Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. to miss home finale against Syracuse
Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. (back) is set to miss Tuesday night’s regular-season home finale against Syracuse, according to the ACC’s Player Availability report.
Also set to miss tomorrow’s game against the Orange are Syracuse’s Aaron Womack and Noah Lobdell.
Brown didn’t play in the final eight plus minutes of action in Louisville’s 80-75 loss at Clemson after being ruled questionable and a game-time decision in the hours leading up to tip off. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard struggled. In 21 minutes, he was just 2-of-10 from the floor and missed all six of his attempts from beyond the arc. He also totaled four assists, two turnovers, and two steals in the loss to the Tigers. Brown initially re-aggravated the back injury that kept him sidelined for a month over the regular season from December to January in last Monday’s loss at North Carolina.
His five points on Saturday not only made up his lowest point total since returning from injury, but also the lowest of his freshman season.
A projected NBA lottery pick, Brown has averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 games this season. As Louisville’s assist leader, he’s averaged just over 3 turnovers while also crashing the glass for a respectable 3.3 rebounds per game. Brown is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from distance this winter.
The Cardinals are 4-4 without him in the lineup this season.
WATCH: Pat Kelsey looks ahead to Syracuse on weekly teleconference
Syracuse has lost its last three straight games and five of its last seven, as Louisville leads the all-time series over Syracuse 20-14, boasting a 10-6 record in home games. UofL hasn’t won back-to-back games against the Orange since 2017. Head coach Pat Kelsey is 1-0 in his career against Syracuse and will welcome a Red Autry-led team to the Yum! Center since 2024, when the Cards were defeated 82-76.
Tip-off is scheduled for 9 PM between Louisville and Syracuse, and the game will be aired on the ACC Network.
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