CJ Cox injury update: Purdue guard provides latest ahead of Sweet 16 matchup with Texas

Purdue guard CJ Cox took a hard fall early in the second half of a Round of 32 NCAA Tournament game against Miami. He left the game nursing an apparent knee injury.

Will he be back in time to play against Texas in the Sweet 16? That remains to be seen. But the good news is an MRI came back “pretty good.”

“Obviously scared if I’d torn something, because then I’m out for a long time,” CJ Cox told reporters Wednesday. “But thankfully I didn’t. Still sucks, but taking it one step at a time.”

The full-time starter for Purdue has averaged 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season. He’s shooting 38.4% from 3-point range, so he’s a vital piece of the puzzle.

“I feel like I help the team a lot on defense and also on offense,” CJ Cox said. “But even if I didn’t play in the game I’d feel like this team’s capable of beating anyone in the country. So I’m not really worried.”

His approach? It’s a simple one. As much rest and recovery as possible while attacking rehab.

“Just taking it one day at a time, continue to rehab and just see how it is,” CJ Cox said. “Not jumping in too fast but just seeing what Chad (Young) thinks and what the staff thinks. I definitely want to help this team win the game, but if I’m not ready to go then it is what it is.”

Jordan Pope on mend for Texas

While CJ Cox was injured against Miami, Texas guard Jordan Pope appeared to be hobbled in the final moments of his team’s huge Round of 32 win over Gonzaga on Saturday night. He provided the latest on his status ahead of the Sweet 16 on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard told the Houston Chronicle’s Kirk Bohls “Oh yeah, I am” when asked if he was 100% sure he’d play against Purdue. He added that he plans to guard Purdue star Braden Smith, although teammate Dailyn Swain admitted that is “not going to be a one-person project.”

That availability update goes largely in line with what Texas expected from Jordan Pope, too. Head coach Sean Miller had provided a brief update after the Round of 32, saying he thought Pope would “be fine.” He added more on Wednesday.

“Yeah, first Jordan, he’s dealing with a lower leg situation,” Miller said. “We’re hopeful that he can — we’ve given him a lot of rest since our last game, and I think he’s really responding to it. We still had a pretty quick turnaround, all things considered, because of the distance between San Jose and Austin and traveling from Dayton to Portland and Portland back to Austin.

“But yeah, it’s nice to have a couple days in between. But everybody that’s playing has those same days, as well.”

Texas is set to take on Purdue in the opening night of Sweet 16 action on Thursday. The game is slated for a 7:10 p.m. ET tipoff on CBS.