Mikel Brown Jr., USA Cruise Past Jordan in FIBA U19 World Cup Knockout Stage Opener

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 12:54 PM ET

Mikel Brown Jr. and the USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team is moving on in the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup.

Matched up against Jordan in the opening round of the knockout stage, Team USA easily cruised to victory, capturing a 140-67 blowout on Tuesday at Vaudoise Arena in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The decisive win came despite a pretty quiet showing from Brown. The point guard and incoming Louisville men's basketball freshman saw just 11:40 of on-court time, logging only three points on 1-of-3 shooting - all threes - in the process. However, he also dished out four assists and notched two steals in a game where barely saw the floor in the second half.

Brown might have had an off night, but two Class of 2026 prospects that are UofL targets had standout games for Team USA. Louisville native and No. 1 overall '26 prospect Tyran Stokes posted a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He came within reach of a quadruple-double, also logging seven steals. Jordan Smith Jr. also had a good game, putting up 13 points, four steals, two rebounds, and an assists.

While Brown wasn't at his best against Jordan, this has so far proved to be the anomaly during Team USA's run in the FIBA U19 World Cup. In the group stage, Brown averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds in three game, while shooting 20-of-37 (54.1 percent) from the field and 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) on three-point tries. Not only was he Team USA's leader in points and assists during the group stage, his 21.3 efficiency per game also was a team-best.

Next up, Brown and the United States will face their neighbors to the North, Canada, in the quarterfinals. Tip-off time is set for Friday, July 4 at a to-be-determined time.