Freshman Mikel Brown's huge game raises Louisville's 2025-26 ceiling

In a year of outstanding freshman performances, Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. added his name to the list in a key win over the NC State Wolfpack (18-7, 9-3 in ACC).

Brown scored a game-high 45 points while shooting 14-of-23 (10-of-16 on three-point attempts) and added nine rebounds, three steals and two assists as Associated Press No. 24 Louisville (18-6, 8-4 in ACC) cruised to a 118-77 victory.

Mikel Brown's huge game another in long list of excellent 2025-26 freshman performances

Brown's 45 points are the second-most by a freshman this season, only trailing Illinois Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler (46 points), who was one of three freshmen to eclipse the 40-point mark on Jan. 24, along with BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (43 points) and Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings (42 points).

Overall, seven freshmen have scored 40 points in a game this season, with Stanford Cardinal guard Ebuka Okorie reaching the mark on Saturday. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles guard Jordan Ellerbee (42 points) and Washington State Cougars guard Ace Glass III (40 points) also reached 40 points on back-to-back days in November.

The NIL era has led to more upperclassmen remaining in college, but the volume of huge games by freshman show younger players still have a place. 

As for Louisville, Brown's performance shows what the Cardinals are capable of. NC State — a projected No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament — is no slouch, but the Cardinals treated it like a low-level mid-major. Louisville shot 60 percent and out-rebounded NC State, 42-28, in a game it never trailed.

Brown missed eight games earlier this season with a back injury and has struggled with consistency through his freshman year. Before Monday's game, Brown was shooting 36.4 percent, including 32.7 percent in five games since returning on Jan. 24. He had one of his worst games of the season in an 83-52 blowout loss at the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 in ACC) on Jan. 26, shooting 1-of-13.

If Louisville makes noise in next month's ACC tournament, it will be with Brown playing a prominent role. As he showed Monday, he's capable of lighting up the scoreboard, and the Cardinals need that dynamic playmaking ability to keep up with the conference's heavy hitters.