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Gameday Preview: Lassina Traore listed as doubtful

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook02/07/26josephcook89

Just like in football, the Southeastern Conference releases a student-athlete availability report for conference matchups in men’s basketball. There’s a report released the night before and one released day of game.

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Texas’ injury report has been clean for most of conference play. That changed some last night as Lassina Traore was listed as doubtful.

It’s not known what has Traore in that classification, though Traore did miss the 2024-25 season at Xavier with a knee injury. If he can’t go, then Texas will need to look to its bench to replace the five rebounds per game Traore brings down.

Traore hasn’t been part of Texas’ starting lineup save for one exception, but he has been a regular notching 15.7 minutes per game. His 5.1 rebounds per contest is third on the team behind starters Dailyn Swain and Matas Vokietaitis.

Vokietaitis will need to avoid fouling and stay on the floor to help Texas on the boards if Traore can’t go. And Chendall Weaver, just behind Traore at 4.5 rebounds per game, will need to do his part.

If Texas tasks bench players with Traore’s minutes, then Declan Duru and Nic Codie are the likely candidates for action.

Duru, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound freshman, last played in the Longhorns’ loss to Tennessee in the beginning of January. He saw action during Texas’ non-conference wins against Southern, Le Moyne, and Maryland-Eastern Shore. On the season, he’s averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 boards in 7.5 minutes per game.

Codie, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound sophomore, also made his last appearance versus Tennessee. He pulled down one board, had one block, and scored three points in 17 minutes. This season in 11 games, Codie is averaging 4.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists.

The gameday report is set to come out just under two hours before tipoff at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

Game notes via UT

Game 24: TEXAS (14-9, 5-5 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6 SEC)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 – 1 p.m. Central
Moody Center (10,763) – Austin, Texas

GameDay Quick Facts

  • TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) on the call.
  • RADIO: The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasLonghorns.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
  • SERIES: Texas leads, 9-7. Last meeting: Ole Miss 72-69 (Jan. 29, 2025; Oxford)

Notables

  • CLEANING THE GLASS: Texas has posted an impressive +9.2 rebound margin and has outrebounded 20 of its first 23 opponents. The Longhorns recorded a plus-15 (40-25) rebound margin, including a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, during Tuesday’s win over South Carolina.
  • SWAIN ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL: Named to the Julius Erving Award Midseason Top 10 this week, junior G/F Dailyn Swain has averaged 25.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals per contest over his last five games. He has recorded back-to-back double-doubles entering Saturday’s contest and has topped the 20-point mark five times in his first 10 SEC games.
  • HEIDE HEATS UP: Junior F Camden Heide has averaged 14.0 ppg while hitting 75-percent (15-20) from the floor, including a 68.8-percent (11-16) mark from three-point range, in 31.3 mpg over his last three contests.

Previous starters and key depth for Ole Miss

G: Patton Pinkins – 9.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.7 apg
G: Ilias Kamardine – 11.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg
F: Malik Dia – 13.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.8 apg
F: James Scott – 3.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.6 apg
G: Travis Perry – 5.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.8 apg

G: AJ Storr – 14.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 apg
F: Augusto Cassia – 2.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.5 apg
G: Eduardo Klafke – 3.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.9 apg

2025-26 Texas roster

PlayerNumberGradePPGRPGAPGPrevious School
Jordan Pope0Sr.12.51.92.2Oregon State
Cole Bott1Gr.0.50.20.2
Chendall Weaver2Sr.6.64.51.3UT-Arlington
Dailyn Swain3Jr.17.77.33.4Xavier
Declan Duru Jr.4Fr.1.41.30.0
Camden Heide5Jr.7.22.80.8Purdue
Simeon Wilcher7Jr.7.12.22.0St. John’s
Matas Vokietaitis8So.14.86.70.5FAU
John Clark9Fr.N/AN/AN/A
Nic Codie10So.4.52.90.4
Tramon Mark12Gr.13.13.62.1Arkansas
Lewis Obiorah14Fr.N/AN/AN/A
Lassina Traore23Gr.3.45.10.6Xavier
Anthon McDermott33R-Fr.0.90.60.3
Brandon Taylor44Gr.0.80.50.0East Texas A&M

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