Louisville basketball is taking on the Clemson Tigers in a huge ACC matchup with major implications for the ACC standings. Right now, the Duke Blue Devils are a lock to be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, and Virginia is trending to be that No. 2 seed. However, behind those two top-15 programs, Miami, North Carolina State, Clemson, and Louisville are all battling for the final two seeds that would earn a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
With just one game separating Louisville from Clemson, this game will make or break the Cards' chances of earning a double-bye. The Cardinals are 2.5-point favorites entering this game, but Louisville just got some good and bad news at the same time surrounding their star guard, Mikel Brown Jr.
Is Mikel Brown Jr. playing this afternoon against Clemson?
Brown was listed on the ACC injury report last night as probable, but was downgraded to a game-time decision this morning because of a back injury. And now, just before tip-off, Louisville fans learn he will play but won’t start.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound point guard missed eight games with a back injury earlier in the season, which was a key reason the Cardinals went 4-4 in this stretch. With this afternoon’s game being a massive road test for Louisville right before the postseason, it is good to see Brown is available to play, but it is bad news that whatever is bothering him is keeping him from starting.
Brown is the engine to this Louisville team, as he is the Cardinals' scoring leader with 18.9 points per game, while also leading the Cards with 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Cardinals will start Kennesaw State transfer Adrian Wooley over Brown this afternoon. Wooley is averaging 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc.
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