Jordan Pope played 33 minutes on broken foot in Sweet 16: 'I had nothing to lose'

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Jordan Pope played 33 minutes on broken foot in Sweet 16: 'I had nothing to lose'

Jordan Pope played 33 minutes on broken foot in Sweet 16: 'I had nothing to lose'

Austin Curtright and Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY NETWORK · USA TODAY Sports

Fri, Mar 27, 2026 ·

3 min read

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Texas guard Jordan Pope was willing to do whatever the Longhorns needed in its last-second loss to Purdue in the Sweet 16, including playing through a serious injury.

The senior guard revealed he played 33 minutes with a broken foot against the Boilermakers on Thursday, March 26, after suffering the injury against Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The severity of his injury, which resulted in him being a game-time decision against Purdue, wasn't previously known.

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Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the game winning shot against the Texas Longhorns during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.

(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning shot against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Oscar Cluff #45 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Matas Vokietaitis #8 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Fletcher Loyer #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Omer Mayer #17 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Head coach Matt Painter of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against Nic Codie #10 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against Tramon Mark #12 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers looks on against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against Nic Codie #10 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Purdue Pete, mascot of the Purdue Boilermakers, reacts against the Texas Longhorns in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against Tramon Mark #12 and Chendall Weaver #2 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Omer Mayer #17 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

C.J. Cox #0 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Camden Heide #5 of the Texas Longhorns reacts against Trey Kaufman-Renn #4 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against Simeon Wilcher #7 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images)

Braden Smith #3 and Oscar Cluff #45 of the Purdue Boilermakers react on the bench against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026 in San Jose, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)

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It was definitely up in the air," Pope told reporters after Texas' season-ending 79-77 loss. "... 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 scored 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting in the loss, with all his points coming on 3-pointers. The 6-1 guard was remarkably available in his career, starting 129 of his 134 career games at Oregon State and Texas.

Texas coach Sean Miller said Pope's decision to play ultimately came down to he and his family's decision after making sure they had all the information they needed from team doctors.

"Just watching him out there tonight is really remarkable," the first-year Texas coach said. "Really was what he did, how he played under those conditions and now he'll go and get healthy for the long term."

Jordan Pope injury update

Pope ended his college career playing on a broken foot after suffering the injury in Texas' upset win over Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He said it was a clean break, and in order to play he needed to reduce the swelling to make the pain tolerable against Purdue.

"After conversations with the doctor, I couldn't break it anymore," he said after the game. "So there wasn't much high risk in terms of the actual injury. Obviously, I heard other things, but I had nothing to lose. It was a Sweet 16 back home in front of my family. I'm playing for my teammates, my coaches. Never had this opportunity again. I couldn't let that pass."

Pope said he underwent a lot of therapy in order to be available for the game.

"A lot of icing, a lot of bone therapy," Pope said. "The thing is, just to keep the swelling down, because it was gonna hurt. It was a break, was no fixing that, but just being able to get the swelling down, which helped ease the pain a bit and just make it tolerable."

Jordan Pope stats

Here are Pope's year-by-year per-game averages in college:

2022-23 (Oregon State):12.6 points with 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists
2023-24 (Oregon State):17.6 points with 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists
2024-25 (Texas):11 points with 2 rebounds and 1.7 assists
2025-26 (Texas):13.1 points with 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Pope injury: Texas G played with broken foot vs Purdue in Sweet 16

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