Louisville basketball falls to 11-4 and drops its second game in a row after the Cardinals lost 84-73. The Cardinals had a massive second-half collapse and showed they missed their star guard, Mikel Brown Jr., dearly. Louisville fans haven’t seen their star point guard play since Dec. 13, as Brown has been dealing with back spasms and discomfort for nearly a month.
This Cardinals team is way different when the former 5-star recruit is on the floor, as the Cardinals are 9-1 with him playing and are 2-3 without him. With the Cardinals now 1-2 in conference play and already earning as many losses against ACC teams as they did a season ago, the fans are hoping Brown can return soon.
Well, Louisville fans got good news before the Duke game when Brown broke the silence and reported, “I will be back soon,” but now, Field of 68 Jeff Goodman just reported some positive news for Louisville on their starting point guard.
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Jeff Goodman gives encouraging Mikel Brown Jr. update
The Cardinals have been a completely different team when Brown is on the floor, and with Louisville’s gauntlet of a schedule coming up, the fans are hoping for some good news. Well, while nothing is confirmed, Goodman sparks rumors that Brown may return either this weekend or next Tuesday for its big game against Virginia.
“According to my sources, there is still optimism that can return this weekend against Boston College or next week against Virginia on Tuesday,” Goodman reported on his Field of 68 After Dark show last night. “So, there is hope he will be back in one of those two games at this point.”
It is some positive news for Louisville, as Goodman reports there is “optimism” and “hope” the Cardinals will see their elite point guard back on the court in the next two days. But Louisville will take this injury slow as this back injury has lingered and isn’t something to mess with. Brown, of course, has his eyes on being a top pick in the NBA Draft, and with Louisville hoping to make a deep run in March Madness, the Cards do not want to rush this injury and want to be careful, making sure he is 100 percent.
But Goodman ended his report on Brown by stating, “Again, the hope is he comes back against B.C. (Boston College) or Virginia.”
Brown averaged 16.3 points and 5.1 assists in the first 10 games of the season before his injury. The Cardinals have a challenging month of January as they will face No. 23 Virginia next Tuesday, will travel to Durham to face Duke again on Jan. 26, and will be followed by a trip to Dallas to face No. 24 SMU on Jan. 31.
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