Louisville vs South Florida: Game Preview & Best Bets (East Region, 2025-2026 NCAA Tournament)

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Louisville vs South Florida: Game Preview

Louisville vs South Florida has fireworks written all over it, with both teams loving to play in transition and shoot threes at a high volume.

The big story going in will be the status of Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. , who is dealing with a back injury and is questionable for the first round. The vibes we're getting make us lean towards him not playing, but we don't have any clue what the decision will be any more than anyone else, and players will obviously try to play through injury in the tournament more than they would during a regular season matchup. Ultimately, from a betting perspective, we can't really recommend anything from the Louisville side without that confirmation.

There's a lot to love on the South Florida side, though. Izaiyah Nelson is the best front court player in this game; we have a hard time believing anyone on the Louisville side is going to be able to stop him, and their biggest issues on the defensive end have come against front court players. Wes Enis is a plus defender who should give Ryan Conwell fits on the defensive side, just as he did with Kenyon Giles (5 points) in the AAC Championship game, and on the offensive side, he also could cause problems with his speed off the bounce.

Louisville vs South Florida: Best Bet

• Izaiyah Nelson over 13.5 points (-120 on most books as of this writing)

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