Louisville basketball took down the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday in a dominant 14-point win. The Cardinals' 5-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. returned to the court in his first game back since the middle of December and had a dominant performance in the win. Brown recorded 20 points, six assists, and three rebounds while also shooting 7-of-11 from the floor in an impressive 29 minutes.
Since Brown went down with his injury, the Cardinals went just 4-4, dropping in the AP Polls from a top-10 team to ranked No. 21. This was a stark contrast to their 9-1 start with Brown in the lineup. When Brown is on the court, the Cardinals' offense opens up much more and becomes even more explosive. Brown's ability to run the offense and take pressure off players like Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely helps Louisville reach its true potential as a team.
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Through Pat Kelsey's offensive system, players like McKneely and Conwell work much better off the ball. And when Brown is on the court, defenders have to focus on him more than any other player, which opens up more opportunities for the rest of the team. This gives players like McKneely, Kobe Rodgers, and Adrian Wooley more open opportunities. While they can create their own offense, it comes much more easily and naturally when Brown is out there orchestrating it.
Against Virginia Tech, the Cardinals looked like the team that Louisville fans saw in the first 10 games this season. If Louisville can start stringing together some wins in ACC play, it is not too crazy to think they could land a 2-4 seed in the NCAA tournament this March.
The Cardinals, as of Jan. 26, are projected to be a 6-seed, according to Joe Lunardi's Bracketology. But if Louisville can rally behind Brown and go on a run like it did last season, where they won 21 of its last 24 games, including a trip to the program's first-ever ACC Championship game, then this team's ceiling is as high as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville will have several games against top-40 net teams throughout the rest of its schedule, including Duke, Clemson, SMU, North Carolina, NC State, Miami, and other notable opponents. With Brown out on the court for Louisville, they have as good a shot against any team in the country.
All of Louisville's current losses are against quad one teams, and with many marquee games left on the schedule, they have no reason not to turn a sour start to 2026 into an impressive turnaround going into March. Louisville will have a huge matchup against No. 5 Duke on Monday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and with Brown on the court, anything is possible for Pat Kelsey's Cardinals.