Texas G Jordan Pope reveals he played Sweet 16 game vs. Purdue with broken foot

Texas basketball came into the Sweet 16 of the March Madness as the de facto “Cinderella” as a No. 11 seed despite being a power program, but it was still an unlikely run to the second weekend for Sean Miller and company.

The Longhorns knocked off NC State in the First Four to make the 64-team field before upsetting BYU and Gonzaga in the first two rounds to get to the Sweet 16. However, that win over the No. 3-seeded Bulldogs was a costly one, as standout guard Jordan Pope picked up a lower leg injury late in the stunning victory.

Pope was listed as questionable all week for Texas’ Sweet 16 clash against Purdue, but he ended up giving it a go after testing the injury pregame. Despite playing at less than 100% against an elite Boilermakers backcourt, Pope still scored 12 points and knocked down four 3-pointers in a heartbreaking 79-77 loss.

After the game, Pope revealed that he broke his foot in the win over Gonzaga and managed the injury throughout the week before playing on it on Thursday night.

The full quote from Pope.

Pretty remarkable. https://t.co/BSX7hZyMzS pic.twitter.com/YuxeLV7AFV

— Noah Gross (@noah_gross27) March 27, 2026

“It was definitely up in the air,” Pope said about him playing on Thursday. “With five minutes left against Gonzaga, I broke my foot, a complete break. It was definitely tough. I’m not sure a lot of guys would’ve went out there and played, but credit to my training staff.”

Texas now will head home after nearly pulling off another stunning upset over the No. 2 seed in Purdue. The Longhorns had a four-point lead with about five minutes remaining, but were unable to hang onto it. In the end, after a three-point play from Dailyn Swain tied the game with 11 seconds remaining, Trey Kaufman-Renn won it at the buzzer with a tip-in to send Purdue to the Elite Eight.

Purdue moves on to the West Regional Final on Saturday in San Jose against the winner between top seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Arkansas.

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