The problem with this way of thinking: Based on Tuesday night, Louisville doesn’t like to wait.
On the Cardinals’ home floor, in the 58th meeting between two of college basketball’s most decorated programs, the No. 12 Cardinals outlasted No. 9 Kentucky, 96-88, behind a combined 53 points from freshman Mikel Brown, Jr. (29 points) and senior Ryan Conwell (24).
This is one of the most storied rivalries in college hoops, dating back to 1913. This game is important in the Bluegrass State and beyond. And while both programs have enjoyed great success — combining for 11 national championships (eight for Kentucky, three for Louisville) and 27 Final Fours (17 for Kentucky, 10 for Louisville) — things have felt pretty one-sided lately: Kentucky had won the previous three meetings, and Tuesday marked the first time since 2019-20 that both teams were ranked.
In other words, the Cardinals chose the perfect moment to make a statement, even if there was some nail-biting at the end.
After building a lead as large as 20 points, Louisville allowed Kentucky to come back and cut it to four, 88-84, on a 3-pointer by Collin Chandler with 4:02 to play.
But then the Louisville freshman, the No. 8 player in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings, didn’t so much make a statement as put an exclamation point on his performance. Over the course of 35 seconds, Brown scored five points to give the Cardinals breathing room, finishing a hard shot in the lane and going 3-of-3 from the line.
Mikel Brown Jr. was busy bringing in buckets @LouisvilleMBB’s win over No. 9 Kentucky 🪣
29 PTS | 8-16 FG pic.twitter.com/8D0vsA4L3E
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 12, 2025
Although Louisville followed that up with six straight misses at the line (seriously), the Cardinals managed to hold on for the win. A crucial turnover by Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe, who drove the baseline but stepped out of bounds with 36 seconds left, helped.
The college basketball conversation this past week was understandably dominated by standout freshmen AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson. But other rookies have already stolen the spotlight a few times, proving that the class is anything but top-heavy.
Brown – who went an efficient 8-for-16 from the field and 10-for-11 from the line, plus five assists – was the latest newcomer to impress on Tuesday. And while there will certainly be some growing pains for any freshman, there’s nothing like a big game on a big stage against your biggest rival to give you a boost of confidence that could very well carry you through the rest of the season.
Here are other takeaways from a fun Tuesday:
Can anyone stop Andrej Stojakovic?
Based on No. 14 Illinois’ game against No. 11 Texas Tech Tuesday night, the answer would be no.
With father Peja watching from the stands, Stojakovic came off the bench to score a team-high 23 points on 11-for-16 shooting, leading the Illini to an 81-77 victory.
Stojakovic, who started his college career at Stanford before transferring to Cal and eventually transferring to Illinois, has been looking for the right fit since he started playing college hoops. Looks like he found it. Stojakovic’s performance overshadowed that of returning Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, who scored 35 points. As dominant as Toppin was, Stojakovic was big when his team needed it most: During a seven-minute stretch late in the second half, Stojakovic single-handedly defeated Tech.
And yet, his best play of the night might have come on defense, as Stojakovic recovered from a loss to block a tying 3-pointer from Tech’s Christian Anderson with 10 seconds left to play.
HUUUUGE block for the Fighting Illini! @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/uBRf579Bmy
— FOX College Hoops (@CBbonFOX) November 12, 2025
Michigan and Mara, oh my!
Don’t focus on the fact that Wake Forest took Michigan to overtime in Detroit and Michigan escaped with an 85-84 victory. Instead, look at this stat line from Aday Mara, Michigan’s 7-foot junior big man who transferred from UCLA: 18 points (on 8-of-11 shooting), 13 rebounds, six assists, five blocks.
Are your eyes popping out of your head? They should be. Go to the TV sometime this season and watch this guy. You won’t regret it.
Gonzaga is good again
The next time you’re having a tough day, remember what No. 23 Creighton went through Tuesday night in Spokane, Washington. Trailing 44-38 at halftime, the Bluejays were completely exhausted in the second half and lost to No. 19 Gonzaga 90-63.
To give you an idea of ​​how painful it was, with 8:13 to play and Creighton trailing 74-45, the ESPN broadcast shared this stunning statistic: In the first 11:47 of the second half, the Bluejays had scored just seven points, turning them over eight times.
That. Is. Cheeky.
Creighton finished the game with 18 field goals made and 18 turnovers. Yes.
Obviously it’s very difficult to beat the Zags in the Kennel, but this was next level. Gonzaga has long been known as one of the best and most efficient offenses in college. But are the Zags elite defensive this year? We should know within a month, as Gonzaga still has non-conference games against Alabama, Kentucky and UCLA.
About those fantastic freshmen
We know you’re curious about all those notable rookies, so let’s take a look at what they all looked like, with a quick note that Peterson didn’t play in KU’s 77-46 win over Texas A&M Corpus-Christi due to a hamstring tightness that Jayhawks coach Bill Self said was “hopefully precautionary.” Self didn’t sound too concerned and said he was looking forward to seeing Peterson in practice on Thursday. This is how others did it:
- Cameron Boozer scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, added four assists and recorded two steals and two blocks as Duke defeated Army, 114-59.
- Twin brother Cayden Boozer scored 10 points and eight assists.
- Dybantsa helped BYU overcome a first-half scare against Delaware — the Cougars trailed 37-34 at halftime — by scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out two assists.
- Arizona’s Koa Peat followed up his stunning debut with a solid performance of 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in just 21 minutes as the No. 5 Wildcats cruised past Northern Arizona 84-49.
- Caleb Wilson had 13 points and 14 rebounds in No. 18 North Carolina’s 89-74 win over Radford.
#Mikel #Brown #Louisville #bold #statement #thoughts #college #hoops