Louisville basketball is taking on the Michigan Spartans tomorrow afternoon in the round of 32. The Cardinals are coming off a resilient win over USF, which was a bit scarier than many fans wanted after they almost blew a 23-point lead and had 10 turnovers in the final 10 minutes.
3 eye-popping stats that prove Louisville will pull off the upset over Michigan State
A dream scenario for Louisville to be better with the ball is 5-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. playing tomorrow. However, as On3 Sports stated earlier this week, Joe Tipton and many other college basketball reporters, Brown is officially out for tomorrow’s game against the Spartans.
Louisville PG Mikel Brown Jr. tells me he is not playing vs. Michigan State tomorrow.
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) March 20, 2026
Mikel Brown Jr. officially ruled out vs Michigan State
The Cardinals will need Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely to step up again tomorrow against the Spartans, as they combined for 41 points in yesterday’s win. Louisville will play its sixth consecutive game without Brown, as the true freshman is still battling some back pain from the Cardinals' loss to UNC.
Brown has now missed 13 games this season, and while Louisville has an 8-5 record when he doesn’t play, tomorrow’s game against the Spartans will be an uphill battle with the 5-star freshman on the sideline. Of the 13 games Brown has missed, the Cardinals have a 1-4 record against ranked teams and have lost those four games by an average of 11.5 points.
Michigan State is the 3-seed in the East but was considered underseeded, ranked No. 9 in KenPom and No. 11 in the AP Poll. Louisville is 0-5 against teams ranked in KenPom’s top 20, and is 0-2 against teams in the top 10.
Louisville opens up as 4.5-point underdogs against the Spartans, and ESPN Analytics is still high on the Cardinals, giving them the slight edge with a 51 percent chance of winning despite Brown being ruled out. So, the Cardinals' prayers go unanswered, and if they want to make the program’s first Sweet Sixteen in 10 years, they will have to do it without Brown, who averages 18.2 points and 4.7 assists per game, and is trending to be a top 10 pick in the NBA Draft.
Related:Â Louisville basketball's win over USF reveals one glaring issue Pat Kelsey must fix
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