Sean Miller Shares Positive Injury Update After Win vs. Ole Miss

The Texas Longhorns had some emotional highs and lows in Saturday's home matchup against Ole Miss but ultimately came out on top in a 79-68 win over former Texas head coach Chris Beard.

Texas center Matas Vokietaitis led the way with a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds, bouncing back from

However, the frontcourt was missing a key depth piece due to some injury concerns, but Texas head coach Sean Miller had a positive update after the game.

Texas Forward Lassina Traore Sits Out With "Knee Soreness"

Texas Longhorns forward Lassina Traore enters the court before the start of the game against the Southern University Jaguars at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

After being listed as doubtful against Ole Miss, Texas forward Lassina Traore was lifted off the injury report before tip-off but did not play Saturday.

Fortunately, Miller said after the game that Traore, who is dealing with knee soreness, could have played but the staff decided to keep him sidelined instead.

"Lassina Traore is dealing with a knee soreness, so we could have played him, but we elected not to. So we went with Nic Codie," Miller said.

This is certainly positive for Traore's status moving forward, as he would have played in an emergency situation and does not appear to be dealing with anything serious.

Sean Miller says that Lassina Traore is dealing with knee soreness. Was originally listed as doubtful before being taken off the injury report.

“We could have played him, but we elected not to.” pic.twitter.com/HRWzPMIT5w
— Zach Dimmitt (@ZachDimmitt7) February 7, 2026

After missing all of last season at Xavier with a torn ACL, Traore entered his first year at Texas without having a full offseason of work. Still, he has managed to provide valuable minutes off the bench this season as a solid backup big man behind Vokietaitis.

In 23 games this season (one start), Traore has posted 3.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest. This was highlighted by finishing with a season-high 10 points and 12 rebounds against Kansas City during non-conference play. He then had a season-high 14 rebounds against Chaminade during the Maui Invitational.

Traore has also provided a nice spark in some big games, including against No. 5 UConn when he finished with an unusual stat line of one point, seven rebounds, one block and a season-high three steals, a loss in which he also played a season-high 25 minutes in.

The numbers don't always jump off the page for Traore, but he has provided a veteran presence in the locker room while being one of the team's best rebounders and a player that executes the offense well.

With a full week to rest, Traore will likely be ready to return to action when Texas visits the Missouri Tigers on Valentine's Day in Columbia.