Texas holds a 65-63 lead over Purdue with 7:39 remaining in their Sweet 16 matchup in San Jose, California. Tramon Mark has scored 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Longhorns despite an apparent ankle injury. The winner advances to Saturday's Elite Eight against the victor of Arizona-Arkansas.
Purdue and Texas tipped off at 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday at the SAP Center in San Jose, with the game airing on CBS and Paramount+. The contest has been fast-paced from the start, with the teams playing 9:12 without a stoppage early on, bypassing the first two media timeouts. Both shot over 50% from the field in the opening minutes and combined for 67.9% inside the arc at the first-half media timeout, when the score was tied 30-30. Tramon Mark led Texas with 12 points then, while Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn had 10. Fletcher Loyer added 13 for Purdue by halftime, where the Boilermakers led 39-35. Mark reached 2,000 career points early in the second half with free throws and pushed his total to 19 before heating up further. No other Texas player had more than nine points midway through the frame. Purdue entered as preseason No. 1 and Big Ten tournament winners, reaching the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five seasons under coach Matt Painter. Texas, the No. 11 seed and lone double-digit seed left, advanced through the First Four win over NC State, a first-round victory against BYU, and a second-round upset of No. 3 Gonzaga. Coach Sean Miller, who said, “I don't think we ever really want to sign up to be the Cinderella story... Because we are the University of Texas,” guided his squad despite injuries. Texas guard Jordan Pope, questionable with a lower-leg issue from the Gonzaga game, played after warmup. Purdue's CJ Cox started despite a hyperextended right knee from the Miami win, stating his MRI came back good and he was taking it step by step. Former Purdue transfer Camden Heide has aided Texas with scouting insights.
