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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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March Madness is underway, and some of the country's best teams are being hindered by tough injuries to their lineups, including the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines.
The Wolverines are without reserve guard L.J Cason due to a season-ending torn ACL. Duke is without two starters, as both guard Caleb Foster and big man Patrick Ngongba are dealing with foot injuries.
On Wednesday, unfortunate news arrived for a No. 6 seed, the Louisville Cardinals, as it was revealed that their star guard Mikel Brown Jr. would not be available for his team's first game.
Read More on NCAA
Brown is hampered by a recurring back injury, which has been nagging him and will keep him out of action for his team, for at least its first several games, and that could be a problem. He was recently withheld from the ACC Tournament due to the injury.
Read more: Charles Barkley Makes Strong Prediction for March Madness Winner
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Louisville's first-round opponent in March Madness is No. 11 seed South Florida, and Brown's team could be on upset alert as they enter the Big Dance.
Brown, considered a top 10 NBA Draft pick, played in only 21 of his team’s games this season. He’s the Cardinals’ second-leading scorer, averaging 18.2 points along with a team-leading 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds.
The Cardinals are still led by Ryan Conwell Jr., who averages 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. While they've managed to achieve wins without Brown, it gives South Florida even more of a chance to score the first-round upset with Brown not in the lineup.
Should Louisville advance, they'd also be without Mikel Brown Jr. for their second-round game. Their opponent would be either No. 14 seed North Dakota State or No. 3 seed Michigan State.
Facing the latter team without Brown's help could be a tough task for the Cardinals, but first, they'll need to defeat the Bulls in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
As of this writing, Louisville is considered a 7.5-point favorite to defeat South Florida in its opening round game, with the game tipping off Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST.
Read more: Florida’s Todd Golden Reveals 3 Teams That Could Go Far in March Madness
For more about March Madness, visit Newsweek Sports.
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