The No. 23 Louisville Cardinals will be without ESPN top-10 freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. in their opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup against South Florida on Thursday, with his availability for a potential second-round game also in doubt, per ESPN.

Brown Jr., who averages 18.2 points and 4.7 assists per game, has been sidelined with a back injury and has missed Louisville’s last four contests.

“Obviously, I do pray I’m able to play on Saturday,” Brown Jr. said. “But like I said, man, I’ve never been trained to go half-speed in any type of shape or form in anything that I do. And that’s the only speed I go at right now.”

Without its lottery pick freshman, Louisville enters the matchup 4-4 this season when Brown Jr. is unavailable and will likely rely on senior guard Ryan Conwell to carry the offensive load.

Averaging 18.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 40.7% from the field, Conwell will face a high-powered Bulls offense without his sidekick. 

For South Florida, Brown Jr.’s absence significantly alters the matchup on both ends of the floor.

Senior guards Wes Enis and Joseph Pinion, alongside the American Player of the Year senior Forward Izaiyah Nelson, will have less pressure on perimeter defense and will shift to limiting Conwell.

Without Brown Jr.’s ability to control pace and generate offense, Louisville has shown vulnerability in creating consistent scoring, something USF can exploit with its depth and defensive pressure.

South Florida will look to capitalize on the absence as it seeks its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.