Mikel Brown Jr. Ties Two Major Louisville Single-Game Records

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program's matchup against NC State on Monday night was a massive opportunity. While they were riding a three-game winning streak, the Cardinals were in need of a victory against a good Wolfpack team in order to continue building momentum heading into a difficult final month of the regular season.

It's safe to say that Louisville answered the call.

From start to finish, it was a complete and total shellacking of NC State, eventually securing a thunderous 118-77 win. It was their most points scored since a 119-61 decision against Morehead State on Dec. 6, 1995.

A large part why was because of Mikel Brown Jr., who produced one of the best games ever played by a Cardinal. The star true freshman point guard went nuclear against the Wolfpack, etching his name in the record books in the process.

He finished the evening with 45 points, not only setting the program and ACC record for most points by a freshman, but breaking UofL's overall single-game scoring record. Wes Unseld, one of the six players to have his jersey retired at UofL, set the record back on Dec. 1, 1967 vs. Georgetown College. In a twist of fate, Brown's outing came on a night where Louisville was wearing their white throwback uniform dubbed the "Wes Unselds."

"That's unbelievable," head coach Pat Kelsey said of Brown's performance. "It's like storybook. He's a special player, special kid. It doesn't surprise me in the least. He just stayed consistent, didn't panic."

Brown's 45-point outing came on 14-of-23 shooting, as well as a perfect 7-of-7 mark on free throws and a blazing 10-of-16 on three-point attempts. His 10 made threes also tied a Louisville single-game record, which was set by Reyne Smith just last season at SMU on Jan. 21, 2025.

As elite of a player and overall playmaker that Brown is, him popping off from three-point range isn't something he had done much this season. In fact, he entered the matchup against NC State shooting only 26.9 percent on three-point attempts, and just 36.4 percent from the field overall.

Add in the fact that he missed eight games earlier this season due to a back injury, and Brown has dealt with some adversity in his first season at the college level. But the faith he has in himself, and the faith that his teammate have in him, never waivered.

"These guys keep encouraging me to be myself every single day, and every single game," Brown said. "I say all the time, man, I just got to get my rhythm back. I feel like it's starting to click for me, and it's starting to click for this team as well."

One of Brown's primary sources of motivation is fellow starting guard Ryan Conwell. He too had a fantastic outing against NC State, finishing with 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists. With the two guards started to feel the momentum and energy building, they fed off of each other.

"He puts that battery in my back," Brown said of Conwell. "He says, 'Hey, if you're a killer, kill. Killers kill. If you're elite, killers kill.' The whole game. He just kept saying it, and I kept saying it right back to him. 'If you're a killer, kill.' He instills that confidence in me to be myself every single game, and I insert that confidence in him."

Even on the heels of producing one of the best games that has ever been played by a Louisville player, Brown is all about business. The Cardinals have a few days off before heading down to Fort Worth, Texas for a neutral-site matchup with Baylor this Saturday, but he knows he'll have to keep the momentum going for him and the team,

"It was a great feeling.," he said. "But like I said, man, we're going to enjoy it tonight, then go back to the drawing board and get ready for Saturday."

More Cardinals Stories