Thursday night brings a chance for the Purdue Boilermakers to punch their ticket to the Final Four of the Big Dance, but they’ll have to defeat a Cinderella Texas Longhorns team to do so.
Purdue rolls into this matchup as a relatively significant favorite to defeat Texas after their win in the second round against the Miami Hurricanes. However, that previous game included C.J. Cox going down with a right leg injury in the second half, which required others to help him off the court.
The Boilermakers guard had 11 points in 18 minutes on 4-for-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 three-pointers. In addition, he recorded a rebound and an assist before his injury.
While he returned to the Purdue bench after his injury, he remained out of the game while his team went on to achieve a 79-69 victory over the Hurricanes. However, Cox’s injury status for the next game was unclear.
Head coach Matt Painter indicated that Cox “hyperextended his knee” and they would see how things went with treatment before their Sweet 16 game.
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On Wednesday night, an update arrived via Jon Rothstein, which said that Cox is “questionable” for the Texas game, according to a Purdue spokesman.
Cox is averaging 8.5 points per game this season and was a key component in sparking an important Purdue first-half rally against Miami, scoring nine points in over a minute and a half.
In his team’s opening game against No. 15 seed Queens University of Charlotte, Cox also recorded 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting, with three three-pointers and two free throws. He also grabbed four rebounds to go with an assist and a steal in 25 minutes.
Following his injury, he indicated he received ice on his knee and could have returned to the game if he was needed. However, Purdue secured the win without him, giving him more time for rest and recovery.
They’ll take on a Texas Longhorns team Thursday night that has surprised many people in the Big Dance. Texas won its First Four game against North Carolina State to get a matchup against AJ Dybantsa and the BYU Cougars.
After defeating BYU, they upset the No. 3 seed, Gonzaga, making the Longhorns the biggest Cinderella remaining in the Sweet 16. They’ll be an underdog against Purdue as well, with recent sportsbooks’ odds showing the Boilermakers as 7.5-point favorites to win.
The winner of Purdue and Texas advances to play the winner of No. 4 seed Arkansas vs. No. 1 seed Arizona in an Elite Eight game for the West Region.
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