Longhorns Country

Jordan Pope Sends Message to Texas Fans After Humbling Loss to Virginia

Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope is speaking up after a brutal loss to Virginia.
Zach Dimmitt|
Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope dribbles during the first half against the Lafayette Leopards at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images
Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope dribbles during the first half against the Lafayette Leopards at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns hit a new low point early this season with a blowout, 88-69 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers at home on Wednesday night.

Texas head coach Sean Miller now faces questions early on in his first year at the helm, as the Longhorns are 1-3 in non-conference play against high-major opponents, with the only win coming against then-No. 23 NC State at the Maui Invitational.

Though Miller will be met with most of the criticism, Texas players are making sure to shoulder the blame as well.

Texas Gurd Jordan Pope Apologizes to Longhorn Fans

Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope
Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson during the second half at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Before leaving the postgame press conference, Texas guard Jordan Pope asked to make a quick statement, apologizing to the fans for the team's performance.

"I just want to apologize to Longhorn nation if you're watching this," Pope said. "We will be better. Appreciate you guys coming out to support us tonight. This was a big game, and we felt as a team, as a group, that we let you guys down, and we'll be better moving forward. And you know, continue to support us. Continue hanging there, and a lot of good things moving forward."

On what was a cold and rainy night in Austin with a late 8:15 p.m. tip, fans at the Moody Center showed up, but the Longhorns didn't do their part.

Pope finished with 10 points, joining Dailyn Swain as the only two Longhorns to finish in double figures.

"We kind of let them making shots affect our offensive play," Pope said. "Kind of discouraged us, shake us a little bit. And we never really drew that line in the sand to put our foot down. Let's get stops so we could be able to run in a transition and get good looks. We were never really able to find a rhythm when you take the ball to net the whole game, and it's tough. So we just, we just can't let our defensive stops, or not getting stops, in fact, our offense moving forward. But credit to them."

The Longhorns will have to regroup quickly before hitting the road to face No. 5 UConn next Friday.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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