Louisville basketball is set to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies this afternoon at 2:15 inside the KFC Yum! Center. The game has been moved up from 3:45 to 2:15 due to inclement weather, as the Cardinals look to secure their fourth ACC win and second straight.
Louisville fans have been eager to see the Cardinals' injury report, as star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. recently returned to practice. The former 5-star has been sidelined for over a month now and has missed eight straight games due to a back injury.
Well, Louisville fans' prayers were answered as Brown was not listed on the injury report last night, making it certainly seem like he is set to make his anticipated return.
Mikel Brown Jr. off Louisville basketball's injury report
Brown hasn’t played since Dec. 13, when the Cardinals played Memphis, and he scored 16 points, three assists, one rebound, one block, and one steal. Since that game, Louisville has lost four games, posting a 4-4 record, including a 3-3 conference record, a 0-3 record against ranked teams, and a loss to a non-ranked Stanford team in that eight-game stretch.
However, Louisville’s midseason skid is hopefully coming to an end now that Brown is trending to make his return. When looking at the injury report, Louisville quickly noticed Brown’s name wasn’t on it, while seeing Khani Rooths is out for his third straight game due to illness.
Louisville star freshman Mikel Brown Jr is NOT listed on the initial availability report for tomorrow's game against Virginia Tech 👀 pic.twitter.com/bqd3TNx4HR
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 24, 2026
It certainly feels like everything is trending in the right direction for Brown to return this afternoon, but he was also listed as probable against Cal on the injury report, but was downgraded to out the next day and didn’t play. So, it isn’t 100 percent he is playing just yet, but it appears the plan is to have him make his highly anticipated return.
Louisville fans don’t know what to expect minutes-wise, but it wouldn’t be shocking if they slowly work him back to his regular minutes. Something to keep in mind for Louisville fans is that sometimes when a player returns from a serious injury like this, a coach might put him on a minutes restriction or use him off the bench for a few games.
Brown returned to practice on Monday this week, according to Kelsey, and stated, "He seems to be doing well," and they will “ramp him up, and see how things go." The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard is averaging 16.6 points and a team-high 5.1 assists per game, while adding 3.0 rebounds per game, and shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from beyond the arc.
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.