Louisville basketball is taking on USF tomorrow afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals are trying to earn their first win in the NCAA Tournament in quite some time, as Louisville's last win in a March Madness bracket was when Donovan Mitchell led the Cardinals to a win over Jacksonville State in 2017.
Latest Mikel Brown Jr. injury update is even worse than Louisville fans imagined
The Cardinals were then upset in the second round by Michigan, and since 2017, the Cards have been back to the Big Dance twice, losing in the first round both times, including last year's 89-75 loss to Creighton. Cardinals fans were hoping to make some noise this March, despite their up-and-down season, but just moments ago, it was announced that Louisville will be without its best player, 5-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr., for at least the first two games.
With Brown being ruled out for the first weekend, Louisville fans have already noticed the line changing for the Cards' showdown tomorrow with the Bulls.
Louisville-USF spread changing fast after Mikel Brown Jr. injury update
The Cardinals and the Bulls' spread continues to change, but not Louisville’s way. The spread opened up as 6.5 points in favor of Louisville, then dropped to 5.5, and shortly after Brown’s injury update, it dropped again to 4.5, according to FanDuel.
Brown has missed four straight games with a back injury, bringing his total to 12 this season. He first missed eight games straight from December to January, where Louisville went 4-4, and now he has missed four games straight, making tomorrow his fifth straight, and Louisville has a 3-1 record in those four games.
Brown is a key piece to this Louisville team as they are 7-5 without the 5-star freshman. The Cardinals are averaging nearly eight points less and shooting almost 5% worse from beyond the arc in the 12 games without Brown, and with USF being a fast team that has two players who have made above 100 3’s this season, the Cardinals have to find a way to shoot it better than they did in the ACC Tournament.
With Brown out for tomorrow’s game, Louisville fans are much more anxious, but the Cards have had impressive wins over Miami and SMU with Brown on the sideline. The Cards will look to prove many doubters wrong as Jay Bilas, Bruce Pearl, and many other experts and analysts predict the red-hot Bulls to upset Louisville in the first round.
Related:Â Ryan Conwell knows Mikel Brown Jr. is the missing link to Louisville's NCAA Tournament run
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