Louisville basketball will look to snap its two-game losing streak this afternoon as the Cardinals return to action at KFC Yum! Center against Boston College. The Cardinals fall to 11-4 on the season after losing 84-73 to No. 6 Duke on Tuesday night.
Louisville was once ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation after starting 7-0, including a win over Kentucky. However, after starting 9-1 in their first 10 games, their season has taken a bit of a turn in the last five games, and a big reason is their starting point guard, Mikel Brown Jr. The former 5-star recruit has had back spasms and discomfort for the past month, forcing him to miss every game since Dec. 13 against Memphis.
Well, Louisville fans will have to wait another game and hope he returns against Virginia next week, because the ACC report ahead of Louisville’s showdown against Boston College revealed that Brown will miss his sixth straight game.
Is Mikel Brown Jr. playing vs Boston College? Latest injury update on Louisville's PG
Louisville will have to find a way to earn its third win of the season without Brown. In the Cardinals' five games without Brown, the Cards are 2-3, with double-digit losses to Tennessee and Duke and a crushing road loss to Stanford.
Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s home game against Boston College, per the availability report.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 10, 2026
Brown (16.6 ppg, 5.1 apg) has missed the last 5 games due to the back injury.
Louisville fans thought they got some encouraging news from The Field of 68 reporter Jeff Goodman, who reported Louisville has “hope” that Brown will return this afternoon or 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 the Field of 68 After Dark show earlier this week. “So, there is hope he will be back in one of those two games at this point.”
And Brown took to social media to address the injury and all the rumors, and in his post he ended by stating, “I will be back soon,” giving Cards fans some hope he will be back sooner rather than later. So, with Brown now officially out this afternoon against Boston College, the fans are hoping the 5-star guard will be available in their huge ACC showdown with No. 23 UVA.
Brown is averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 assists so far this season. After this afternoon's game, Louisville will face one of its toughest stretches of the season, facing No. 23 Virginia Jan. 13, on the road against Duke on Jan. 26, and on the road against No. 24 SMU on Jan. 31. In that stretch, they also face Pitt Jan. 17 and Virginia Tech Jan. 24.
Related: 5 Cardinals who must step up for Louisville after Mikel Brown Jr.'s injury update
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.