The Texas Longhorns will face the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Having already upset BYU and Gonzaga, the Longhorns will have their sights set on another giant-killing win in the Sweet 16. Purdue has breezed through to the Sweet 16 and will look to continue its strong run of form on Thursday.
Texas vs. Purdue Injury Updates Ahead of the Sweet 16
The No. 2-seeded Boilermakers are hoping that C.J. Cox will be able to play in Thursday’s clash. The Purdue sophomore is officially questionable after injuring his knee on a layup attempt during the game against Miami (FL) in the second round.
After the win, Cox expressed confidence in his ability to play in the Sweet 16 clash against Texas.
“I just went for a Euro step and then I hyperextended it, and it tightened up a little bit. Nothing serious. I feel good. I’m glad that we were able to pull away and get the dub and I just can’t wait for next week,” Cox said via WISH-TV.
Cox participated in Purdue’s shootaround on Wednesday, but he didn’t practice in full.
“It feels better, just taking it one day at a time. We’ll see how it goes around shootaround,” Cox told ISC Purdue on Wednesday. “I have been doing a lot of rehab stuff, form shooting. I haven’t fully practiced yet.”
As for the Longhorns’ injury report, Jordan Pope is dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered late in their second-round win. The point guard, who is averaging 13.1 points per game this season, gave a positive update on his health after Texas’ win over Gonzaga.
“I’m feeling fine, I’ll be ready for the Sweet 16,” Pope said after the game.
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Texas coach Sean Miller said that he’s hopeful that Pope will be able to play, despite walking to the locker room with the Longhorns’ staff at the end of the game against Gonzaga.
“We’ve given him a lot of rest since our last game and I think he’s really responding to it,” Miller said on Wednesday. “We still had a pretty quick turnaround, all things considered, because of the distance between San Jose and Austin and traveling from Dayton to Portland and Portland back to Austin.”
Pope was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, and he’s officially listed as questionable for the Sweet 16. Pope tallied 17 points, 3 assists, and a rebound in 32 minutes of action last game.
Texas forward Lassina Traore has been sidelined with a knee injury since February. He is not expected to play against Purdue as he continues his rehab.
The Sweet 16 clash between the Longhorns and the Boilermakers is scheduled to tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Purdue will definitely be the favorite going into the game, but Texas has already pulled off a number of upsets and will be eyeing another shocking win to qualify for the regional final.
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Dailyn Swain is the Longhorns’ top scorer going into this one, averaging 17.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He scored 11 points against Gonzaga on 5-of-7 shooting.
For the Boilermakers, Braden Smith has been the scoring leader, averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 assists per game this season.
Sweet 16 Schedule for Thursday and Friday
After several days without any NCAA Tournament games, the action resumes tonight at 7:10 p.m. ET. There are four games on tonight and four games on Friday, with all of them airing on CBS and TBS/truTV.
THURSDAY
- No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue | 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS
- No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska | 7:30 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV
- No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona | 9:45 p.m. ET | CBS
- No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston | 10:05 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV
FRIDAY
- No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 1 Duke | 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS
- No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan | 7:35 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV
- No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 UConn | 9:45 p.m. ET | CBS
- No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State | 10:10 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV
The NCAA Tournament averaged 9.8 million viewers through its first three days, the best start since CBS and TNT began showing all of the games together in 2011, according to Nielsen data. The primetime Thursday window hit 12.5 million, making it the most-watched first-round window in tournament history.
All eyes will be on Jefferson to see if he can return and give Iowa State their best shot at advancing to the Elite Eight, which gets underway on March 28 to March 29.
