 4.
7 assists. Brown missed about a month of the regular season due to a lower back injury, and he re-aggravated the injury in the Cardinals' loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on February 23. Brown suited up against Clemson in Louisville's next game but was clearly hindered by the injury.