GoldandBlack.com Purdue Basketball Game Preview: Texas in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16
SAN JOSE — Purdue is one game away from being one game away from the Final Four, meeting Texas in the Sweet 16 on Thursday at San Jose’s SAP Center.
The winner will meet Arizona or Arkansas in the Elite Eight in San Jose Saturday
rDETAILS: Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 7:10 p.m. ET | TV: CBS (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (27-8, 13-7 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
TEXAS (21-8, 9-9 SEC): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
A FEW THINGS ABOUT PURDUE
• Purdue starting guard CJ Cox appears likely to play, but it is not certain, nor is his effectiveness after he hyperextended his knee in the win over Miami in St. Louis.
• Purdue can secure its third-ever 30-win season with a victory over Texas. All three of those seasons have occurred since 2017.
• The Boilermakers are No. 1 nationally in KenPom offensive efficiency and are on pace to finish the season as the most efficient offense in the history of that ranking.
• Purdue is shooting just under 58 percent from three through its first two NCAA Tournament wins. Cox himself is 6-for-8. Fletcher Loyer is 11-of-16 and shooting 50 percent since Feb. 1.
ABOUT TEXAS
• Not all that dissimilar to Purdue, the Longhorns have played some of their best basketball of the season in the postseason, with three consecutive tournament wins already in the books—starting in the First Four with a win over North Carolina State, followed by a win over banged-up BYU and AJ Dybantsa, and then a marquee Round of 32 upset of Gonzaga in Portland.
• Texas senior guard Jordan Hope is questionable to play due to an ankle injury suffered earlier in the tournament. He averages about 13 points per game, is a 37 percent three-point shooter and is one of several Longhorns perimeter threats Purdue would have to account for.
• Forward Dailyn Swain is one of the best wing forwards Purdue will have seen all season. The 6-foot-8 junior has a power forward’s body but a guard’s game, with outstanding physicality and length and the perimeter skill to handle the ball and shoot threes. He can be a real defensive menace, is a very good rebounder, and an outstanding foul shooter.
Swain came with Sean Miller from Xavier. Swain played for the Musketeers in Mackey Arena in 2023 in Purdue’s 83–71 win. Now, he leads the Longhorns in scoring at 17.4 points per game; rebounding at 7.5 per game; and assists with 124. He’s a 55 percent shooter and a 35 percent three-point shooter.
• Center Matas Vokietaitis is yet another formidable big man for Purdue to deal with this postseason. The Lithuanian seven-footer and FAU transfer is a highly influential rebounder and shot blocker, and a highly efficient rim scorer who draws a ton of fouls and shoots 61 percent on two-point field goals. He’s averaging 18.3 points over Texas’ three NCAA wins.
Former Boilermaker Camden Heide has started most games this season for the Longhorns and has shot 46 percent from three-point range. He made the shot that sealed the win over Gonzaga.
This is believed to be the second time under Matt Painter that Purdue has faced one of its former players in a game. Purdue played Auburn in Cancun in 2017 when it had Ronnie Johnson on its roster.
• Texas is an outstanding offensive team, ranked 15th nationally in efficiency per KenPom and averaging 83 points for the season.
But its defensive metrics have left a lot to be desired, though holding Gonzaga to 68 points in a postseason game is no small feat.
Texas is 81st nationally in defensive efficiency, and its results this season are littered with robust scoring outputs by opponents. It was just a little more than two weeks ago that Texas allowed 105 points to Arkansas, then 88 in an overtime loss to Oklahoma.
Statistically, the Longhorns are not particularly disruptive in terms of generating turnovers or blocking shots, and they can be foul-prone.
THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE
| THE INTERIOR | FOULS | BRADEN SMITH’S J |
| Rebounding might end up being the most important element in this game, and Purdue’s ability to exploit Texas’ size should be, too. Purdue’s ball-screen offense will be important in making Vokietaitis guard in space, away from the rim where he can’t be a rebounding factor. Purdue will want to make him run as much as possible and, if it can, wear him down physically. Oscar Cluff’s energy looms large in that regard. | Swain is going to be a really tough cover all over the floor, and Texas has a number of other penetrators in addition to a massive presence in the middle that draws a ton of value both on offense and on the glass. Purdue really can’t afford foul trouble in its frontcourt and certainly doesn’t want the Longhorns living at the free-throw line. | It’s a safe bet that Texas is going to be committed to playing drop coverage against ball screens on defense, in which case there should be opportunities for Braden Smith to get to his pull-up jumper. It might even be what Texas decides to bet on. The senior’s jump shot has been up and down this postseason. |
THREE THOUGHTS
• Purdue has to do a great job keeping Swain out of the lane, as well as Texas’ other slashers, because Vokietaitis’ offensive rebounding presence can really be amplified by dribble penetration and rebounding imbalance leads to fouls.
• Purdue is probably going to have a pretty solid group of fans in the arena, and it sounds like there are going to be Arizona fans hanging around to boo Sean Miller. So even though Purdue had to travel all the way across the country to get out here, this might be a pretty friendly environment — at least for a West Regional held in Northern California.
• As hot as Fletcher Loyer has been for weeks now, Purdue ought to be ready to see opponents sell out to take him away, in which case all sorts of other opportunities might present themselves for the nation’s best offense.
Both of these teams seem to be peaking at the right time, but Purdue’s best is probably better than Texas’ best. The Boilermakers have been doing a great job lately turning opponents’ size against them, and that’s something that could be a key in this game as well.
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