Louisville basketball will return to action tomorrow evening against Cincinnati from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. This marks the Cardinals' first away game from the KFC Yum! Center, and while it technically isn't an away game, it will be a majority of Bearcat fans in the stands.
The Cards are, of course, 4-0 and are ranked No. 6 in the nation. Louisville is one of the most talked-about teams in the nation at the moment, led by an elite backcourt that continues to impress in every game. Cincinnati is also 4-0 and will have its biggest test of the season so far tomorrow night against the Cardinals.
Head coach Wes Miller leads the Bearcats, and when he was asked about Louisville, he made it clear he is pretty impressed with the Cardinals' 5-star freshman, Mikel Brown Jr.
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Even Cincinnati's head coach admits Mikel Brown Jr. is elite
The Cardinals' backcourt gets a lot of attention for their 4-0 start, and the leader of the group is the 5-star phenom. Brown is looking more and more like a top 10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and when Miller was asked about the Cards' point guard, he made it clear he is an elite player in this league.
"Mikel Brown, I think the ability is there in every way," Miller stated in his press conference leading up to tomorrow's game. "He's got the ability to make every read in the open court, in space, in pick and roll. He's got great size. He shoots it at a really high rate off the catch, off the dribble. The only thing you can say is he is still young, but he doesn't play young."
Brown's 19.3 points per game is tied for the most on the Cards with Ryan Conwell. He scored a career-high in the biggest game against Kentucky, where she scored 29 points. The 5-star has been impressive through four games, as Brown has shown his ability to playmake and distribute the ball, averaging 6.8 assists per game.
He is also an elite 3-point shooter, able to shoot it off the dribble or off the catch, making him nearly impossible to game-plan for. He creates his own space and can either shoot a 3-ball well beyond the 3-point line, as he has tremendous range, or, if he gets an isolation, he has shown time and time again that he can blow by his defender.
Miller even admitted that Brown was the best player on Team USA during the gold medal run at the FIBA U19 World Cup. The Cards and Bearcats rivalry is back, and Miller's comments about Brown make it seem like he already knows Brown is going to do his thing. The Bearcats have one of the best defenses through four games, ranking No. 2 in defensive efficiency in the KenPom rankings, but if Brown and this backcourt play up to its standards, Louisville should walk out of Heritage Bank Center with a win.