Since the NCAA men’s tournament’s last expansion in 2011 only two teams have advanced from the First Four to the Elite Eight. On Thursday Texas mounted a strong bid to become the third.
In the end, the Longhorns emerged 79–77 losers to Purdue in the Sweet 16, so VCU (2011) and UCLA (2021) will continue to stand alone. It was not for a lack of trying on the part of coach Sean Miller’s squad, however—as Texas guard Jordan Pope made clear postgame.
Pope, who was a late insert into the starting lineup, revealed that he had broken his foot in the second round against Gonzaga and played once he deduced he couldn’t break it further.
“It was definitely up in the air [whether I would play]. I think I can clear the air now. Five minutes left against Gonzaga, I broke my foot, a complete break, so it was definitely tough. I'm not sure a lot of guys would have went out there and played, but credit to my training staff,” Pope said.
Clearly hobbled, the Oakley, Calif., native and Oregon State transfer made four of his 10 field goal attempts. All of his makes and all but one of his misses were three-pointers, and he added two rebounds and an assist.
Pope was not the only Longhorn limping by the end, as guard Tramon Mark appeared to tweak his ankle in the second half. Mark almost single-handedly kept Texas in the game late, posting 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting with five threes.
The Longhorns closed the year 21-14, a modest improvement in winning percentage from 2025 that included their seventh Sweet 16 trip of the 21st century.
Pope—a holdover from former coach Rodney Terry’s administration who made All-Freshman in the Pac-12 in 2023—proved a rock-solid piece for Miller. He averaged 13.1 points per game and finished eighth in the SEC in three-pointers made; he’ll leave school with the eighth-lowest turnover percentage in conference history.
“After conversations with the doctor, I couldn't break it any more, so there wasn't much of a high risk in terms of the actual injury. Obviously you could hurt other things, but I had nothing to lose. It was the Sweet 16. I'm back home in front of my family,” Pope said (Oakley is a little over an hour’s drive from San Jose). “I'm playing for my teammates, my coaches. I'll never have this opportunity again. I couldn't let that pass. I think I would have regretted that a lot if I would have. Thankfully, like I said, I was able to get out there and give ourselves a chance to make an Elite Eight.”
The victorious Boilermakers will play Iowa in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- A Different Kind of Cinderella for NCAA Tournament
- The Ruthless Bottom Line Is Driving College Basketball Now
- Sophomore Slump? Not for Michigan’s Band of Young Stars
- Flau’jae Johnson Knows Her Value, Which Is Why She Stuck Around at LSU
- Road to the Final Four: March Madness Predictions, Picks for Friday’s Sweet 16 Games
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texas’s Jordan Pope Says He Played Sweet 16 Against Purdue on Broken Foot.
