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Mikel Brown Jr. Sweeps Naismith and ACC Weekly Honors After Record Louisville Surge

The breakout follows early-season shooting woes, including a back injury.

Overview

  • Across Louisville’s wins over NC State and Baylor, Brown averaged 37.0 points on 59.5% shooting and 66.7% from three with 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game while going 16-for-16 at the line.
  • His 45-point performance against NC State broke the ACC freshman single-game scoring record and tied Louisville’s single-game marks for points and made three-pointers (10).
  • That outing made him the first Division I player in more than 30 years to record at least 45 points, 10 threes and nine rebounds in a game.
  • He followed with 29 points at Baylor, adding six assists and a season-high five steals as coach Pat Kelsey lauded his increased on-court command as the team’s “quarterback.”
  • Louisville is 19-6 (8-4 ACC) heading into Tuesday’s game at SMU, and the surge has renewed 2026 draft interest in the projected lottery pick, with analysts noting the improvement comes from a small sample after earlier sub-40% shooting.