As the first round of the March Madness tournament gets underway today, the best time of year for college basketball fans is officially here. While March Madness is known for its elite celebrations, big moments, and overall full of fun, there are the occasional sad moments that we see. We saw this today with Reyne Smith.
Unfortunately, this was front and center today during the Louisville Cardinals and Creighton Bluejays. As this was, and still is, one of the more anticipated games in the first round, unfortunately, we saw an injury that no fan wants to see, especially in the time of March Madness season.
Reyne Smith Injury Update
With roughly 11 minutes to go in the game, as Louisville was down by 13 points, Reyne Smith suffered another leg injury, which forced him to practically be carried off the court by trainers. His teammates rallied around him to show their support in one of the saddest March Madness moments in recent memory.
Prior to getting injured, Smith connected on one shot in five attempts from deep and had five points before being forced out of the game.
Louisville’s Reyne Smith appeared to re-injure his right ankle and was helped off the court. pic.twitter.com/G0LxivOKs2
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) March 20, 2025
Smith appeared to sustain this injury after he attempted a 3-pointer, landing on the foot of Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner. Smith was immediately down on the court and knew something felt off.
Trainers immediately rushed out with a towel to put around his leg, before walking him off the court. He was so distraught that the put the towel on him to cover his face. While injuries are certainly no fun, they’re a sad reality of the game. Smith was visibly upset after the injury.
This was his first game since March 5, where he’s been dealing with an ankle injury since. He was trying to tough it out and make his return in their last game, but sadly, it was not. The fans gave Smith a standing ovation, while they looked distraught in their own right.
March Madness is officially here, which also means, sadly, we will see a fair share of injuries, which no team is safe from. It’s a sad reality in sports and happens far too often, especially at the collegiate level, where they are all playing for that next-level contract.
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Louisville went on to fall to Creighton in the first round, eliminating them from the tournament. This was certainly not the way they wanted their season to end, and the injury to Smith makes it that much worse.
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