Will Louisville PG Mikel Brown Jr. Play vs. Syracuse?

The Cardinals return to the KFC Yum! Center to host the Orange in their final home game of the 2025-26 season.

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) with the ball in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program isn't exactly entering the final week of the 2025-26 regular season with momentum on their side. They've dropped three of their last four games, most recently being an 80-75 loss at Clemson this past Saturday, and have fallen out of the AP Top 25.

The Cardinals do have a good opportunity to get back on track in their next game, returning to the KFC Yum! Center to face Syracuse for their final home game of the regular season. Tip-off against the Orange is scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 3 at 9:00 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 ACC released the first availability report for Louisville's matchup vs. Syracuse. An updated report will also be released two hours before tip-off.

On the Louisville side of things, guard Mikel Brown Jr. was designated as "out" on the first report. Guard London Johnson, who is already redshirting the season, was not listed after being out last game.

Brown re-aggravated his lingering lower back injury in the game against North Carolina, and it had a notable impact on his availability and efficiency in the previous game at Clemson. The star freshman point did not start against the Tigers, and logged only five points, four assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes.

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 this season, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound point guard's 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game all lead the Cardinals.

As for the Orange, true freshman guard Aaron Womack and walk-on sophomore guard Noah Lobdell are both designated as "out" on the first report. Womack is redshirting the season, and Lobdell has played just four total minutes - logging one steal.

Below is the full report for both sides:

ACC's Initial Availability Report for Louisville vs. Syracuse

Louisville Cardinals

OUT

• #0 Mikel Brown

QUESTIONABLE

• N/A

PROBABLE

• N/A

Syracuse Orange

OUT

• #14 Aaron Womack
• #24 Noah Lobdell

QUESTIONABLE

• N/A

PROBABLE

• N/A

(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr.: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

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