Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Purdue

CJ Cox injury update: Purdue guard leaves Round of 32 game vs Miami

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs03/22/26grant_grubbs_

With 17:04 remaining in the second half of Purdue‘s Round of 32 matchup against 7-seed Miami, Boilermakers guard CJ Cox left the game with an apparent knee injury. He immediately headed to Purdue’s locker room after being helped to his feet.

He was able to walk on his own power. Cox is questionable to return, per CBS Sports‘ Jon Rothstein. Before leaving the game, Cox recorded 11 points on efficient 4-5 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from 3-point range.

Cox had a quiet outing in Purdue’s first-round win over Queens in the NCAA Tournament. In the victory, Cox notched four points, three rebounds and two blocks. Cox is averaging 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season.

CJ Cox is a true sophomore. He carved out a contributing role as a freshman on the Boilermakers last season. Cox was a three-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

In its showdown against the Hurricanes, Purdue is aiming to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for its third consecutive season. Miami isn’t going down easily, but Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter expected nothing less.

“Obviously the more experiences you can have, you would think helps you, but I think once it gets down to it, you have to be better than Miami,” Painter said. “The fact that some of their guys haven’t been in this position, it’s still just one game, right? And it’s on a neutral court and you gotta compete and be more efficient on the offensive end and then be tougher than them. That’s hard to do.

“They have a very, very good team. Like I said, they’re well coached. But you would like to think that the experiences that you have, and that’s what you do as a coach. Like you try to give them, whether it’s European trips or exempt tournaments or a tough schedule. You know it’s going to be a grind in our league just like it’s a grind in their league.”

Last season, Purdue was eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen. Alas, in the 2023-24 season, the Boilermakers advanced to the national championship, where they ultimately fell to UConn.