The second round of the NCAA Men’s Tournament gets underway on Saturday, and No. 3 seed Michigan State faces the No. 6 seed Louisville Cardinals.
Spartans fans will be sweating the availability of two players for this crunch contest, while the Cardinals will be wondering if star freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. can feature on Saturday.
Louisville vs. Michigan State: Second-Round NCAA Tournament Injury Report
Brown Jr. has been one of the Cardinals’ leading scorers this season, averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. But the Orlando native will not take the court on Saturday, with The Athletic’s Chris Vannini reporting that he has been listed as out for this second-round matchup.
“Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game against Michigan State,” he wrote on X.
Louisville has been without Brown Jr. since late February, with the 19-year-old currently dealing with a lingering back injury. His absence is a major blow to the Cardinals’ hopes of advancing past the second round against a strong Michigan State team.
The Cardinals defeated the South Florida Bulls in their March Madness opener, with Isaac McKneely scoring 23 points and Ryan Conwell adding another 18. The latter is their points leader this season, averaging 18.7 per game, along with 2.6 assists.
Friday’s injury report for the game also includes Michigan State duo Divine Ugochukwu and Kaleb Glenn.
Ugochukwu is recovering from a fractured foot and has been sidelined since the start of February. The chance of the guard competing against Louisville remains very small.
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Meanwhile, Glenn, who spent his freshman year at Louisville, is currently sidelined with a knee injury and hasn’t played all season. The junior transferred to Michigan State from Florida Atlantic during the offseason and has yet to make his debut for the Spartans.
Michigan State began its NCAA Men’s Tournament campaign with a 92-67 win over the North Dakota State Bison. Going into the second round, the Spartans have a 26-7 record for the season.
The Spartans hope Jeremy Fears Jr. leads the way on Saturday. The guard was limited to 7 points on 7 shots in the first round, although he did finish with an impressive 11 assists. He is averaging 15.4 points and 9.2 assists per game for the season.
Louisville vs. Michigan State is scheduled to tip off at 2:45 p.m. ET, with the KeyBank Center in Buffalo hosting the game. Fans can watch the matchup live on CBS.
