Mikel Brown Jr. is heating up and Louisville basketball fans are dreaming big

Louisville basketball is playing its best basketball of the entire season. The Cardinals are now sitting at sixth in the ACC conference, but are just three games behind the top spot. This is thanks to a four-game win streak in which the Cards have displayed dominance that dates back to the beginning of the season, when the squad won its first seven games.

There's a big factor that has propelled the Cardinals to these new heights, and it's the freshman phenom Mikel Brown Jr.

Mikel Brown Jr. is heating up at the perfect time

Brown went on to face harsh criticism from college basketball fans after his performance at Duke. The former 5-star was dropped in multiple NBA mock drafts and criticized for a single bad game, but since then, Brown has led Louisville to a four-game win streak.

Brown Jr.’s two strongest scoring performances over this four-game stretch were the first game against SMU and the Cardinals' most recent game against NC State. Brown shot 50-percent from the field against SMU and ended as the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. Brown Jr. wouldn’t be satisfied with just points, as he had four assists, three rebounds, and a steal to add to his impressive resume.

Then, just three games later, Brown Jr. would outdo himself and also any other ACC freshman. The Cardinal star absolutely tormented the Wolfpack, going off for 45 points, which is an ACC freshman scoring record. He would also tie the school record for most made three pointers in a game, making 10. Brown Jr. also put in work on the glass as he was one rebound short of a double-double with nine, and then was a menace on defense with three steals.

It’s hard to deny that Brown Jr. is one of the best players in the nation when he is hot, but what makes him so special is that he realizes when he’s not.

The two games between Brown Jr.’s incredible shooting outings were not the same in terms of his scoring production. The freshman would only have 18 points combined against Notre Dame and Wake Forest, but he still impacted the game, recording 14 assists in those two games.

Brown Jr. has had some trouble this season consistently knocking down shots game after game, but he has never had trouble impacting a game. Now that his scoring is becoming more comfortable by the game, the Louisville star is evolving into a player who will take March Madness by storm.

Louisville has had a shot to make a deep tournament run all season, and now, with Brown Jr. fully coming into his own, Cardinal fans can put their trust in him leading the Cardinals to a successful postseason.