Louisville basketball learned yesterday that they will play USF in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19. The Cardinals and the Bulls will tip off at 1:30 p.m. local time, and now all attention officially turns to Mikel Brown Jr. and whether he is available for the NCAA Tournament.
Pat Kelsey's Mikel Brown Jr. injury update is exactly what Louisville fans want to hear
Brown sat out in the ACC Tournament, as Kelsey stated in the report that they want him “100% for the first round.” Now, with the first round just three days away, there is no definitive answer on whether the 5-star freshman will play, but Kelsey has provided multiple updates now, and each one is consistent that Brown has made “great progress.”
“He’s made great progress,” Kelsey stated this morning at the Cardinal press conference. “We didn’t know until last night if we were going to have four days or three days, whether you are going to play Thursday or Friday. So, he made great progress last week, and we will see how the next couple of practices go.”
Pat Kelsey' says Mikel Brown Jr. is making 'great progress' before the NCAA Tournament
Brown has missed four straight games with a back injury, including Louisville’s two ACC Tournament games. After the Cardinals' win over SMU, Louisville fans got an encouraging update from Kelsey, who said the 5-star freshman is “really close” and that they consistently want him 100 percent to play again.
Brown also gave an update after the SMU game, and the star point guard gave a promising update as he stated he “absolutely” believes there is a chance he plays in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and ended his statement saying, “I’ll come back 100 percent and when I feel great.”
The Cardinals are 7-5 in the 12 games Brown hasn’t played, and today’s update, Louisville fans continue to hear Brown is making great progress. Kelsey stated that today will be their first full-speed practice, preparing for Thursday, so Louisville will learn a lot about their 5-star freshman.
Brown missed eight games from December to January and has now missed the Cards' last four games. Brown reinjured his back against UNC and fought through it, then came off the bench against Clemson and played just 21 minutes, but since then, he has sat out. Leading up to the first round, Brown will have not played in a game in 18 days, whereas in the first injury, he was on the sideline for 42 days.
The Cards' star guard is second on the team with 18.2 points, and leads Louisville with 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. After he returned from his back injury the first time, Brown really began to be the star many expected entering the season as he averaged 29.2 points while shooting 52 percent from the field and 54 percent from beyond the arc in the last full five games he played.
There is no debate: Louisville needs Brown if they want to go on a run this March. It's good to hear Brown is making progress, but now Louisville will have to wait and see if he is ready by Thursday afternoon.
Related: 3 Louisville Cardinals who must step up after Mikel Brown Jr.'s injury update
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