Texas basketball star Jordan Pope gives shocking injury news after Sweet 16 exit

Texas senior Jordan Pope gave new meaning to the phrase “leaving it all on the floor” during the Longhorns’ Sweet 16 matchup against Purdue. The No. 11 seed was already short-handed without graduate forward Lassina Traore, and both Pope and graduate guard Tramon Mark were nursing ankle injuries going into the college basketball game.

Still, Texas fought hard and kept it close against the No. 2 Boilermakers before falling 79-77 on a last-second tip-in by Trey Kaufman-Renn.

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What came out afterward caught everyone off guard. Pope revealed he’d been playing through more than just an ankle issue.

He had a completely broken foot and had been dealing with it since the second round against Gonzaga.

“I think I can clear the air now. Five minutes left against Gonzaga [in the second round]. I broke my foot, a complete break,” Pope said after the game. “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.”

Despite the injury, Pope stayed on the court for 33 minutes and put up 12 points. He credited the Texas medical staff for keeping him functional, saying they worked nonstop to reduce the swelling and manage the pain enough for him to play.

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Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope reacts after a play against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a second-round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The game being in San Jose added extra weight to his decision. Pope is from Oakley, California, which sits about 90 minutes away, so he had family and friends in the stands watching him compete on one of college basketball’s biggest stages.

What happens next is still unclear. Head coach Sean Miller said the team will decide in the coming days whether Pope needs surgery to repair the break.

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