Will Louisville PG Mikel Brown Jr. Play vs. Michigan State?

The Cardinals take on the Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 18, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals Guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) shoots the ball during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is still dancing. Tasked with facing South Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the sixth-seeded Cardinals came out on top of the 11th-seeded Bulls, winning 83-79 for their first tournament win since 2017.

Next up, Louisville gets a crack at third-seeded Michigan State for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. Tip-off against the Spartans from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 21 at 2:45 p.m. EST.

With the matchup less than 24 hours away, we have our first inclination as to who could play, and will not. On Friday night, the NCAA released the first availability report for Louisville's matchup vs. Michigan State. An updated report will also be released two hours before tip-off.

On Louisville's end, as expected, star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. was designated as "out" on the first report. He has missed the last five games due to a lingering lower back injury.

Last week, UofL announced that Brown would be sidelined for their ACC Tournament run with "the goal of being ready for the NCAA Tournament." However, they announced Wednesday that "unfortunately that is not the case," and that he would miss the first weekend of the tournament.

Earlier in the season, the star true freshman point guard for the Cardinals had missed eight straight games due to the injury, and re-aggravated it in the game against North Carolina on Feb. 23. It had a notable impact on his availability and efficiency in the next game at Clemson on Feb. 28, as he did not start against the Tigers and logged only five points, four assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes. He would then go on to miss the final two games of the regular season, Louisville's two ACC Tournament games, and their NCAA Tournament opener vs. USF.

In the five games prior to the Clemson game, Brown was playing at an All-American caliber level, putting up 29.2 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 assists per game, and shooting 52.2 percent from the field plus a blazing 54.0 percent on three-point tries. Playing in 21 games and making 19 starts this season, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound point guard is putting 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Below is the full report for both sides:

NCAA's Initial Availability Report for Louisville vs. Michigan State

Louisville Cardinals

OUT

• #0 Mikel Brown

QUESTIONABLE

• N/A

Michigan State Spartans

OUT

• #8 Kaleb Glenn
• #99 Divine Ugochukwu

QUESTIONABLE

• N/A

(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr.: Gregory Fisher - Imagn Images)

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